A Slow Process

We can’t feel ourselves growing, but we know we have grown. Growing is a slow process; other people notice it before we do. The same goes for learning. It’s slow, and other people (like teachers) see what we’ve learned.

There are ways to tell we’ve learned things. Can you use a knife and fork? Of course, you can, but there was a time when you couldn’t. You learned how to use them.

Others noticed you using them before you realised you were doing it. You didn’t feel your brain learning, but it learned. And you’ll likely never forget how to cut food and bring it to your mouth without using your fingers.

Talking with people is something we do without thinking. (We may have to think it through first, especially if we need to say something important.)

We worked out how to speak, usually from our parents, and once we did, there was no stopping us. Even if you can’t talk, you communicate in different ways. Have you ever watched someone on TV give a speech? Often, a dude in the background does sign language for deaf people.

It took a couple of years for our brains to learn how to speak. That’s slow!

Fun Fact #1: When you began school, your brain knew how to use 2 600 words. You could say them and use them correctly.

Fun Fact #2: At the same age, you could understand (drum roll, please) 20 000. That’s twenty thousand. You knew what people were talking about, even if you’d never heard that word until that moment!