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?
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| The face of my love and my fear. |
