My baby girl is still an undergraduate...on the W.C. pot I mean!
Her bowels refuse to slide down, even by an inch, if she is not seated over her tiny and elegant potty. The blue plastic pot is privileged enough to serve her for almost four years now and still goes strong. Don't be deceived by the humble looks, for it has traveled places far and wide, riding planes, trains and cars.
An integral part of our family, it has witnessed my daughter’s learning phases – all of them. My kid is most attentive when perched upon her plastic blue throne. Her mind is focused on what her mom does with books, toys or hands. I have been able to utilize this 15-20 minute period to make her learn a few things over the last four years. It is delightful to see my little girl, sit in complete silence with a frown and fixed gaze. She is in complete mental and physical submission to me.
It all began one hot summer afternoon when she was a little over two years. My girl was in pain while passing a hard stool after a two-day constipation spell. I struggled hard to distract her attention and began singing and enacting a high-pitched Hindi song "Lakdi ki kaathi, kaathi pe ghoda..". She stopped crying and became quiet. Much to my astonishment, she learnt the first two lines of the song. In no time, she also got rid of the hard bowels without being conscious of the pain.
The next day, I sat with her again...this time with some soft-bound tiny alphabet, number and thing books. She loved it!
Later on, I played with block alphabets - A, B, C. She learnt them in no time. I became more adventurous each time. Over the last four years, there have been countless learning and fun activities. In fact, my baby girl has learnt alphabets, numbers, puzzles (join the dots, maze, and match the following), coloring - all during potty time. And more recently, I also helped her with some basic Math and Reading.
It gives me immense satisfaction to list down the specifics:
Counting and Abacus: Counting from 1 to 100 and then reverse from 100 to 1 with the help of a number chart. I remember her getting stuck at 90/80/70/60, forcing her little brain to go backwards as 89/79/69/59 respectively. Abacus was particularly helpful to demonstrate the concept of units/tens/hundred to her.
Addition and Subtraction: We would add and subtract numbers within 20, using our hands. In fact, it became more fun while doing it mentally. It also helped me in building the concept of Zero. I would raise my ten fingers in the air and ask her, “Tell me, if I were to remove zero fingers from ten, how many would remain?” and "Now tell me, if I take out all ten fingers from ten, how many would remain?” She would keep staring at my opening and closing fist. Her tiny brain would process and give answers.
Reading: This happened on the day when I was feeling low and disinterested...happens when left at the mercy of hormonal roller coaster. My girl sensed it and asked me a simple question, “Mom, what is written here?” She was pointing at the newspaper title – “Times of India” I read it aloud and she poked me further. “This begins with the letter T – Times. Right? Read more,” Thus, she pulled me into Phonetics - A makes the sound ‘Ae’, B sounds as ‘Ba’ and Z as ‘Za’. We did it together for months. We would read just about anything and everything - magazines, books, newspaper pamphlets, and menu cards.
It was ‘happy faces’ coupled with ‘easy feces’!
I learnt there is no time or place for learning, or even teaching. My kid displayed an urge to learn well during potty time and I picked up the cue. And, whatever little that we do during these 15-20 minutes every day makes it easy to grasp school lessons. I assure my daughter that she can remain associated with her blue plastic friend for as long as she wants. To the extent that I don’t mind making it a part of her marriage dowry.
LONG LIVE THE BLUE POTTY!
SALUTE POTTY-LEARNING!
Her bowels refuse to slide down, even by an inch, if she is not seated over her tiny and elegant potty. The blue plastic pot is privileged enough to serve her for almost four years now and still goes strong. Don't be deceived by the humble looks, for it has traveled places far and wide, riding planes, trains and cars.
An integral part of our family, it has witnessed my daughter’s learning phases – all of them. My kid is most attentive when perched upon her plastic blue throne. Her mind is focused on what her mom does with books, toys or hands. I have been able to utilize this 15-20 minute period to make her learn a few things over the last four years. It is delightful to see my little girl, sit in complete silence with a frown and fixed gaze. She is in complete mental and physical submission to me.
It all began one hot summer afternoon when she was a little over two years. My girl was in pain while passing a hard stool after a two-day constipation spell. I struggled hard to distract her attention and began singing and enacting a high-pitched Hindi song "Lakdi ki kaathi, kaathi pe ghoda..". She stopped crying and became quiet. Much to my astonishment, she learnt the first two lines of the song. In no time, she also got rid of the hard bowels without being conscious of the pain.
The next day, I sat with her again...this time with some soft-bound tiny alphabet, number and thing books. She loved it!
Later on, I played with block alphabets - A, B, C. She learnt them in no time. I became more adventurous each time. Over the last four years, there have been countless learning and fun activities. In fact, my baby girl has learnt alphabets, numbers, puzzles (join the dots, maze, and match the following), coloring - all during potty time. And more recently, I also helped her with some basic Math and Reading.
It gives me immense satisfaction to list down the specifics:
Counting and Abacus: Counting from 1 to 100 and then reverse from 100 to 1 with the help of a number chart. I remember her getting stuck at 90/80/70/60, forcing her little brain to go backwards as 89/79/69/59 respectively. Abacus was particularly helpful to demonstrate the concept of units/tens/hundred to her.
Addition and Subtraction: We would add and subtract numbers within 20, using our hands. In fact, it became more fun while doing it mentally. It also helped me in building the concept of Zero. I would raise my ten fingers in the air and ask her, “Tell me, if I were to remove zero fingers from ten, how many would remain?” and "Now tell me, if I take out all ten fingers from ten, how many would remain?” She would keep staring at my opening and closing fist. Her tiny brain would process and give answers.
Reading: This happened on the day when I was feeling low and disinterested...happens when left at the mercy of hormonal roller coaster. My girl sensed it and asked me a simple question, “Mom, what is written here?” She was pointing at the newspaper title – “Times of India” I read it aloud and she poked me further. “This begins with the letter T – Times. Right? Read more,” Thus, she pulled me into Phonetics - A makes the sound ‘Ae’, B sounds as ‘Ba’ and Z as ‘Za’. We did it together for months. We would read just about anything and everything - magazines, books, newspaper pamphlets, and menu cards.
It was ‘happy faces’ coupled with ‘easy feces’!
I learnt there is no time or place for learning, or even teaching. My kid displayed an urge to learn well during potty time and I picked up the cue. And, whatever little that we do during these 15-20 minutes every day makes it easy to grasp school lessons. I assure my daughter that she can remain associated with her blue plastic friend for as long as she wants. To the extent that I don’t mind making it a part of her marriage dowry.
LONG LIVE THE BLUE POTTY!
SALUTE POTTY-LEARNING!
Brilliant!!
ReplyDeleteis there something called OQ (observation quotient)?? very high on that as well madam.
ReplyDeleteone practical advise - strange coming from a EQ person himself...do keep a back up of all these write ups and also print outs...you have no idea what they would mean to K~!!
Partha .... Modesty is not always the best policy!!!
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost you are high on IQ/... then EQ/OQ essentially in that order.
Thanks!
Brilliant compliation Shruti...kudos to your exceptionally beautiful writing style, and perhaps if I might add, an even more exceptional creative talent. I am positive K will thank her stars for finding a mother like you.
ReplyDeleteWell Done! Hoping to read many many more such fun and thoughtful writings...