I have really bright kids. Of course I am biased, but on an unbiased scale, they are still very smart. I think that sometimes Big J gets more attention on the intellectual front because he is the oldest and venturing into new areas first, and also because he
thrives on learning. He's always loved it. He was the one who even before he was one year old would bring me books to read to him, and actually sit through it all. He had entire books memorized word for word before he was even 2. He was the one who by 18 months could do like 25 piece puzzles with interlocking pieces. He loved it. He'd practice it. If I ever said, "Want to do school?" which was what we call it when I sit down with them and do little learning activities, he was all over that. He still is. During the summers,
he asks me to do school with him.
Little J has a completely different learning personality, but is also so, so smart. That kid has a memory like you wouldn't believe! It's almost freaky sometimes. He remembers things like 3 years later that were just mentioned in passing. He wouldn't sit down to listen to a book or do anything else "structured" for the longest time, but now he loves for me to read to him and do school with him - for a limited time. He doesn't flaunt his braininess like Big J does, though. Instead, he'll just bust out with things that I had no idea he even knew. He is 4 1/2 and he can already recognize and write on his own almost the entire alphabet both upper and lowercase letters. I didn't know he could do that, he just did it. He's been able to write his name since he was 3, but at a time when most of his preschool classmates are barely writing their name, he started writing his first and last name. I don't ever remember teaching him to write his last name! I think he just taught himself after seeing it spelled out on things. The other day, he came to me with every member of our family's names written out and spelled correctly. At first, I thought maybe he had copied them off of something. But he did it entirely out of his head. He's started to spell other words, too. But even with all these things, he does not have the same type of thirst for knowledge that Big J does. He wants to know when he wants to know, but not a second sooner.
Big J has loved school from the get-go. Even in preschool, he was sooo into it. Little J - not so much. Last year, he screamed for 2 months straight whenever we would take him. I almost took him out of it because he had such a hard time with it. But then he started to enjoy going and has been fine ever since. He likes it, but he still will say things like it's "boring" or he doesn't want go because he'd rather stay and play. I'm a little nervous about when he has to start going
every day. My learning personality is more like Big J's. I see a lot of my
sister's learning personality in Little J. I am hoping I will be able to play to both of their strengths and styles so that they will have positive experiences through school and be able to learn as much as possible. So any of you with good tips on how to adjust to your children's learning styles - I'm all ears!
Apparently, this doll is not a Diana; it is an uncircumcised male!! We decided it must be one of those parenting class type-dolls. I guess I will need to make a run to the store to get Liv a new present.
