You know, I honestly never realised that EVERY SINGLE THING had more than one perspective until I became a mother.
Just yesterday, I decided that - since SJ seemed to have a grasp of the concept of same vs. different in everyday life - I would try one of the Kidzone Comparison Worksheets. This one, in particular.
I explained the instructions, pointed to the triangle at the top, and asked him to draw a line to the shape that matched it.
He promptly said, "Yes, Mommy" and drew a line from said triangle... right across to a square!
Thinking that he didn't understand the instructions, I tried again: "Could you draw the line to a shape that looks the same?"
This is where my education began...
"But Mommy! They look the same. That's a triangle and that's a square. They are shapes!"
I tried again {should have known better}... "How about if you draw the line to another shape that has the same name."
SJ looks at me like I had lost my head, points to the rectangle at the bottom of the page, and says: "Ok, Mommy... rectangle is a shape too?" I think my brain popped.
We put down the worksheet, and he did 'construction work' while I attempted to figure out how we got to this point. I still haven't figured it out.
So... to every parent who has been in this plight before, and may understand this first-time mother's confusion... HELP!!!
3 lovely comment(s):
Off the top of my head...How about printing a second sheet on colored paper, then cutting out one set of the shapes. Give him a circle and ask him to put it on another circle on the paper. If he puts it on the square, say "see how the corners stick out...?" When he finds one circle, then ask if he can find it's "friend".
I have to laugh, because it will never end! I will explain a math concept to my daughter and she will repeat it back to me in such a convoluted way that I have no idea what we started out working on!
Ann: Physically sorting shapes seems to work just fine, but I have no idea why his brain 'sees' things in collective terms when it's on paper. If there had been an animal on the page, he would have been the first to ask what it's doing there.
Is it the age for it. Does this usually happen?
I had this same problem with my child - my solution was very simple - "Go ask your mother!"
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