We have a new dinnertime routine at our house. Actually it’s more of a pre-dinnertime routine. When we get home the kids need to go in somebody’s bedroom. Then I take turns spending some time with them one-on-one while Riley cooks dinner. The other day in the car Natalie and I started talking about mother-in-law’s and father in laws. She understood pretty quickly what that meant. So tonight we continued our discussion on paper by creating a family tree.
We made it simple and went from Natalie and her siblings on the trunk up through living great-grandparents. We developed a key and labeled siblings, cousins, parents, aunts/uncles and grandparents.
I quizzed her to see if she remembered to people and relation to her at each level and was not too surprised to see that she did. Then when I reintroduced mother- and father-in-laws, I tested her ability to generalize by asking how Riley’s sisters were related to me and vice versa. She said, “Sister-in-law?” Stunned.
She picks things up so fast. I need to see my babies…. All of them,
Smartie, she is!! A great idea too, Sarah!