Before afternoon sleep I let Teona choose a book from her library to read to her. This time I used a mediator, Peppa pig.

She chose Pinocchio.

Peppa: Why did you chose Pinocchio?

Teona: Because I like when Pinocchio becames a real boy. He is not from wood anymore. He is real!

P: What book do you think your mommy would have chosen?

T: The Beauty and the Beast.

P: Why do you think so?

T: Because it is a beautiful story about a princess.

P: I have heard about some donkeys in this story about Pinocchio...

T: Yes. It is a carriage with a lot of boys including Pinocchio and Jiminy standing on a wheel. They are taken to Neverland. (She makes a confusion about the place. it is about Neverland from Peter Pan and Pleasure Island from Pinocchio. Peppa could not correct her because she doesn't know the story. I did not know if I should interfere in the dialog. I did it later)

They are transformed into donkeys. Pinocchio will have a big tail and very big ears. 

P: I don't know the story. What happend before?

T: Pinocchio met two cats Gideon and John and they brought him to Coachman, so that he could not find his way back home.

P: What happened after Pinocchio become a donkey?

T: He got away and went to save his father from the Monstro's belly.

Teona is getting bored but Peppa insists in asking her because she had never heard about this story and it will make her happy to hear it from her. She promised to ask three questions more.

P: Can you describe Pinocchio?

T: (looking at one picture from the book) It has a big nose now, because he lied. He has a hat with a feather, blue eyes like mine, a blue bow on his T-shirt, white gloves and he is made from wood. He also had an apple and a book from Geppetto when he went to school.

P: What character would you remove from the book and why?

T: The coachman. He is bad, transforms the kids into donkeys and take them to Neverland (again the confusion)

P: Who is your favorite character?

T: Blue Fairy. She has a magic wand and transforms toys into people. She is Jiminy's friend.

After a few minutes she felt asleep. No time for reading... I did it later.

While reading I asked her about the confusion... She remembered. Also I told her that I heard when she was saying to Peppa that she doen not like the Coachman. I asked her: What can the Coachman do for her to like him?

T: Love the children.

Me: What is your favorite scene from this story.

T: (I am sure that she asociated with the noun scene) The one in which Pinocchio dances on the scene with the dancers. He sings and everyone is having fun.

Me: What about the cover? Do you like the cover of this book?

T: I would put a bigger image of Blue Fairy, bigger than Pinocchio. (She likes more Blue Fairy)

Me: What about the pictures. What if it had no picture?

T: It would not be so beautiful.

Me: What's your favorite cover from the Disney collection books? (Each book has on the back the covers of the others books from collection)

T: The Aristocats. It has funny.

Me: How do you think the story continues?

T: I don't know.

I insist, she gaves me the same reply for 3 times.

Me: Do you think is a big man now?

T: I guess. I don't know. Maybe he is in Neverland with Peter Pan.

18 juli 2013, 06:02
 
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Thank you for clarification, Simona. Yes, sorry, I meant Romanian.
I like Alexander's comments and suggestions, I think they show a potential for improvement. I also think that you are doing a great job, Simona. You give a task a try, and you drop it when your child start losing her motivation and then you make a conclusion for yourself what worked and what was not quite successful so next time you change it. So I would read both mine and all other comments as a selection of possible solutions to try when you yourself see they fit:)
I am also glad to hear you started using the mediator. Do tell us more about your experience.

I also wanted to draw your attention to the fact that Peppa sounded very much like the teacher at times asking the questions to Teona. Why wouldn't Peppa ask follow up questions on the basis of what Teona says. For example, when Teona says she would put a bigger image of the fairy, Peppa could have asked about the reasons and then inquire if everyone was going to like it. Or another toy could have joined at that moment and disagree with Teona saying, for example, that it's a story about Pinocchio and therefore he should be the biggest, etc. Please also note that some of the questions were rather factural (eg when you asked Teona what happened, etc.). This is not necessarily bad and we do ask for specific information but I just wanted to emphasize the difference between open questions and the ones where specific answer is expected.
When I told her that I have some questions to ask about her discussion with Peppa, the mediator, she said she don't want to hear Peppa's questions anymore. Peppa insisted, she almost started to cry, just to get answers from Teona. I don't know if what Peppa (ME) did was ok!
Peppa was speaking in Romanian. Teona knows only a few words in English. She can not make sentences. We will work on this soon.
Glad to read you started using the mediator! Do you think it helped you to keep Teona's attention when she got slightly bored but the mediator insisted she replies?
I also have one question - was the mediator 'speaking' Bulgarian or English?