I am having so much fun with my son these days as he's growing up so much. Even though I am very exhausted with the house move and packing and stuff, just seeing my son there keeps me happy and full of energy again!!
Not sure if it's normal or not, but my son can do the following things which I'm so amazed!!
1. Count 1 to 100 in Mandarin and English
==> I basically choose a number randomly and then he can tell me what number that is in both languages.
2. Read most of the words which I have showed him before in books or flash cards
3. Know January to December in both English and Mandarin
==> again, he can just pronounce every word and also put January to December in order.
4. Memorize telephone number of my in-laws and and call them by himself
==> he saw the phone beside me the other day and then he picked it up, pressed the numbers and then voila! My in laws answered the phone and my son said to my father-in-law.."Hello, how are you today?" I'm so shocked coz I didn't know he memorized the phone number already as we just told him the phone number twice before!
5. Put back the toys to their original places after playing with them
6. Get a cloth to wipe the table when it is wet
==> he does this automatically....maybe it's because of the Montessori training at school. I'm so pleased!!
7. Sing songs which he has heard before in his classes
==> he actually memorized the lyrics and was singing (although his voice was "monotone")...but....totally cute when hearing him "sing"!
8. Write simple Chinese characters like 1, 2, 3 (一，二， 三， 天王，月 etc).
9. Identify basic colors and shapes
==> he is very fast to finish all sorts of shape sorters with different sizes (he recently finished 4 different blocks of Montessori sorters within 10 minutes (including different heights and size of cylinders all by himself without help.)
10. Know all his alphabets from A to Z in both English and French
==> I didn't know he knows the alphabets in French coz I only taught him 3 or 4 times a long time ago....recently he spit out all the alphabets in French and I am shocked once again!!
==> he can even type out the alphabets in order using the laptop keyboard and notepad application. And memorize some of the simple Chinese pinyin I taught him and type Chinese on the computer.
11. Know how to "instruct" people to do things for him with simple words
12. Pronounce the words that we are saying and actually remembering them (even if the word is 3 or more syllables like "container", "hippopotamus", "parallelogram")
13. Please mommy
==> sometimes, when I dress up, he will say "Mommy sexy"...LOL!!
==> there were a couple of times when I wear my shoes he said "nice shoes"!! It made my day! Hahahahah!
I'm truly amazed on what a toddler can do. It's the age of exploration. The age where they start to reason and think. My son gives me so much joy because I learn something new everyday. Kids are really a blessing to all of us parents, even though they drain out all our energies! LOL!! But in the end, it's all worth it!
your son is super smart! his IQ is definitely way higher than average.
ReplyDeleteyes i totally agree, it is a blessing to have smart and gorgeous kids in our life.
Oh, my! You've got a multi-lingual genius in your hands!
ReplyDeleteWow, Mia: you must have many tutors for your Max. (Is that his name? Sorry, if I remember it wrong) :P
ReplyDeleteYour son is very smart and you are very lucky!! One of my friend will take her son for IQ test as he is way advance for a 4 yr. old kid. Nowadays, I must say all kids are smarter than our generation as they have way much better environment, education and everything.
Montessori method is designed to help children with their task of inner construction as they grow from childhood to maturity. Your toodler's spontaneous response to simple tasks of drying a wet table and putting away his toys impresses me. Specially in HK when domestic helpers are as convenient as they are affordable. Your son has demonstrated his fully comprehension of responsibility. Kudo to the Montessori system and his mommy who reinforces good behavior.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the GOYARD St Louis tote while you are in Paris! I once met a beautiful Asian lady with a yellow Goyard tote in Soho NY. So Chic and so understate.
Hermes Birkin in Etoupe = seasonless.
Hi Julia! How have you been? Haha..I don't know if Mason's IQ is way above average. I think I need to ask some professionals to do the IQ test or something in the future. But I only hope that Mason is well-rounded and happy. Sometimes I fear for having really high IQs coz these people are way too advanced for their age and they tend to miss out the really sweet things about their actual age. Like if you study college when you're only 13 yrs. old...you will be missing out all the fun things a 13-yr-old is suppose to do. I just want Mason to be happy.....:D I am not the type of mom who will force him to study...hehe. I think I am very happy if he is self-initiated. The only way to learn is if you always manage to keep yourself interested in learning. So, that is the only thing I hope for in Mason and I hope that me and my husband will give him the inspiration. We'll try our best :P
ReplyDeleteHi True*F!! Hahaha....I grew up in a multi-lingual family....I think Mason got it from me. Oh well, he speaks a bit of tagalog too!! LOL! He can say "laway", "opo", "panyo", "kilikili", "puit"...Hahahhaha! It's so cute to hear him imitate my tagalog!
Hi R! Hehe....my son's name is Mason, not Max. :P I agree that kids these days are so much smarter than our time (well, my time at least as I'm older than you are...hehe). Maybe it's the milk powder and the DHAs!! And too much fish oil! Hahahaha!
Hi lovetoshare!! Very well said and thanks so much for your thoughts!! That's the true spirit of Montessori and that's why my husband and I really like the whole Montessori philosophy. I mean academics will come naturally, but the habit and personality you built up from childhood will determine who you are in the future. That's why it's so important to mould the child's personality with proper guidance between the ages of 0-6 yrs. old. :D Yes, in HK, we have so many domestic helpers here in the family (I myself have 2). But I always tell my helpers that they cannot spoil Mason at all! If he does sth. wrong, they have to scold him on the spot. Sometimes, it's so sad to see a kid who is 3 years old here and can't wear his own shoes because the helpers are still helping them when they wear their shoes! LOL! Oh....Goyard is a good tote! I've seen them around a lot here....hehe! But I think I'll get my Birkin first. My DH has sweetly told me that he will buy that for my anniversary gift...so hopefully, I can either buy it off the shelf if I see a color I like, or I'll just SO or PO it. I want a very sharp lining inside (like framboise) and contrast stitching and also leather-covered lock. Haha!! My SO dream! Wish me luck! (Etoupe is such a nice color indeed! I also like Bleu De Prusse, Vert Olive, Griolet, Gris Tourterelle and something red...I'll see if I can take a look at the color swatches of Spring 2010. Heard they have a new pink and new red coming.)
Thanks gals for stopping by! I don't think I have time to update my blog for this month coz of my travel to Paris and my house move. I'll be online now and then, so I'll post comments on your blogs when I have time. :D
Cheers,
Mia
Hello Mia...I'm so happy to see this list & I'm sure there'll be more than just 13 of them! Baby & toddler are amazingly clever & smart! With the help from parents & school (LOVE Montessori), they will learn faster & more than we thought! I'm so happy for you. Seeing what your kids can do is the best reward for mommies like us! =)
ReplyDeleteHi Mia! Gosh, I can't get over Mason. He sounds adorable, extremely intelligent and so precocious! I heard you met Wai recently! I guess you will be going to the wedding in Jan? If so, I will meet you there! Btw-- love the third coat best. Did you ever decide? And congrats on all the new loot. Can't wait to see the H! Hugs, -kai
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