Melinda the Teacher

Melinda has a natural desire to teach things to people younger than herself, especially to her brothers. You already saw a short video of how she was trying to teach Alex how to use the shape sorter. You've seen her helping him stand up, and she often encourages him to walk.

Here's an instance of Melinda randomly teaching Jacob something. We were all getting ready to go out yesterday. I was putting on Alex's shoes and jacket. Melinda got her coat on, and Jacob was struggling with his. He still hasn't quite figured it out.

I look over, after getting Alex taken care of, and Melinda is showing Jacob how he can do it himself. She came up with this method all on her own - I've never seen her use it before this, either.

"Here, Jacob, you put your coat down on the ground like this, and lay down on top of it."

"Now you try!" ... "No, no, no. You have to put your arms in."

"Now the other arm, too!"

"There you go! Now your coat is on!" .... "Mommy, were you taking pictures?!"

I just love it when they work together. They can do such amazing things. And they both end up happy!