Mother Goose Time Challenges Me

Some things to know about my Tot, Sweet Pea.

• She is just now 2... as in 2 weeks ago she turned two.
• She is super cautious and won't really try a lot of new things without seeing it done first.
• She hates to get her hands dirty or messy, unless food is involved... then it seems to be okay.
• She comprehends so much!  I am really astonished at what she knows.
• She loves to help and clean up.
• She loves books and reading!  Especially in someone's lap.
• She does not have a very extensive vocabulary, but I do know what she means with certain sounds and the "words" she says.

With that being said, one of the greatest parts about Mother Goose Time  (MGT), is that it challenges me!  We have only done this for 2 days my friends, TWO... and it has confronted me in 2 very specific ways.  First of all, MGT has forced me to expand the vocabulary I use with her. Secondly, it has required me to broaden the experiences we have together...regardless of whether I think she will like it or not.

Challenge 1: Vocabulary-How many different ways can I describe ___?

Sweet Pea has eaten strawberries many times before, and we have discussed how they are red, and that I used a knife to cut them.  Overall, though, she would just eat them and say "mmmm," and I would tell her that strawberries taste good and leave it at that.  However, because this was more than just breakfast- it was an intentional learning experience-I was already aware that I wanted to share lots of words to describe the strawberries.  She spun a spinner that asked us to observe the fruit using our 5 senses.  So we smelled the strawberries, or really studied how they felt (slippery, wet (I had just washed them), cold, rough on the outside). We talked about how they tasted sweet and juicy.  This one activity made me realize that I have fallen short when talking to my girl. If I want her to become a better speaker (which I do), than I have to be intentional about the vocabulary I use when talking to her.  So now that I know, I can be more proactive when we do things together.     

Challenge 2: Experiences- Try it out, or adjust it beforehand?

Sweet Pea hates getting her hands dirty, messy, gunky, sticky... you name anything other than clean, and she probably doesn't like it.  This has caused challenges when working with things like sand, dirt, contact paper, ect.  Because I know this about her, many times I will steer clear of these items and try to adjust something to make it more suitable to her liking.  This is the reason she has never played with glue.  However, today I thought we should try the glue out and see. Sweet Pea made glue puddles on wax paper and shook/poured glitter onto the puddles. Now, adding the suggested sequins into the puddles... that was where the line was drawn.  She placed her fingers in the puddle once, and fingers and hands went flying to get the glue off, and I anticipated this and was ready with a wet paper towel.  Surprisingly, she kept on playing with the glitter which made her want to make more and more glue puddles.  True girly girl there... anything that blings or has glitter is worth facing things you don't necessarily like.  Without the prompt from MGT, I honestly do not know when we would have messed with glue. By not messing with glue, she would miss out on the beauty of glitter.  So I just need to accept the challenge of putting great experiences in front of her, and not assume what she will or will not dislike.  If she hates it, that's okay.  If she loves it, that's okay, too.  But if she never experiences something I would like for her to try because I assumed she will not like it, I am not okay with that.  Of course this is also regarding a 2 year old, my friends :)

So I have to share with y'all this video my phone made without me prompting it!  Today we made cream, played with glue and glitter, and explored her little people being trapped in a block of ice outside at her water table....all in the day of the life of a toddler studying solids and liquids.