Milestones

08 Feb 2012 2 Comments

Teaching Our 2-Year Old to Read

I know that in general children usually don’t start reading before the age of 4 or 5. However, a few children are able to read earlier, and most of them just pick it up. They don’t really learn through direct instruction.

I really believe that the key to reading readiness during the toddler years is indirect instruction (and with that, I mean play) which involves introducing your child to toys and books in a way that gets them excited. Basically, our job is to show them that letters, numbers and learning are not just important but A LOT of FUN!

Before Michael and I had kids, we agreed that we won’t be pushing them into something they’re not ready for but we will do our best to teach them while allowing them to explore and develop at their own pace. Needless to say, Jordan makes us very proud that he knows all his numbers, lower case and upper case letters, and the sound each letter makes.

When we realized that, we started showing him simple words and we are truly amazed that he picked it up right away!

We actually started him with letters around 15 months. We got this fridge magnet toy by LeapFrog. The recommended age was 2+ but we just put it on the fridge anyways and just let him play with it. Basically when you press the letter, it will say “A, says a. B, says ba” etc. Then around 17-18 months, we got an alphabet app on the iPad and he would always play with it. That’s when he first started saying the letters. His favorite was the letter “T” for Thomas the Train.

Shortly after that, we noticed that he loves puzzles. He would always play the puzzle game on his dad’s phone whenever he gets tired of playing with the alphabet app so we got him the wooden Letter puzzle by Melissa & Doug and he loves it! They also have the Numbers puzzle. That’s when we started to actively teach him the letters. We would say the letters and what sound it makes while he’s playing with the puzzle. We wanted it to be more of “play” than study type of thing. We also let  him watch LeapFrog’s Letter Factory and Amazing Alphabet on DVD.

Before we do our reading session, I would ask him first if he wants to read. He says yes most of the time but there are times that he would say no and I’ll just let him do whatever he wants. Sometimes, he’ll ask me or his dad to read but we’re just basically following his lead now. We don’t read to him every night anymore – just whenever he wants us to.

So here are the list of products that we think helped him recognize and learn his numbers and letters:

       

by Joy in Milestones, Product Reviews

12 Jan 2012 1 Comment

Terrific Two

After Jordan turned one, I had been preparing myself for what they say ‘the terrible twos’. People kept telling me about the hard days. The days when my toddler is frustrating, stubborn and difficult. Yes, we’ve had those days but very few told me about the amazing days and how much fun the toddler years are. The days when my toddler is fun, loving, smart, and cute. Almost no one told me about the happines I’d feel when my 2-year old come running towards me saying “hi” everytime I get home from work.

Jordan is at the point where he is learning new things every day. Though he is not talking in full sentences, he’s like a sponge and absorbs everything. Many of the things he’s learned have been through puzzles, games and play. He knows all his numbers, basic shapes, colors, letters (both upper case & lower case), and has started recognizing some sight words and reading two-letter words. Sometimes, Michael and I just can’t believe how much our 2-year old knows!

But what really melts my heart is the bountiful amount of random kisses and passionate hugs I now receive. Sometimes he even pats me on the back while pressing his face against my shoulder. Thus, my toddler is really far from the terror I was warned about.

I know the toddler years are just beginning and that we’ll have so much more fun in the years ahead especially when our little Jayden starts playing with and learning from his big brother.

by Joy in Milestones

22 Sep 2011 2 Comments

Family Heirloom Growth Chart

I’ve always loved the idea of charting children’s growth on the door frame so when I was just pregnant with Big J, I told Michael that I wanted to do that for our kids. When Big J learned how to stand on his own, I kept thinking that we needed a cool way to document those little hash marks of growth without risking the chance that we would lose those memories if we needed to paint the house or we would need to leave them behind if ever we needed to move somewhere. More

by Joy in Milestones, Product Reviews

25 Jun 2011 No Comments

My Little Smarty Pants

I didn’t get to blog yesterday because two of Michael’s aunts visited me and brought some goodies from a Filipino bakery in Seattle. They spent the whole afternoon with me telling me old family stories which was nice. Shortly after they left, Michael came from work and not too long after that, Jordan came with my parents and spent the evening here. Overall, it was a great day yesterday! More

by Joy in Milestones

18 Apr 2011 No Comments

Baby’s 1st Boo-Boo

I know that once your baby becomes mobile, injuries are bound to happen. I know that Jordan’s going to get a bump or bruise here and there but when it actually happened, I wasn’t prepared for the intensely overwhelming feeling of panic, fear, pain and guilt.

Yesterday, we went to visit his cousins and as soon as Michael put him down, he ran towards the living room completely ignoring a 6″ high step that’s dividing the kitchen and the living room. I tried running after him and stopping him but I was too late. As soon as I picked him up, I saw his mouth and nose bleeding, LOTS and LOTS of blood. We tried to apply an icepack on his lips but he kept pulling away from it so we just gave him a bowl of ice cream. I seriously thought we had to go to the emergency room but thankfully, the bleeding stopped and he settled down fairly quickly. After we all calmed down, my intuition told me to just keep an eye on him but I called his doctor’s after hours hot-line anyways for some reassurance. I was told that there was no reason to take him to the emergency room. Fortunately, there was no need for stitches, just a boo-boo on the swelling upper lip to take care of. Just minutes after the scary incident, he was smiling and running around again.

Unfortunately, the joy of all baby’s greatly anticipated first milestones is matched equally by the dread of their first bumps in the road.

by Joy in Boo-boos, Milestones

05 Apr 2011 No Comments

Jordan’s First Dental Appointment

Babies should have their first dental appointment right around the first birthday but since the Small Fry only had 2 teeth when he was one, his pediatrician told us that we could wait until he’s 18 months before we bring him to the dentist.

So yesterday was a big day for Jordan. We took him for his very first dental appointment. It was mostly a consultation and check-up — the dentist checked his teeth to determine plaque build-up and gave us tips on proper brushing technique for toddlers. He showed us the most effective way to restrain the child for mom & dad tag-team brushing to get a better angle and cleaner teeth: have him sit on daddy’s lap, lean him back and wedge his head between daddy’s legs, holding his arms on his tummy while mommy’s brushing his teeth.  It’s such a great position because you can actually see full range of his teeth! More

by Joy in Health, Milestones

14 Oct 2010 2 Comments

First Haircut

As a parent, there are many milestones that we anticipate for our children –  first time rolling over,  taking their first steps, saying their first words and even getting their first hair cut.

So when it came to the Small Fry’s first real haircut the day after his birthday, we brought him to Beach Combers, a kid’s specialty hair salon, where he was strapped into a special kid-sized turtle seat and was able to watch Elmo on DVD. We paid a premium price for the service, but he came out looking much great! More

by Joy in Milestones

11 Aug 2010 3 Comments

Sleep & Walking

When we brought the Small Fry home from the hospital, he was sleeping in our bedroom in the co-sleeper up until he was too big to fit in it. It was a struggle getting him to sleep in the crib in his room. But when he finally did sleep in his crib, he started day care and got sick so we brought him to our King bed. I actually like snuggling with him and kissing him at night. However it was hard for me and Michael to do things around the house at night after he goes to sleep like washing dishes, preparing stuff for day care the next day, etc. because one of us need to stay with the Small Fry in the room to make sure that he won’t wake up (he wakes up every hour or two – believe it or not!) and fall off the bed. More

by Joy in Milestones, Sleep

23 Jul 2010 No Comments

Yay, Let’s Clap for New Teeth!

For the past month, the Small Fry’s been giving us high-five’s and have been waving bye-bye but this morning, he gave me yet another reminder that he’s growing up fast. My Small Fry started clapping while giving me a big smile that shows his two bottom teeth that just pierced through his gums two days ago. Nothing like seeing your 9 month old baby clapping to Mommy’s saying “Yay, let’s clap!” – Absolutely priceless.

It’s absolutely amazing to watch him master all these skills each day. Watching him grow and develop in front of my eyes is just so wonderful and I know that those precious little things is something that will stay with me forever.

by Joy in Milestones

02 Jun 2010 No Comments

Amazing Milestones

It simply amazes me how fast my Small Fry went from just babbling with no apparent syllables, to randomly saying ‘dada’, to constantly saying ‘dada’ in less than 24 hours! I feel like within these last few days, he has become a whole new child, doing so many new things.

I’m wondering how much longer I’ll really be able to refer to my baby as my “Small Fry”?  This growth thing is wonderful, but it’s happening all too fast…

by Joy in Milestones

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