A friend of mine asked me what Eleanor, Amanda and I talk about all day. To my surprise, I was completely unable to answer her question, despite the fact that we (or at least Eleanor) talk constantly. I resolved to pay more attention the next day. What I discovered is that I should not be a writer, since I clearly have no ear for dialogue: after listening for a day and trying to remember what was said, I still had no idea what we talked about.
After listening for a few days and trying desperately to remember what was said, here is what I learned.
Amanda's conversations, frequently with herself, have to do with pretending. She'll come up to me and say "Hi Mom." "Hi Amanda." "NOOO. Hi Mom." I'll then look and she'll be waving her hands. I am convinced that her hands are her imaginary playmates---at least, they are alive to her and she has conversations with them all the time. "Oh, hi little hands." "Will you play trains with us for a little while?" At which point we make train tracks and the trains and hands wreck the tracks, the hands slide down slides, and so on. The other conversation we have been having lately goes like this: "Mom, I want some (mumble mumble)" "What do you want?" (Louder and more insistent) "MOM I WANT SOME (mumble mumble)" "WHAT?" (screaming, but in a way that I can't make out) "SOME MUMBLE MUMBLE!" "Can you point?" We do eventually figure out what she wants.
Eleanor's conversations have mostly to do with what she wants to do (make recipes, watch tv, read a book) and what goes on in class. She can recite all her classmates' first names---in alphabetical order. There are many dramas going on about girls who want to join her "group", who she is sitting next to in rest and read, who was door holder, who was bossy or "lied" (we're trying to work this out right now. If you think lying is an easy concept to understand, try explaining it to a 5 year old!) Sometimes she tells me the tragic story of herself as a purple kitty: her mother and all the other purple kitties died when she was little, and then she found our family! She was telling me of one story that was so long, she had to dream it in two nights...
Then there are the mom-led conversations. "Amanda, sit down at the table please." "Girls, you'll we need to leave in a minute." "Please stop tormenting your brother." "It's time to pick up some toys." "Let's go put away some laundry!"
Not terribly deep, but mostly fun.
After listening for a few days and trying desperately to remember what was said, here is what I learned.
Amanda's conversations, frequently with herself, have to do with pretending. She'll come up to me and say "Hi Mom." "Hi Amanda." "NOOO. Hi Mom." I'll then look and she'll be waving her hands. I am convinced that her hands are her imaginary playmates---at least, they are alive to her and she has conversations with them all the time. "Oh, hi little hands." "Will you play trains with us for a little while?" At which point we make train tracks and the trains and hands wreck the tracks, the hands slide down slides, and so on. The other conversation we have been having lately goes like this: "Mom, I want some (mumble mumble)" "What do you want?" (Louder and more insistent) "MOM I WANT SOME (mumble mumble)" "WHAT?" (screaming, but in a way that I can't make out) "SOME MUMBLE MUMBLE!" "Can you point?" We do eventually figure out what she wants.
Eleanor's conversations have mostly to do with what she wants to do (make recipes, watch tv, read a book) and what goes on in class. She can recite all her classmates' first names---in alphabetical order. There are many dramas going on about girls who want to join her "group", who she is sitting next to in rest and read, who was door holder, who was bossy or "lied" (we're trying to work this out right now. If you think lying is an easy concept to understand, try explaining it to a 5 year old!) Sometimes she tells me the tragic story of herself as a purple kitty: her mother and all the other purple kitties died when she was little, and then she found our family! She was telling me of one story that was so long, she had to dream it in two nights...
Then there are the mom-led conversations. "Amanda, sit down at the table please." "Girls, you'll we need to leave in a minute." "Please stop tormenting your brother." "It's time to pick up some toys." "Let's go put away some laundry!"
Not terribly deep, but mostly fun.
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