The More You Know. ;)

(remember those little segments on Saturday mornings?) ;)

Anyway, there was a discussion yesterday on the mommy message board I read about whether or not someone's child is dyslexic because they reverse the lowercase letters "b" and "d". Seeing as pretty much ALL of us replied that our four-year-olds do the same thing, it's obviously quite normal. But one of the moms posted this wonderful article about how children learn to read and write and how their natural inclinations prepare them for these activities. It's really, really fascinating!

One of the things it talks about is how kids can't really do either until their brain has all the right connections. And to make those connections, the best thing you can do for them is well, let them be kids! Run, jump, skip, play! All of those help wire the brain to eventually let them write, read and comprehend and SIT STILL. ;)

Other than reassuring me that we're doing all the right things with Ben, it also made me love his preschool even more than I already do. As I read this, I remembered his teacher and the director last year talking about ALL these things. And that school (and other preschools like it) is an oasis of sorts in a world where we've gone to all-day kindergarten most places and we're forcing little kids (especially boys!) to sit at desks and work when they should still be playing more than sitting...