Sunday, July 14, 2013

Rectangles are not squares


Every parent thinks his or her child is a super genius, but we all know this just isn't true. We can't help it. We're parents. It's our job to think our kids are the best and smartest at everything.

But I would be lying if I didn't admit that Kassidy is one super smart cookie.

Why can I be so sure?

Because only my poor daughter has ultra-perfectionist parents. Yep, even Brady is way more of a super smart perfectionist than he appeared to be in high school. He tells me that was all an act.

So when my students would gripe that I was a hard teacher, I would tell them to be glad I wasn't their Mom.

Because Kassidy, well poor Kassidy has been taught that roosters and chickens are different animals that make different sounds, that a goat and a sheep say different things, and that light green is actually different from green. And light urple is just funny.

But my absolute favorite is what her perfectionist Daddy taught her. That a rectangle is not a square, and an oval is not a circle. And to our amazement, Kassidy actually knows all this.

Amazing.

My recently turned 2-year-old counts to 10, knows most of her ABCs, knows about 50 animals and their sounds, knows at least 10 colors, points out all body parts, knows about 10 shapes and symbols, understands opposites, gives Massey commands, and picks up and sings almost any song she hears (her current favorite is a nice little tune by Mumford and Sons).

I think this genius child is the result of a game we've developed where we draw chalk shapes and symbols on the back porch of the barn, call out a shape, and have her step from one to the other, stopping also to point out color, sound or any other interesting tidbits.

I have to think that we're on to something.

Next up - rhombus.

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