Duck Ponderings: Music skills get early start for "Baby Geniuses"

I am still gladly taking care of our grandchild, Gibson, four days a week while his parents teach. One of my favorite movies is "Baby Geniuses" which talks about babies crossing over and no longer being babies. Even though I look forward to that period, I am really enjoying living in baby world.

Gibson really likes music activities. While listening to songs, he sits on the floor and plays a piano with both hands and occasionally stands up using the top of it as a drum. I'm convinced he is putting together some type of sophisticated composition as is determined by researchers with high technology in the movie. At seven months, he was snapping two fingers on both hands to music. At eight months, he started clapping to it.

When producing "The Child-Start Smilin'" with Hope fifth graders, I never thought about my grandchild listening to the songs on Spotify and tuned in to my then young daughters singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and students quacking on the “Class Signature.” And, I never thought about the honor of saying the vows I wrote for “My Child, My Vows To You” to him.

Art class has been slower in determining his skills. I have to be careful with whatever art instrument I put in his hands because Gibson seems to have a preference for chewing on it as opposed to using it on material provided. A special order of age-appropriate art supplies recently arrived, and I am sure his abstract drawings will soon rival the best of baby artwork.

With both parents loving sports, I decided we needed to work on passing balls back and forth. He quickly picked the skill up. In time, Gibson gets distracted and will chew on the ball or throw it another direction. He can reach the edge of his play pen while standing and enjoys dunking balls into it as I hold them on the edge. Then, he gets on his knees to look at their new position.

The most fun we have is when I open up the gate to his restricted area, an area that continues to expand, and we both go on a crawling adventure for our physical education activity. I look at him; he looks at me; we laugh and travel all over the house with me scanning the floor for the smallest of items he will place in his mouth. Unlike Gibson, I wear out. Undoubtedly, his Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex is being well-developed, a reflex of importance according to child development professionals.

Oh, I can't possibly express how much I have personally enjoyed in some ways crossing from adult world back over to baby world. Unlike in the movie, I have not figured out what Gibson is saying. Very early at the age of one month, I was wondering how we could communicate and stuck my tongue out. Well, he did the same. I chose not to continue this exercise thinking it might get him as well as me in trouble. Thus, we have advanced to somewhat more acceptable mouth movements and sounds.

Every day, we work on letters, numbers (even negative due to his dad being a math teacher), long vowel sounds, important small words, signing, some Spanish, and reading books. Of course, like in the movie, he caught the attention of all when saying da and mama. Even though we practice saying "Gib" and "papa" every day, I have yet to hear these words. Of course, a big celebration will follow his first "papa."

When giving Gibson his bottle, I enjoy holding his fingers and hand. His fingers will not even wrap around one of my fingers, and his hand does not even cover my palm. It is hard to describe the experience, one that makes me think about taking the hand of my two daughters when babies years ago.

Gibson resists naps because he likes learning every minute. As I sing “If I Had A Hammer,” we both eventually fall asleep. One day soon, he will wake up and no longer be a baby. I look forward to being there for the next stage too! (Who knows? He might even write a powerful song or two.)