Is it unusual for a 4yo......

[diaperjoys]

....to be able to quote large paragraphs verbatim from a book she has only heard once or twice? I sat down with our daughter this afternoon to read a story, and quickly found that she was "reading" it to me instead.

 

Of course it isn't unusual for a preschool child to "pretend read". However, the odd thing is that she hasn't heard this story for weeks, and even then heard it only once or twice. Large, lengthy paragraphs mostly word perfect, with much greater accuracy than I could ever achieve.

 

Anyone else find their kiddos doing this? Any other skills or strengths that tend to parallel this??

 

Thanks!

[BoZeeCo's Mom]

Yes!! I always just assumed it was because they have nice, healthy, young brains and we read to them all the time. I never thought it was unusual per se, but maybe it is?

[Tanikit]

I have no clue - my daughter could recite an entire book at 22 months old but we had read it to her endlessly (she asked for it every day for a month) At 4 she is reading by herself so I have no clue whether she is also capable of memorising lots. I think though that what you are describing is pretty unusual and must have a very good memory.

[KristenR]

My oldest started doing that when she was 3. It blew me away but I have since realize how amazing kids are at this age with memorization. Even a song- after only one hearing they can sing it back perfectly while I'm here flubbing the words 10 repeats later.

[SilverMoon]

It's pretty normal in my house. :)

[LEK]

Sounds normal around here too, both my girls started doing that as soon as they could talk well enough (about 18 months)

[CatholicMom]

I'm not sure, but my kids (especially my oldest) has done that, too. I've noticed even recently with movies that he will watch it literally once and remember a dialogue (of course with sound-effects) word for word.

[kamom]

I have a video of my son "reading" a whole book through, with the right paragraphs on the right page. I think he was three years old. Thing is he couldn't read yet and it was a library book.:001_smile:

 

He's 11 now. He does have a very good memory.

[4Kiddos]

My two oldest (4 and 2) do this. It is so cute and always surprises me. I wish my memory was that good!

[ebrindam]

It's normal for DD, but she is a sponge.

[warriormom]

My auditory learner is just like that. My visual learner...not so much.

[AdventureMoms]

My almost-4yo did that with the Lorax. We read it to her twice, then she was reading 80% or more of it to us. And it is a long book with a lot of big invented words.

 

She doesn't do it with most books though, only her favorites.

[Kathryn]

My boys both do this as well.

[lcelmer]

Mine don't...:glare:.. but they tend to be a bit behind in language skills. My last 2 talked later than most kids their age, but they seem to catch up eventually.

[LearnLaughLove]

My youngest is that way. She heard The Little Brown Seed today and told it to her grndma almost verbatim two hours later. Older DD still can't do that and she is two yearsvoldrr.

[sassenach]

Dd7 did/does this, and she is a major auditory learner. Ds9 never did this and he is a total visual learner. Once he started reading he became a random fact generator. So maybe it's connected with learning styles?

[Homemama2]

My oldest did this at an early age. The book I remember particularly was "Click, Clack Moo, Cows that Type." :lol: He had the whole thing memorized at 3ish after only hearing it 'maybe' four times. Now that he's nine, I would say he has a 'good' memory but nothing exceptional.

[Laughingmommy]

Two weeks ago, I overheard my 2.5-year-old telling a story to some dolls that was from some wordy picture book I read her sister (4) months ago. My oldest would regale us in the car on long trips with full-length renditions of movies complete with dialogue and impersonated voices ("Monsters, Inc." esp.). My second daughter said the s-poop word as one of her first words even though I was careful not to say it around her after she was a baby. She remembered it for months, and at around one, she used the word, appropriately, I might add. It was like her second word or something like that.

 

Of course, I think my kids are brilliant. I think all kids are brilliant!... compared to us dummy grown-ups! :lol:

[fraidycat]

Of course, I think my kids are brilliant. I think all kids are brilliant!... compared to us dummy grown-ups! :lol:

 

Amen!

 

I'm pretty sure my kids have memories like elephants. I don't recall them ever quoting books verbatim, but they can hear or see something once then recall it years later in great detail. I have a memory like a sieve, so my kids constantly amaze me with their memories!

[lailasmum]

I think it is not uncommon. My dd started doing this as a toddler and can still memorise large chunks of a story word for word with no effort. We went camping this weekend and she wanted to tell me a bedtime story for a change so she was telling me word for word an audiobook she has been listening to.

Edited April 10, 2012 by lailasmum

[Donna]

I have two kids who were very good at memorizing. My dd was the best. She started memorizing story books and quoting them back at 11 months. By the time she was 18 months, she had over 50 books memorized and memorized new ones after hearing only once or twice.

 

She's still an auditory learner and when she started violin at 3yo, we found that her memorization ability also extends to music. She can hear something once and months later will start to play it out of nowhere and she learns the notes of new tunes/pieces after hearing them only once or twice. It is a very useful skill. I call it the auditory equivalent of photographic memory (which I sometimes thinks she also has)

 

Forgot to add...the downside is that she also remembers everything anyone says, does, or wears and the route to anywhere she's been so I have to be careful about not saying anything I might regret later and I never argue with her if she tells me when or how something happened because she's always correct.

Edited April 10, 2012 by Donna

[Another Lynn]

Not here. :D But think about it.... aren't you more likely to get responses of people wanting to share that there kids had/have a great memory than responses like mine, owning up that they didn't/don't? :lol:

[pitterpatter]

DD can memorize most things before me. :glare:

[ssavings]

Sounds like your LO has a great auditory memory, OP. I'd certainly encourage her to continue practicing her memory, because I bet it'll serve her well in the future.