Can You Spell "Love"?

My son recently had his 3rd birthday. As with any young child, he just loved opening his presents from his family and friends. This year, he received a present called the “Word Hammer” by LeapFrog. Anyway, this toy magnetically sticks to the refrigerator and has slots for three letters. It kind of reminds me of a modern version of the old magnetic letters that I would play with on the refrigerator as a kid. On my son’s new toy he can put the letter “D” and then the letter “A” and then the letter “D” -- “DAD”. The toy will then identify each letter individually and then pronounce the word.

Wow! What a hit this toy has been in our house. Now my son can spell about ten two to four letter words. In the car he will point to a car and then spell out “C-A-R”. My two older kids are having fun asking their little brother how to spell different words. Just like them, my toddler now has his own "spelling words" as well. If you happen to be looking for a present over the holidays for a toddler, I would highly recommend this one.

I look back and think that my son was adopted from overseas only a little over a year ago. He spoke no English and now he is already spelling small words. He's getting really close to reading them as well. It's truly amazing. My husband says he wishes he still learned this fast!

There's lots of great three letter words -- two of my favorites are "Mom" and "Dad". I get a big smile every time I hear him spell them. He's learning words so quickly my husband and I are often thinking of what words to teach him next. There's so many choices (his brother and sister want him to learn to spell their names, too), but I think I know what word we're going to try and teach him next -- "love". To be honest, it really doesn't matter if he learns how to spell it now ... just as long as that's what he's feeling in his heart.

Robin Bartko