Week 3: Crackers, Pretzels, and Milk

At CEID this week, I noticed immense progression in one of the children, T. When I had first come to CEID, T, a 2-year old boy, was extremely shy and reserved. He didn’t use his words very often and his signs even less. At the snack table for the first two weeks, T would just point at food he wanted. When the teachers and I would attempt to make him use his words or signs, it resulted in whining and pointing. However, this week, T’s language skills have grown a tremendous amount. He has begun to vocalize and use his words in order to communicate. Although T has never had problems with following directions, this week, he begun to use words and signs while following directions. For example, when asked to share his train set, he said “No, I want that” when one of the other children had picked a train he wanted, and he began using the sign for train when I had shown him. This also illustrates a growth in interaction with peers. Additionally, at the snack table, T vocally asked for crackers, pretzels, and milk. If he wasn’t heard, he would either repeat his words louder or sign.

Honestly, when planning this project, I never expected to see huge growth as language learning in children often grows slowly and over a long period of time. The three months of my senior project isn’t a long period of time in the sphere of language learning. However, over the past three weeks, T, and the children around him, have grown beyond belief. Their progress has given me hope and excitement for my project and the progress to be made in the future.