Sorting

My mentor, Peggy, left her teaching supplies at her granddaughter's house while she is away so I can use them with her. Anna's 1.5 and very curious and patient, so she is fun to work with. We took out all the little animals and various vehicles and sorted them by shape for awhile. She particularly liked the horses and sheep - their shapes and textures were easiest to spot.

Rainbows

Last week I was watching Anna (19 months old) when she brought me a book we hadn't read in awhile.
Like most toddlers, she has this way of speaking through mannerisms and single words that has become incredibly straight-foward. I have had close relationships with a few children at this age, where I feel as if I can almost read their minds.  But it's interesting to see how each child does it uniquely.  Anna has an incredible patience for communicating herself to the world.

On the last page of the book we were reading there was a picture of a rainbow.  She pointed to the rainbow and then pointed to her calves. I quickly realized that she was referring to her favorite pair of leg warmers, which are also rainbow striped.  She was able to connect the two patterns in two entirely different contexts - from a 2D picture to a 3D physical object. Of course, she led me to her sock drawer where we pulled them out and we compared the two. She was beyond proud of having made this connection. It was pretty spectacular.