ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR TODDLERS
Difficult To Learn And Easy To Confuse Them
As I was home-schooling my son,
I began to empathize with my teachers,
Understood why on us they would pick.
Besides the stress we had put them through,
How the language itself would’ve made them tick.
English is difficult to learn,
Easy to misunderstand,
And, some say it is extremely weird.
But, challenging it is for a 4 year old,
Therefore, his questions I’ve always feared.
He argues that N-O is ‘nu’,
And S-O is ‘su’,
As I taught him that T-O is TO.
Logically he is right,
But, correct him I must DO.
I wrote for him the words
GO, GOLDEN and GOT,
But, due to the pronunciations, we fought.
He was fine with the first two,
With the third he was definitely NOT.
As I taught him the sound of double O,
He was pleased to recognize the words
GOOD, BOOK and HOOK.
But, later that night, he saw the word FLOOR
And, away his confidence it TOOK.
Then we began with plurals
And he knew that PAN is PANS,
And CAN is CANS.
But, why is the plural of MAN MEN,
Yet the plural of VAN is VANS?
All the numbers in words,
Intentionally I didn’t teach him,
Except SIX, SEVEN, NINE and TEN.
Last month I taught him WIN and WON,
So, ONE would completely confuse him then.
As per his understanding,
He wrote a message that made me smile,
With his innocent point of view.
Surely you will love it
As his message was – I LOVE OLOFU.
As mentioned, this poem was inspired by my little man who asks a lot of questions now. I realized how confused he was with the spellings of certain words, though we speak only English at home. So, I want to say HATS OFF to the English teachers and home-schooling parents around the country, as well as the little ones trying to make sense of this funny language at such a young age. Keep it up! English language for toddlers can be hard.
Let me know what you thought of this simple poem filled with some not-so-tough words thoroughly taught to our toddlers though some of the spellings and pronunciations have no logic.
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71 Comments
I do agree with you English as a language could be tricky for the kids. But with regular exposure to the language, that helps a lot. Even we have introduced English to our son when he was 1.5yrs old and gradually he started to pick up. Loved the beautiful words in this poem and the questions of the little man’s inquisitive brain.
Thanks Rakhi. I only know English so they are hearing it since they were in my womb. Hahaha!
Really enjoyed reading the poem, and of course you caught the essence of English language! Sometimes I wonder how we managed to learn all the different pronunciations and spellings!
Hahahhaa, yeah, Sakshi, I was wondering too while he was asking me those questions…
This is such a relatable poem. Every mother would have this teaching experience, which used to make me wonder why English is so weird.
Yeah, hahaha!
Motherhood always becomes a little more challenging if you have a curious kid. My son too is one like that and I have to be ready with answers to all his queries. :p learning English too is fun with these kids
Hahaha! Yeah, we realize some things only after becoming parents. Thanks for stopping by!
yes English is tricky language and for little kids, many words and their pronunciation may cause many confusion. loved the way, you have expressed this situation so beautifully with this poem.
Thanks, Surbhi.
Completely relate too this. I homeschooled my 4 year old and now he is ready for his Kindergarten. Hats off to the teachers who handle not just one kid but multiple kids with different personalities and learning curves.
True, Alpana!
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Haha how sweet Cindy! Fortunately, I haven’t faced this problem because my son’s school follows a UK methodology called RWI – they are taught through a sound-based system that is even more specific than the phonetics system. Basically, I have had to relearn my alphabet to teach him but at least he’s understanding and learning the language without too many questions… hahahaa!
Oh that is awesome!
Asking questions are in fact a good thing if you are not understanding something totally, this poem is really nice.
As a toddler mom I can completely relate with this. Very well written
Adorable and so aptly expressed!! A simple’Wow’ for so many of us will relate to this in as many different roles…. I do
It as a teacher, as a kindergarten curriculum designer and even as a mom.
Thumbs up!!
Thanks Anjali!
What an amazing poem, Cindy. Its takes much more to write a poetic blog so i am super thankful to have come across this piece of art from you
Thanks Arti!
Im in the same phase Cindy. My daughter is exactly doing the same here
Hahaha! You feel the poem then!
Lovely poem that cured my grumpy mood today. Your poem reminded me of sweet days when Shrav was around 2.5 years old and he used to ask lots of questions like this.
Awww! Hope all is well!
I enjoyed each and every word of the poem… And it’s relatable to every child….
Lovely poem Cindy. I can totally relate to this. Toddlers and their never-ending questions.
Thanks Abha!
Aww, cute, curious mind. I stand by with your son Cindy; after French, English is the most confusing language. Loved the way you have penned down the session of Homeschooling by mom and son. Undoubtedly, all the teachers deserve a huge round of applause.
I love the fun poem, Cindy! I bet a lot of Mom’s found themselves nodding their heads at you speaking their minds!
Thanks Mayuri!
You caught the right state of my mind, my little one is also learning to read and is at level 1 reader, we go crazy at times. Your poem is true to all the scenarios in teaching English.
Hahaha how old?
5 years and now a days kids catch the accent from the videos, it is altogether funny and cute
So true MeenalSonal!
Hahaha… enjoyed every bit of the poem. I remember how difficult was it to teach spellings to my sons;)
English is a weird language!
* The poem reminded me of the Bollywood movie ‘Chupke Chupke’ where Dharmendra asks the same questions 😜 #checkout
Is it? I have to check that out.
This is such a cute poem. You cannot escape the kids and their cute questions. I am sure you had quite a time with the answers. My friend who taught young kids often shared the darndest things they come up with. We had a nice laugh but I am sure she would have been quite hassled at the time.
Yeah they are cute with their WHY questions all day!!!
Loved the interpretation…I can already feel it when I am trying to teach him and similar sounding words having different meanings, he gets confused and I am at loss for words
Awwww…. all the best!
Wow Cindy, such a sweet poem… True that English can be confusing at times and really hats off to the Teachers who makes a lot of efforts to teach our children in an easy and effective way.
Thanks Smita!
I am phonics teacher and I can completely understand what you are saying. I get these questions everyday from parents as. Well as students. One doesn’t realise but like other subjects there are a lot of spelling rules in English Language too! Loved reading your poem and the message at the of the poem by your son is very adorable
Thanks Simrit!
Fantastic poem! I can imagine how difficult it must have been for you to teach your 4 year old and how difficult it is to answer these questions. Seriously hats off to all the teachers out there.
Thanks Shail!
Such a cute poem. English is a funny language. Wait till he gets to the silent letters. Hats off to the preschool and primary school teachers. Teaching young children is much more difficult.
Really Madhu. Thanks.
It is hard, it is confusing for the little humans and you have put it so well, Cindy! I enjoyed reading your poem 🙂
Thanks Priyanka!
As I read this, I can clearly imagine the argument along with the accompanying expressions! Cute poem.
Hahahha, I’m sure you can!
Such a cute poem must say. It is described in a great way how we all somehow confused with English words and pronunciation. Loved the poem
Thanks Pamela!
You have penned the exact thoughts of beginning readers… We tell them English is a funny language but they do not even get that and get confused with every word thrown their way.
True Seema. Thanks for reading.
Yes, English is somehow a weird language, regarding pronunciation, tense, spelling etc etc. And it’s really difficult to answer all their questions. As an English teacher I also have to face such situations. Anyway I love your sweet poem.
Thank you Shreemayee
I agree English is a funny language and I remember my kids asking the same question and I used to find it so difficult answering them. Loved your take with a simple yet interesting poerty.
Thanks Swati
Wow Cindy! That’s a cute poem indeed! I was smiling all along while reading it and I was wondering to know how he innocently got confused with the words! I could even imagine you teaching him English and literally juggling! I so loved reading the post. And yes, a salute to our English teachers. A big thanks to them all.
Thanks Swarnali
Your words are awesome, the poem is wonderful. I used to be an educator once. So I understand how it is like. However, I loved every word that you wrote!
Thanks Monidipa
Cindy you are super talented. I love how you have written this.All very relatable and totally great when it comes to teaching kids English.
Thank you, Amrita!
What an amazing poem, Cindy. I can imagine your son asking those valid questions 🙂 I adore them when they do all that questioning. Even I wonder why PUT is PUT and BUt is BUT. My son used to call his teacher “Saar” and when I used to correct him he used to say ” No mom it is Saar only.
Thanks Harjeet. Hahaha! yeah I can imagine.
This poem is awesome!!! Your son is so smart to ask all these questions 😊…i bet our teachers just made us rote learn, glad the way we teach is now changing and kids want to know the logic of everthing…
Yeah I was always the one asking why, now my successor has arrived to take it one step ahead! Hehehe!