Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Early Math

I also dislike baby talking to small children. I don't think it encourages speech or vocabulary, but I'm not big on pronunciation, mainly because language is for communication and if I understand the child then the word has served it's purpose. Having said that i cringe when older (3-5) kids ask for things via baby talk; thier dee-duh (dummy) or dri (drink)..
With DD2 we do use both 'her words' and normal words. Though most of her words are phasing out now she uses the proper names.

I think proper pronunciation will come with time and oral motor skills. My DS4 is a good example his vocab is huge but he can not say the sounds 'th', 'l' or 'r', lolly is woh-wee, he is a perfectionist and is noticing his inability to say these sounds (he asks me to spell them out to him). No amount of saying the right words to him have made any difference...
I do sometimes say yes and repeat the word but only when it is really off. But i'm really aware of his self-esteem on this issue.

Other math things to do....

If she knows shapes, has she been exposed to 3D shapes? the first, next ans last is a math concept (i think), how about having number cards with a 1 2 3 on them and asking her to order them? DS loved that game, it works for bigger numbers too.

Thanks for the suggestion. I think my first response leads to the assumption that I firmly will not accept her response and say 'No' it is this way, which I don't. Plus we were blessed with the kid that has to hear a word twice at the most and has it down. I have thrown some big words at her and she has no problem pronouncing them. Today it was chandiler since we just put one up in her room. As of today I can not remember the last time I corrected her words b/c she has them down and adds new ones with no problems. The only word she still says a little off is vitamin and for her it is witamin. I too am a perfectionist and have to remind myself to let things go. So I just accept her witamin for vitamin b/c I know what she is asking for. But you are right about self esteem and I will need to watch my perfectionist self as I deal with my little perfectionist!

I know this is not the same but made me think of the game 'mighty minds'. Has anyone used this? My DD has it and says it is her favorite puzzle. She is already up to the hardest cards and likes to build the objects with no clue on what shapes to use. Of course the other day it had been flipped out of the box and is now missing a few shapes which I am still looking for and hoping that her dog did not consider treats for the day! grrrrr.

Katelyn'sMom -- For your friend with the little one, it's still pretty early to worry about speech. DS6, who is HG+, was a laaate talker, hardly stringing any words together until he was about 27 months. He started out with longer sentences at that point, but he was *really* hard to understand until he was about 3.5yo. But then he was very clear by the time he was 4.5, and now has crystal clear speech and is very particular in his word choices -- he'll actually go back and verbally edit a sentence to replace a word with something more precise.

I don't get worked up over pronunciations; if he's trying to use a new word he read somewhere and mispronounces it, I just say, "Oh, you mean *blank*?" and let it go at that.

As for math, I quite honestly have no idea what is normal and what is not. Not counting to 10 until 5yo seems crazy to me ... by the time ds was 3, he was adding and subtracting small quantities, recognised numbers up to 100, counting at least to 100, understood basic time concepts, etc. At 4yo he was counting piles of change and had basic fractions down. I didn't even recognise that he might be pretty advanced in math until he was almost 5, doing mental double-digit math and skip counting with odd numbers -- his reading was what popped first!

It's frustrating not to know what is developing normally and what is GT stuff ... with a first/only child, it's rough. Personally, I'd take the same route again, ignorant bliss. I didn't know he was that ahead, and I'm glad I didn't -- it kept me from worrying too much! Keep on introducing concepts as they come up, and when she seems ready, go for it. If she gets it, great, and if not, no harm done.

ETA: Really, unless your child is so crazy out there (which, I don't know, she could be!), I'd try not to worry too much yet. It doesn't matter too much at almost-3yo if she's a math guru, does it? I'd take stock as she gets closer to K age. And for GT denial ... I still have it often, even with numerous proofs to the contrary. I think, "This really can't be all *that* unusual, can it?" Well, apparently it is, and I'm still wrapping my mind around that. It happens to all of us, I think!

My only reason to think it's nice to know early is so that you can have the right "stuff" around.

I had books up to 2nd grade in the house for DS back when he was in pre-K...only to find out that he was reading at a middle school level at age 5! Oops! No wonder he didn't read at home much! But I thought having books 2-3 years ahead of him would be enough. It wasn't.

I think I also would have focused more on math when he was younger. He had an interest, but I really didn't. So I didn't do that much with him in math in those pre-K years. I now see that he would have really enjoyed it.

None of this is the end of the world or anything. He learned a lot anyway and he was a happy kid. But I do feel like he would have enjoyed more challenge when he was younger, as I see him enjoying now.

Of course, anyone who has found this forum is probably way ahead of the game anyway, so it's probably a moot point...

I'm not trying to figure this stuff out so early so that I can push DD, it's just I want to be able to challenge her. When DD is challenged, her mind is occupied and she's a much happier child. Otherwise, she's usually bored and whines around the house all day. But if I can find material that's mentally appropriate for her, she can have fun learning while making my life easier (after all, who likes listening to a kid whine all day long?).

Like Kriston, I'm not super-interested in math. Or maybe I just forget to think about it; I'm not sure. DH is usually the one to bring it up to her. With DD, she thinks once we've taught her something that she's mastered every bit of it possible without realizing there's more out there. So we like to exposure her to different things with numbers, math and reading so that she can become engaged again in a new task. DH is much better at bringing up the math, being a very mathematical person himself.

We have a math workbook for older kids, but the last half of the book is too hard for her. Or rather she doesn't want to sit and learn about it from me (I can do it myself!).

sidenote: DD picked up two empty paper towel tubes, put one under her chin and said, "I'm playing the violin!" while proceeding to draw the other tube across the one under her chin. Is that normal? Oh heck, why do I even ask that question anymore???

My DD is turning 2 in a week! I had a verbally precocious toddler (DS5) so it's hard for me to say what is ND. Compared to him, DD is ND verbally I think but Dh feels she is slow I think b/c of an incorrect comparison to her older brother.

Things she has said recently: I got tickled. (Papa was trying to tickle her). WHen she dumped water all over the floor, she looked at me and said "Sorry mommy." She spontaneously told me "I luv you." and kissed me. Other things, "I cold," and "Where my water go?" "Bebe where are you?"

DS5 on the other hand at this age had 1:1 correspondence, could add and subtract, had enormous numbers of words, and knew all his letter sounds and that some letters like c had two sounds. He was also doing Mighty Minds at 2yrs old etc. It'll be interesting to see how he shakes out in the long wrong compared to his older brother (MG).

the important thing is to distinguish between expressive speech (talking) and receptive speech (understanding). At 2yrs old, if receptive speech is on target, I'd let expressive speech simmer for 6mths or so.

Thanks for breaking down the speech into two categories: Expressive and receptive. I took a look at receptive speech milestones and my friend's DD is right on track with the milestones and with the expressive: like I said she is improving. For two months she has gone from 5 words to 25 - 30% recognizable which is a big jump. I also like all the stories of your DCs who were late talkers b/c it gives me a reality check. I do know that her doctor sent her DD to a hearing specialist and the test came back normal. I really am not sure why the tests were run so early. It might have been my friend pushing for it or the doctor suggesting it but either way her hearing is fine and then less than a week later she started repeating words back in short sentences. She still has not asked for specific items but her verbals are clearer. But given my verbal beast of a child I just don't think I am the best judge of it all so hearing from others gives me ammo to assure her that her DD is fine.

My friend's probably HG+ just-turned-2yo doesn't even have 5 words yet. He says "uh-huh," "happy" (so cute!), he barks for a dog, and one other word that I can't think of.

He does use signs proficiently and has for 18 months or so. I suspect it would be a bigger issue if he didn't sign.

Signing is another beast all it's own. I have read and heard from a few of my friends that signing slows down the verbal. Is this true? We were going to use signing with DD but her verbals were so early I just did not want to chance it. I still would love for her to sign b/c I learned as a child (around 5) thanks to this amazing elderly woman I had befriended. She was blind and deaf and the only way to communicate with her was through signing the alphabet. Every time we went to the home I always went to visit her and would not trade that time for anything.