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#1
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learning to talk wrong
In one of his classic comedy sketches, Steve Martin talks about screwing up
your kids by teaching them to 'talk wrong.' He says (paraphrased from memory), "...whenever you're around your kids, talk wrong. Then on their first day of kindergarten, when they need to go to the bathroom, they'll raise their hand: 'Teacher, may I go mambo in the banana patch?' Teacher will be thinking, 'Get this kid a special test.'..." So what, you may ask, does this have to do with anything? Well... Because they are preemies, the boys have developmental assessments at regular intervals to see if they are meeting their various milestones. At their last one, when they were 14 months old, their motor skills were up to par but their communication skills (both understanding and responding) were lagging--they're at about the 10mo mark. Not a big worry, but the doctor suggested playing games with them that involved hand signs to help them associate words and concepts. One that we regularly play is a little song that involves clapping, spinning the hands, and lifting the arms up and down. Chris, in particular, likes this song and will clap and spin his hands, but he will not respond to the words 'up' and 'down' by lifting and lowering his hands. So last night, Chris was walking around the living room with a cookie in his hand, and Macula was following him hoping for a treat. I finally signalled Macula into a down, using the hand signal we have trained her with--raising my hand above my head. As soon as I did this and said down, Chris' arm went up, in a perfect imitation of me giving the 'down' command. I've taught my dog to 'down,' and at least one of my kids that 'down' is 'up.' :-} *Now* what do I do?!?! ;-) Marie Owned and Operated by Macula, Chris & Alex |
#2
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"Marie" wrote in message rs.com... ...One that we regularly play is a little song that involves clapping, spinning the hands, and lifting the arms up and down. Chris, in particular, likes this song and will clap and spin his hands, but he will not respond to the words 'up' and 'down' by lifting and lowering his hands. So last night, Chris was walking around the living room with a cookie in his hand, and Macula was following him hoping for a treat. I finally signalled Macula into a down, using the hand signal we have trained her with--raising my hand above my head. As soon as I did this and said down, Chris' arm went up, in a perfect imitation of me giving the 'down' command. I've taught my dog to 'down,' and at least one of my kids that 'down' is 'up.' :-} *Now* what do I do?!?! ;-) Oh my gosh...how funny! :-) I never did get that arm goes up to mean down thing! laugh I used a different one for Coda (sort of lowering my arm and sliding it back...like that used to lure a dog into the down position when they are first learning it). But, with Bodhi, and hoping to do competetion with him, I have been teaching myself the more standard signals for "down", "sit" & so on. I have no clue what you do from here on...I'm still trying to recondition my own thinking! :-) Shelly & The Boys |
#3
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"Marie" wrote in message rs.com... ...One that we regularly play is a little song that involves clapping, spinning the hands, and lifting the arms up and down. Chris, in particular, likes this song and will clap and spin his hands, but he will not respond to the words 'up' and 'down' by lifting and lowering his hands. So last night, Chris was walking around the living room with a cookie in his hand, and Macula was following him hoping for a treat. I finally signalled Macula into a down, using the hand signal we have trained her with--raising my hand above my head. As soon as I did this and said down, Chris' arm went up, in a perfect imitation of me giving the 'down' command. I've taught my dog to 'down,' and at least one of my kids that 'down' is 'up.' :-} *Now* what do I do?!?! ;-) Oh my gosh...how funny! :-) I never did get that arm goes up to mean down thing! laugh I used a different one for Coda (sort of lowering my arm and sliding it back...like that used to lure a dog into the down position when they are first learning it). But, with Bodhi, and hoping to do competetion with him, I have been teaching myself the more standard signals for "down", "sit" & so on. I have no clue what you do from here on...I'm still trying to recondition my own thinking! :-) Shelly & The Boys |
#4
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"Marie" wrote in message rs.com... ...One that we regularly play is a little song that involves clapping, spinning the hands, and lifting the arms up and down. Chris, in particular, likes this song and will clap and spin his hands, but he will not respond to the words 'up' and 'down' by lifting and lowering his hands. So last night, Chris was walking around the living room with a cookie in his hand, and Macula was following him hoping for a treat. I finally signalled Macula into a down, using the hand signal we have trained her with--raising my hand above my head. As soon as I did this and said down, Chris' arm went up, in a perfect imitation of me giving the 'down' command. I've taught my dog to 'down,' and at least one of my kids that 'down' is 'up.' :-} *Now* what do I do?!?! ;-) Oh my gosh...how funny! :-) I never did get that arm goes up to mean down thing! laugh I used a different one for Coda (sort of lowering my arm and sliding it back...like that used to lure a dog into the down position when they are first learning it). But, with Bodhi, and hoping to do competetion with him, I have been teaching myself the more standard signals for "down", "sit" & so on. I have no clue what you do from here on...I'm still trying to recondition my own thinking! :-) Shelly & The Boys |
#5
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"Marie" wrote in message rs.com... ...One that we regularly play is a little song that involves clapping, spinning the hands, and lifting the arms up and down. Chris, in particular, likes this song and will clap and spin his hands, but he will not respond to the words 'up' and 'down' by lifting and lowering his hands. So last night, Chris was walking around the living room with a cookie in his hand, and Macula was following him hoping for a treat. I finally signalled Macula into a down, using the hand signal we have trained her with--raising my hand above my head. As soon as I did this and said down, Chris' arm went up, in a perfect imitation of me giving the 'down' command. I've taught my dog to 'down,' and at least one of my kids that 'down' is 'up.' :-} *Now* what do I do?!?! ;-) Oh my gosh...how funny! :-) I never did get that arm goes up to mean down thing! laugh I used a different one for Coda (sort of lowering my arm and sliding it back...like that used to lure a dog into the down position when they are first learning it). But, with Bodhi, and hoping to do competetion with him, I have been teaching myself the more standard signals for "down", "sit" & so on. I have no clue what you do from here on...I'm still trying to recondition my own thinking! :-) Shelly & The Boys |
#6
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"Marie" wrote in message rs.com... ...One that we regularly play is a little song that involves clapping, spinning the hands, and lifting the arms up and down. Chris, in particular, likes this song and will clap and spin his hands, but he will not respond to the words 'up' and 'down' by lifting and lowering his hands. So last night, Chris was walking around the living room with a cookie in his hand, and Macula was following him hoping for a treat. I finally signalled Macula into a down, using the hand signal we have trained her with--raising my hand above my head. As soon as I did this and said down, Chris' arm went up, in a perfect imitation of me giving the 'down' command. I've taught my dog to 'down,' and at least one of my kids that 'down' is 'up.' :-} *Now* what do I do?!?! ;-) Oh my gosh...how funny! :-) I never did get that arm goes up to mean down thing! laugh I used a different one for Coda (sort of lowering my arm and sliding it back...like that used to lure a dog into the down position when they are first learning it). But, with Bodhi, and hoping to do competetion with him, I have been teaching myself the more standard signals for "down", "sit" & so on. I have no clue what you do from here on...I'm still trying to recondition my own thinking! :-) Shelly & The Boys |
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