Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Four Years of English

Alright, I've been sitting on this because I wanted to write something up about Nathan since the last post was rather Jonah-centric, but if I don't write these out I'm going to forget, and then it'll never happen.

It's really interesting to see how the English language develops in children. And having two of them close enough together to remember, it's interesting to see the differences between individuals also! Jonah has definitely built his own choice vocabulary, and there are certain words and phrases he uses a lot. Some of them I know where he heard, and others I haven't a clue. Sunny and her sisters pointed out that he has started saying "Niiiice!" about things he likes, which is apparently something I say often (I never noticed). Then the other day at church, I heard him use some word (I really wish I could remember what now) that was a full five syllables! And he used it in the proper context! I have no clue where he got that one.

It is also interesting to see how his mind works at times, and how he chooses to utilize his vocabulary to express his thoughts. Most people just think of these as those cute mistakes little kids make while they're learning. But I've noticed with Jonah that in a lot of cases, it isn't that he's trying to repeat something he heard someone else say and getting wrong, he's trying to use the words he already knows to get a concept across. For instance, instead of saying (pardon the incorrect grammar) "Me and mommy are going to the store, and you too!" he'll say "Me and mommy are going to the store, and also you!". "And also you" is one I hear him use all the time.

Anyway, that's probably far more interesting to me than it is to you :) And to be clear, I'm not just talking about Jonah (even though I pull my examples there). I've heard the exact same things from other kids his age. It's just very interesting to see how they develop and build their language skills :)

Anyway, I recently wrote down a couple different Jonah Stories, if you will. Things I found rather humorous and thought I'd share :) Enjoy!

Sunday School

I recently started teaching the youngest Sunday School class. We have three students in that class: Jonah, Lauren, and Nathan. One Sunday we finished the lesson a little early, everyone went and got a drink and no one needed to use the bathroom, so I let them play with some toys until Sunday School was over (about five minutes). This was a little interaction between Lauren and Jonah that I started writing down (Nathan was busy vacuuming).

Lauren: I'm going to play with the dollies. Here, -handing one to Jonah- you hold this. You'll be the brother and I'll be the mommy.

Jonah: Wait... Are we playing house?

Lauren: Yes.

Jonah: But... I don't like House.

Lauren: Well, fine, I'll just play with... -pause, then a little sad- I'll just... -another pause, and this time begging- pleeeeaaaase?

-- Jonah just stared at her for a little while, giving this some serious thought --

Jonah: Well... okay...

-- At this point Jonah's tone and posture changed suddenly. He'd obviously realized something he overlooked before --

Jonah: Wait, I'm the... shouldn't I be the... What if I'm the daddy, and you're the mommy.

Lauren: Yeah! I already said that! Put the baby down -pointing at a crib-.

Jonah: Okay... Here, like this?

Lauren: Yes, because she's a girl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At School

After dinner tonight I asked Jonah what he had done today. I didn't actually expect to get much of an answer, but I was wrong.

Me:
So, what did you do today?

Jonah: Well, I colored. I was on the blue team today, and so was Lauren. And... another person, but I don't remember the name.

Me: Oh. Was it a boy or a girl?

Jonah: A girl. -thoughtful pause- And I played a lot with E'gar.

-- At this point I instantly thought of Men in Black, "It was like he was wearing a suit, an E'gar suit..." --

Me:
With.... Edgar?

Jonah: Yes. E'gar. He's kind of funny sometimes. He's as funny as me! One time there was a bug on him, but it wasn't a spider. It was just a little bug, with gray stripes. And its legs were little like this, so that's why it's called a little gray bug. And I was like, get on his shirt! But it didn't, and I was like...

-- I missed a couple things here when I realized, "I gotta write this down..." --

Jonah: And we were on the -very punctuated with a pause- "grass, area".

Me: Oh... Is that what they call it?

Jonah: Yes. It's the "grass, area". They call it that because it is a place with grass on it. It just has grass. It's not a lot of grass, just a bunch of grass. So because of that they call it the "grass, area". There's only one "grass, area". That's why they call it that. But you have to go through the gate to get to the "grass, area", because there's a gate. You have to go out the door, and then that way, and then through the gate to get to the "grass, area".

He went on explaining this concept and a few specifics of the "grass, area" (yes, he punctuated and emphasized it that way every time he said it...) in some greater detail, but I'm afraid I wasn't able to get those all down. Ask him about it some time, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to tell you.

7 comments:

Cheri said...

Oh Raymond....I apologize to your poor son on behalf of my incredibly bossy daughter! :-) I love that Sunday school story and the fact that it perfectly sums up their little relationship and the dynamics between them. lol!

April said...

Lol! Having conversations with Jonah is entirely entertaining. I have noticed a huge difference in his conversational skills this fall compared to last fall. The stories he tells and the things he says (Its too hot because I didn't pray!) are great examples of how he really is growing up. Thanks for sharing the stories. The "house" one was great!

Sunny said...

I'm glad you're writing it out so we can read it when we're old and have forgotten all of the cute things he's said. :)

raymond said...

@Cheri: No need to apologize, I think it's good for him :)

@Sunny: When we're old? I forget after a few days -_-

Danielle said...

Raymond I am SO glad you are writing these down! It is too funny. That boy cracks me up!! And the E'gar reminded me of Men In Black too. :)

Mommy Diffee said...

He is so darn cute!

Pajama Dren said...

Raymond--this is the funniest thing ever. And Lauren has to be the bossiest 5-year-old in my family!