As the proud owner of five teeth, Liam spends his days marching around the house, breaking things, and identifying body parts at the request of his mother. Ears, teeth, hair, belly, feet and hands are all firmly in his repertoire. Nose is tricky. Ask him to point to his nose and he shakes his head.“Incorrect,” I’ll explain. “That is no . . . N – O. I’m asking about your nose . . . N-O-S-E.”
All he hears is the word correct and he begins to clap. This inevitably leads to an alternate approach.
“Is this my nose?” I’ll ask. This time remaining very still and directing his attention to my proud fatherly beak. “No” he continues, shaking his head pleased that he hasn’t fallen for my tricks. We go back and forth a few times before he walks away, realizing that moving on is more important than understanding.
There are a lot of teaching moments that go like this and I try not to get discouraged. Every time he mistakes a tractor for an ambulance or moos like a cow when asked to quack like a duck, I tell myself that he is making jokes. Dry, bold, learning jokes.
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