The Name Game

granddaughter, loves to be outside. Everything she sees is a new adventure. She is enjoying fall, taking walks in the park and around her neighborhood. I love exploring with

Bailey, seeing how excited she is to learn about the good earth as she picks up a pretty rock or spots a bird nest.

As we walk along, I use an association technique to teach her the names of things. When Bailey stops to pick up a fallen red or yellow leaf, I tell her it's fall because the leaves have fallen. Now, when she sees a leaf on the ground, she says it is fall.

When she sees a grasshopper on the grass, I tell her that grasshoppers are so named because they are usually found on the grass and they are always hopping. Now, she explains how almost everything she sees or touches got its name, and her vocabulary is growing.

Recently, while driving home with Bailey and her mom from a visit to the pumpkin patch, we took the scenic route through countryside surrounded by cotton fields. As we approached the fields of white cotton, Bailey shouted, “Look, Mimi, see the cotton ball patch?” She has mastered seeing and making connections.

BAILEY, MY 3-YEAR-OLD