my little genius

A few weeks ago I posted about how Maya was working with her speech therapist on matching pictures to a picture board.  This last week I decided to take out the See and Learn Language and Reading materials that I purchased a while back.  By the way this is all free to download from their website. How cool is that!

I could make up some excuse about how busy I am or how I thought Maya was not quite ready for this activity, but I really have no excuse except my laziness.  Maya has over 100 signs, she has been working with flash cards for a long time and she loves reading/looking at books.  I know these are all parts of the foundation in learning to read.

So on Friday I took out the 50 sight/picture cards from the first word pictures, packet.  A photo of an object is on one side and the word is on the other side (IE: spoon, apple, cup, brush...etc.).  As I handed the cards to her she started to sign the word without me even saying a thing.  She automatically told me what was on the card.  This is actually one of the first activities you can to do with the cards. It was as if she knew what was coming.

Next I took out the 15 picture boards from the packet.  Quickly I placed the first board on the floor.  I handed Maya the little picture card so she could match it to one of the four photos on the board.  I have to tell you that I was so freaking impressed with my daughter.  Wow!  First off she was matching the picture card with the boards faster than I could find the next card, she did all of them and only missed two, and she even signed the word to me as I handed them to her.  

In more ways than one, this exercise blew me away.  I was so proud of her work but at the same time it made me wonder, "Do I not give her enough credit?".  Because she isn't speaking maybe I forget that Maya knows so much more than she can communicate.  She CAN understand these kind of tasks.  Just because she isn't talking doesn't mean she can't put two and two together.  I tell her everyday how she is smart...and now I have to tell myself that too.  She is capable of learning just like everyone else, she just needs it to be shown to her in a different way than most.  

Now more than ever she seems thirsty to learn and ready to try anything new.  My job is to challenge her more so she can excel.  Next we will work on the second packet, first written words.  I can't wait to start and tell you all about it.

matching action images