Abstraction in The Slamdunk Homeschool

My wonderful 3-year-old is beginning to scare me. No, he's not a sociopath or psychopath. He's freaking smart! He's making connections that I don't expect from 9-year olds, much less 3-year-olds!

Definitions first.

Abstraction:

     The quality of dealing with ideas rather than events.

Abstract thinking:

     Abstract thinking is a level of thinking about things that is removed from the facts of the “here        and now”, and from specific examples of the things or concepts being thought about.

Here is an example of an abstract connection:

My father and I were discussing to possibility of water at the center the moon. I immediately jumped to: "That would explain why it's lopsided."

We were not discussing size or shape, but the abstract thought of size and shape came up under the theoretical discussion.

The reason why middle schoolers are so much fun is because they are just beginning the journey into abstract thought. I love seeing the connections happen for middle-schoolers. They become infinitely more interesting with this development in their ability to cogitate.

What does this have to do with a 3-year-old?

Me, zipping up my son's coat There you are, Leif. Ready to go.

Leif: I am Leif, and I am Bubby.

What I can't show you and what I am going to feebly attempt to explain was the light that went off in his head just after I said his name. It was just a split second and I would have missed it if I didn't have a habit of making eye contact with my children when I talk to them. It wasn't a recognition of name versus nickname, it was a statement of being. I am this and I am that and they are the same but they are different. I've worked through this so many times and I just can't explain it correctly except to say, trust me, this was an abstract thought.

This is just a single small example of an abstract connection my son is making. He's doing it more often now. Nearly everyday, sometimes more than once, he has a thought that he shares that is a bit beyond his developmental stage. It's a little scary, and recently he told me that he wanted me to teach him how to spell. He's doing it too, with his mouth, with his hands (ASL), and writing (with help, he isn't that developed in his fine motor skills).

He's going to be reading soon, I have a feeling he will be a reader before he is a kindergartner.

And honestly, I am scared. How am I going to keep up with him? How will I keep him interested in school when he learns so freaking fast. And how am I going to make sure Coral doesn't develop a complex about the competition that will inevitably form between her and her brother.

I'll be doing a lot of reading to prepare for Leif, and to help Coral be who she is without feel deficient because she isn't like her brother. Suggestions, anyone?

The face of my love and my fear.

The Slam Dunk Take on Courage

I'm sitting on my son's toddler bed, keeping him company as he wades through the last few minutes of his waking hours into the calm solitude of sleep. Today has been a good day for us. He's been fighting a sinus infection due to allergies and has not been the most gracious of bubbies. However, today he's managed to keep a relatively good mood on the surface. I know he's miserable, but he's been brave today. 

His courage is inspiring. He's been inspiring me and his sister since he was a brand new infant. He basically cried for the first three months of his life because he was digestively miserable and altogether too big for the package in which he found himself. At three months I bought him a walker and my dad modified it to fit his short legs. Within a week he was terrorizing his sister on wheels. He rode that thing into the ground-- buy the time he began walking at ten months the wheels were flat! When he began walking, it wasn't good enough for him-- he needed to walk with a big stick! He's been pushing himself and the limits of his packaging all his life. Today he pushed himself to be a better playmate even though he feels awful. 

My own courage does not come naturally to me. I am inherently an introvert and people often exhaust me. It takes a lot of energy for me to be a good friend, mother, wife, daughter...  I just have to work it. I have, too! I spent the better part of my 20's working past my introversion and making friends. I'm so glad I did because now, ten years later, I still have some of those amazing friends. I also have two children who often teach me as I am teaching them, and a wonderful husband who says he loves me more, not because he loves me more than I love him, but because he loves me more than anyone else on the planet.

It's taken me years of hard emotional work and building up my courage to get here today, yet my work isn't completed. My son's natural courage is a reminder to me that everyday I have to keep my own courage up and I need to push myself to be better than I am. How else will I keep up with him?