Sarah has always displayed an aptitude in certain areas and I have taken a mental note of these observations but never really know what to make out of it. For one, she was very advanced in her motor skills. She was sliding on her own just shortly after she turned 1.5 years and conquering the playground soon after. She could jump with 2 feet off her ground early too. And she was doing flips and turns on her own even before she went for ballet classes. To date, I must say, she is quite an accomplished hula hooper.
Another thing that amazes me is when I drive the kids around - Sometimes, to the park, sometimes to Ahma and Ahgong's house or sometimes just around Singapore. She would be able to recognize the roads and directions to certain places and even remember the event that made us travel that route. During one time, I was in Bedok, she could point the direction in which Ikea was and said that if I turned right, I would head to Ikea. The other incident, that really astounded me was when I drove them to Punggol for the first time with them. She looked at the place and the landscape and said that if I headed in that direction, I would land up in Ikea. I was about to say "No" when I looked around and saw that she was spot on. Haha...it seems like her compass is calibrated with Ikea as "North" but she was absolutely right.
On a more 'universal' level, Sarah is very comfortable in locating Malaysia and Singapore on her Globe. She seems to know where it is - I am not sure what she uses to do it. Ever since I pointed out where Singapore is in relation to the UK and how the airplane travels between these 2 locations, she is able to trace the route almost everytime.
On a more 'universal' level, Sarah is very comfortable in locating Malaysia and Singapore on her Globe. She seems to know where it is - I am not sure what she uses to do it. Ever since I pointed out where Singapore is in relation to the UK and how the airplane travels between these 2 locations, she is able to trace the route almost everytime.
Another trait is her ability to discern between 2 D and 3 D and notice a difference in perspectives. Before she turned 3, I was reading "Topsy and Tim: Busy Builder". There was a particular page that asks children to count the hard hats, the wheelbarrows etc on the page. When we have exhausted counting everything that is countable on the page, I decided to ask her to count the ladders. There was only one ladder in sight and another one was hidden behind the house, except for a builder who was perched on it and laying tiles on the roof. Sarah was able to point to the builder and tell me that there is another ladder there. That, to me was an enlightened perspective for a 2 year old.
There are many times recently, when she noticed the use of perspectives in pictures. For example, she would ask me why the plane looks small at some instance and larger at some instances. It was the use of distance in pictures that alerted her to discrepancies in her understanding of 2D diagrams. Initially, I felt it was too premature to explain to her the use of perspectives. But after I took time to explain to her, she could understanding that it was distance from the observer that rendered an object smaller or bigger.
At the prompting of Dan [who often gives me the kick that I need], I started to search out about spatial intelligence and these inclinations of Sarah's and more so to see how I can help her to harness it to her understanding and benefit. I often eschew books and titles of the likes "How to raise gifted children" and think that pushing a child in this direction would be to his/her detriment. But for Sarah who displays these observable traits, I cannot ignore it. I thought it only responsible for me to educate myself and introduce meaningful play and activities that would harness her gifts. Some googling landed me on this introductory journal article which I found useful in understanding Spatial Intelligence for a start. It also suggest briefly some activities that would help develop this intelligence in young children. Identifying and Supporting Spatial Intelligence in Young Children. This is a good stimulus for me to continue a little exploration in this area.
Tangential thought: This naturally brought me to explore lego as well...and I am surprised at the extent of Lego. I am excited, because our big move would find ourselves near the 1st Legoland in asia. haha...that is a big clue to where we are moving:) I think if it is in operation, I will get hold of a annual pass and head there every week with the kids:)
Back to more reading.
