"Thirty Million More Words by Age Three"

The Early Catastrophe says so! ... Thirty million more words by age 3!... And so it goes. According to this new ground-breaking study, a child raised in a high income household will know 30 million more words than his 'cousin', raised in a household with low income. ... Seven years later, to the astonishment of its authors, the initial results of this research still had a resounding effect on academic performance. ... Let us look further.

As we scramble to buy the latest toys, gadgets and enrichment programs for our children, dare we stop to ask why? Authors of this 2 1/2 year study have brought us back to our senses. A stimulating language rich environment is the key to the learning kingdom! We have the power to produce an Einstein, Edison, or Mike Holmes and change the game of learning for our children. 

The greatest computer in the world is the brain - not the latest techno wonder with its ever-changing dynamics and high costs. Those are simply tools, its supporting staff. ... With the brain, everyday is a new program originating from the trillions of neurons, cells that impact memory, learning, processing, attention and thinking. We have jurisdictional power to alter our child's learning journey using language, creatively and playfully. “Go to your room and play” is not good enough, anymore. 

Did Albert Einstein's or Thomas Alva Edison own a computer or smartphone? The last century produced some of the greatest thinking minds in history. Today's modern world is the most technically advanced society ever. I am privileged to be a part of that. The internet gives life to the Momsey blog. It is the icing on Momsey's cake. Before the icing came the ingredients for the cake: an education, the love of music and a love of words. Momsey's favourite book is an old, well-worn dictionary, a paper book originally targeted for play by a retriever puppy, nearly forty years ago. ... I was born into a family of 'unrich' hard working people, with limited education. My parents came to Canada, from the Ukraine, for a better life in the early 1900's. The education of their children of this 'uneducated' couple was always a top priority. They had missed out. Their children would not. In The Early Catastrophe,  investigators profiled 42 Kansas families of various socio-economic backgrounds - one barometer used in the study - tabulating all words used in all circumstances with parents, one hour per month for 2 1/2 years. The dramatic results: 30 million more words in higher income households. 

Children in richer homes experienced richer language outcomes by being able to draw from higher level language exposure. By the age of three, up to 98% of the words used by the child were direct reflections of daily interactions with a parent or other primary caregiver. This observation gave new meaning to the 'imitation game'! Teaching new words, in school, were ineffective long term, compared with the daily use of these words, in dialogue, with a primary caregiver, in the home. Boosting vocabulary resources -outside the home- produced short-term gain. Effective home study programs also lay the foundation for the child's ability to process future information, increase rates of vocabulary growth and understanding of advanced high school textbooks. ... (All families, the authors wrote, showed equal love, care and attention to their children.)

When our sons were babies, simple strategies, infused with language, became my toys of choice. We were not rich. Momsey was a stay-at-home, sometimes. During diaper changing, I would play the telephone game with each boy. Mimicking the telephone of its day, the cumbersome black land-line device of the 70's and early 80's, I would 'listen' with one baby's foot while 'talking' into the other. Down time was now playtime, another magical period of engagement with baby, as I changed his diaper. It was comical relief, also, while using his feet as a forum for language, in animated fashion. Laughter drew us together as I spoke in imaginative play, in this special moment of connection. ...Then there was the mirror game, a regular feature of Momsey's 'early' parenting style. The wonders of facial expression and conversational language, came alive as both mom and baby gazed, simultaneously, into a large wall mirror, an 'ever-changing glass pictorial'. Words were  now turned into moving pictures. ... We would laugh again. Our oldest son's severely early birth was already one strike against him and his future. Creating exciting moments for him and his brothers, with language at the core of these moments, ignited the wonders of words and the power they had to connect our sons to all their learning and life goals.

By the age of 3 1/2, our oldest had demonstrated poor language skills, with a low rate of vocabulary development but a deep love of animals, people, life and a passion for Lego. Many years later, he received, what his doctors and teachers thought would never happen, a university degree. In 1994, a ground-breaking program called Yeast Dough created by momsey helped to address all aspects of academic learning of at-risk primary children. It was never about baking but higher order thinking. I was a parent volunteer at the time.

Dough was about language, cognition and the art of asking questions in this novel approach to the special education primary curriculum. I had been asked by the primary intensive language lead teacher of the school to join her class.  This 'volunteer' field study - 8 hours per month - lasted 5 years!..[ (Jan. 2013)- "Puzzle & Poem", ."Gluten Word", "My Crueller" and (Dec. 2012) - "Two Second Rule", "Carbon Dioxide"] Her students were exceptional examples of the mind at play. 

The Early Catastrophe seems to foreshadow doom and gloom for children born into low-income households, born prematurely, perhaps, already developmentally delayed and probably headed towards special education. We as, parents, have the power - like Dorothy had in, The Wizard of Oz - to alter the developmental trajectory of our children. We need only to stop, look and listen, using the tools of interactive and conversational play as the foundation for the lifelong learning of our children. Money is one strong barometer of success. ... Language is the other, a more critical element, I believe.

In Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Providence, Rhode Island, doctors, pathologists and other professionals are taking notice of The Early Catastrophe 's ground-breaking research and its implications, hoping to build upon its basic tenets, realizing that language is about life and health. Let us all remember that and pay homage to its message!

Momsey's Favourite Sayings and Quotes!

“Visionary people are visionary partly because of the very great many things they don't see". Berkeley Rice.

 "The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." Ralph Waldo Emerson (American poet)

" A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting its shoes on." Mark Twain.
“Experience is a dim lamp which only lights the one who bears it”.....Louis-Ferdinand Celine.

“Whatever the mind can conceive, it can achieve.” ...Clement Stone..
“Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.” Helen Keller.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” ...Albert Einstein.

“Aim at the sun. You may not reach it, but you will fly higher than if you never aimed at all.”...
“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” ...

“Out of challenges grow miracles.”

“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen of them.” John Steinbeck

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
“Great people are ordinary people with extraordinary amounts of determination.”

“Those who say it cannot be done shouldn't interrupt the people doing it.”
“If you cannot do something well, at least, do something.”

“What lies before us and what lies behind us are tiny compared to what lies within us.”...Emerson

"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success.” ...Henry Ford (1863-1947) U.S. Industrialist.

“However beautiful the strategy, we should occasionally look at the results.” Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) British statesman and Prime Minister.

“Great achievements are accomplished in a blessed, warm fog.” Joseph Conrad.
“You fail to learn anything when you claim to be the expert.” Aaron Hotchner, chief of the BAU, 'Criminal Minds'
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Aristotle.
“What we think, or what we know or what we believe in is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.” John Ruskin (1819-1900)

And finally: "I understand the concept of cooking and cleaning. Just not as it applies to me."

What Momsey Knows

What Momsey Knows:

Change your opinion. It might be the best thing that ever happened

Music keeps me happy, sane, smart and pain-free.

It takes two to build a strong, caring, loving relationship but only one to destroy it.

If I wanted my husband to be more like I am then there would be two people who would easily get lost in the woods, at the mall, in the restaurant, and not drive on the highways.

Making a mistake is one way to find out that being perfect can be boring. Those neurons won't misfire again.

Hating takes a lot of time, energy and planning. It is an exhausting exercise that depletes human vitality and ruins the human experience!

Raising children to the age of 18 requires $300,000 or more I have heard. I wonder how much it costs to support us during that same period of time. ...

Dogs and cats are not part of a child's to do list. It is our responsibility, divided among family members. They are not a practice exercise, to be returned, on a whim, and a new replacement brought in. Dogs and cats are not cute movable toys.

Try new foods and eat better foods. It is much easier and less costly for fixing health problems than resorting to medication, each and every time.

Listening to music is also a shared sensory experience. Let us look to the past for inspiration-Big Band, folk music, classical, too, for balance in our lives. Rock music is not the only game in town.

Dancing is an incredible way to build confidence and intellect, especially, in very young children.

Mother nature rules!

Traditional medicine and holistic medicine can and should co-exist. ... The world would be a better place and confidence in our service providers would soar. No one group can do it all.

If the shoes you want don't fit, don't buy them. Your future health is at risk.

Simplify your diet, your body and mind will thank you for it. Fermented foods are helpful aids.

Pets teach us about love, tolerance, and the need for good footwear in all kinds of weather. Their needs always supersede ours. They help define our human experience, moment by moment!

Collect your leftovers and make soup. It requires effort not talent.

Use a recipe as a guidepost. It is not rule of law.

Keep the home a place of simplicity, tranquility, humour, and love. ...  Life has a habit of turning it upside down without warning.

Music excites, calms, helps with memory, thought, keeps us moving and our bodies young.