Ethan Ruth Harper Jack

Numbers!

Harper can now identify her numbers from 1-10 when asked to find a certain one, and she can also say numbers 1-10. She had been working on them for a couple of weeks (i.e. reading counting books, counting bites on her highchair tray, pointing out numbers when she saw them in the world, etc.) but things really kicked in when I threw these foam numbers into the bath. She was so excited! "Numbers!"

The first day she would pick up the six shape and call out "six" no matter how it was turned (even when it was upside down and thus a nine). When I sat down in the bath with her, I picked it up and showed her that it was a six one way, and when you turn it upside down and the circle is at the top, it is then a nine. I repeated it a few times but couldn't tell if it was meaning anything to her by her face. I simply thought it was worth pointing out, but I remembered that many kindergarteners often invert their letters and I wasn't going to be upset if she continued to confuse the two.

The next morning (yesterday), she sat in the bath, manipulating the six shape and calling it six when it looked like one, and then turning it upside down and calling it a nine. She did this by herself several times, as if practicing or reinforcing her new understanding. I was shocked! Today she never missed a beat when asked to differentiate those two numbers.





Quiz me! "Ask me!"

Harper wants to be challenged. In this photo, she is sitting among chalk shapes and asking (with the pointed fingers running over the field of options and an "uh uh uh!" sound) someone to challenge her to find a specific shape. Grammer Lynda began teaching her to say "Ask me!" last night during our date night so she could better articulate what she's wanting. We respond with some variation on "Can you find the _____? Where is the _____, Harper?" She excitedly (and with 100% accuracy) points out the requested shape. As the video showed a couple months ago, the girl has them down.

But the requests for quizzing don't stop there. She also asks to be challenged to find the foam numbers or to locate the animals on the page in her story book... whatever whenever. She's figured out that it is both a way to show her knowledge and be praised and also a way to get more information and learn. I've recently created a number line, a list of shapes, and a page with her full name "Harper Sequoia Dutton" for her, laminated with some packing tape. These are fun for her and she loves to be quizzed on them. She will also narrate if asked to tell what she sees.

She's an insatiable learner and honestly... I hope I can keep up! Ethan and I feel really blessed that we have the extended family that we do and so many resources to turn to with different perspectives and expertise to help us to provide Harper with the kind of learning and stimulation that she so craves.