Sunday, November 04, 2007

She actually really does it!!

Some months ago, the nanny quite proudly announced to me that Sophie could now read Chinese. I sort of dismissed it as the prattling of a dear lady who loves and adores my kid to bits, and was probably mistaken.

We went to Long Qing Gorge today with my Mom and Aunt and the windows in the car were misting up, so I idly scratched some characters onto the condensation with my finger. Sophie took a look and went "papa"...

AUGGGHHH.... It is true. She really reads. I tested various words before running out of window space (and attention span). So far, apart from "baba" she can read the Chinese characters for "mama", "horse", "car" and "soup".

I am stunned and also bursting with pride. She reads more Chinese than her dad. I am so glad that I have a good nanny, because I really do not think that I could have taught her all that myself, even if I didn't work. It just wouldn't have occured to me to do it, partly because I believe children should just be left to play and develop by themselves. But that she enjoys reading (and probably all the attention she gets from doing it!) and has so much fun that I begin to reconsider this stand, and I am extremely grateful to her ayi for it.

5 comments:

Zoya said...

Good one, Sophie!

And I'm glad that you were so lucky with your nanny.

Amber said...

Wow! That is soo amazing! Actually though, considering it is Sophie, I am not surprised. She amazed me when I knew her at only about 5 months! A very precocious and special child. You must be very proud.

Sandra said...

You've got a smartie pants there. She'll have to teach Lae to speak and read chinese when they meet. ;)

mini said...

wow that's super!! how many languages does she know now?

DC said...

What a smart girl Sophie is! A love of learning is a precious gift. Lucky Sophie! :-)