Out of the Mouthes of Babes

Children can say the most amusing things. Sometimes what they say can be frustrating, amusing, or just downright hysterical! Most of the time, children have no idea what it is about what they say that adults find so funny. That in and of itself is often the cause of some laughter as children will continue to repeat the things that adults laugh at in an attempt to figure out just what we find so funny.

Every parent or teacher can think back to things the children in their care have said and remember some key phrases. My children are 11 and 8 and I can still hear each of them ask for an "ungerbar" for snack. For those of you who don't speak their language, that's a granola bar. My 3 year old neice is always looking for the "morote", otherwise known as the remote. These little snippets help to remind us our children still have a lot to learn.

In my preschool classroom, we are doing a study on Flight (you can find the activities we're using at www.creativepreschoolcurriculum.com/Flight.html). Our class consists of 17 3-5 year old children. We have only just begun our study, but the children are already amazing me with some of the vocabulary they're using. One 3 year old told his mom that "a pilot and a copilot fly planes" and that "airplanes don't have a steering wheel, they have control yokes". One of our 4 year olds picked up the term fuselage from a video we were watching. This wasn't one of the words we had intended to teach them, but it seemed to attract his attention, so we started discussing it.

We don't always enjoy the words that come out of the mouths of children. One of the most memorable milestones is when a child first learns to put sounds together to form a word. We are so amazed and excited over their ability to speak, but before long we begin to realize that we can't always control what they choose to say. They may pick up words or phrases from parents, siblings, schoolmates, or out in public.

Whether or not you enjoy what they're saying, continue to get those children talking! Language development is significantly related to children's future success in school. One book that I found particularly helpful was How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber.

Remember that time flies, this too shall pass, and they're only little once! Cherish every memory, even the ones you think you'd rather forget. Life is short, enjoy all the little moments!