9/9/06 // IC!Alfons and P!Al
Who: IC!Alfons and P!Al
When: 9/9/06
Rating: G
Category: Teaching
Summary: Alfons teaches P!Al how to count and some of the letters in the alphabet.
IC!Alfons: ::arrives at the park and looks around a bit before spotting a nice-looking picnic table to sit at while waiting for P!Al to arrive::
P!Al: *arrives a little later, skipping his way towards the table and sets his backpack and Dante on it* Hi, Alfons~
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Hallo there, you brought the pencils and paper?
P!Al: Of course I did! They're really cute looking, too. *opens his backpack and pulls out pink, bunny decorated paper and turtle pencils*
IC!Alfons: ::chuckles:: Very nice, ja. So did you want to start with counting, then?
P!Al: I guess. It's not hard, is it?
IC!Alfons: No, not terribly. It should not be, anyway. You said you knew how to count a little already, ja? How far is that?
P!Al: Um... *stares at his fingers for a moment and holds a few up* Three?
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Alright then. Do you know how to write the first three numbers?
P!Al: ...I think so? *takes a pencil and produces three shaky numbers*
IC!Alfons: Ah, very good. So I know you know some numbers that are larger than three, clearly, like your age and other things. Do you just not know which order they ought to go in, then? Or do you not know the words for them?
P!Al: I know how to say some of them, but I don't know how to put them in order and stuff.
IC!Alfons: Alright. Well, the one that comes after three is four. Do you know how to draw that number?
P!Al: *blinks and thinks for a moment* ...Nope.
IC!Alfons: Okay. I think what I will do is write down the next few in the series, and then we can practice saying them. ::behind Al's first three, draws 4 5 6 on the paper:: These are four, five, and six, and they go in this order.
P!Al: *studies the numbers* Do they have to go in that order?
IC!Alfons: If you are counting by starting with the smallest and getting bigger, then they do, ja.
P!Al: That's weird... Cause I think it'd look better if six were after three.
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: I am sorry to say that is not how it works. Alright, can you try saying the numbers we have written here, then, in order?
P!Al: That sucks. And yeah, I guess so... Um, one, two, three, four... *stares at five for a few seconds before giving up* ...something, six.
IC!Alfons: Very good. The "something" is five. Would you say them again?
P!Al: *pouts* Do I have to?
IC!Alfons: It will help you remember them if you do.
P!Al: Fine. One, two, three, four, five, six! There, done.
IC!Alfons: Wonderful. ::smiles and nods, then writes 7 8 9 10 on the paper:: Do you recognize any of these?
P!Al: I think the last one is ten...
IC!Alfons: Ja, it is, excellent. ::grins:: These other three are seven, eight, and nine. Try saying those, bitte?
P!Al: Seven, eight, nine, ten! There aren't any more numbers, are there?
IC!Alfons: There are, but they are combinations of these first numbers. Ten is like a one and a zero, ja? So the number after that is eleven, written like this: ::draws 11:: And so they keep going in order like that, with the next being twelve. ::draws 12:: Does that make sense?
P!Al: Yeah, but that's kind of stupid. Why don't they just make up new numbers?
IC!Alfons: Because then you would have to memorize lots and lots of new numbers. But if you do it this way, it is easy to remember what order they go in, see?
P!Al: I guess so... It makes the numbers look really boring, though.
IC!Alfons: Well, I guess numbers are not meant to look exciting, so much as they are meant to be useful. Here- ::hands him the paper and pencil:: Under this row of one through ten, write another row of the same so you can practice writing them.
P!Al: They should look exciting and be useful! *frowns as he takes them* I don't like writing numbers, though...
IC!Alfons: ::shrugs:: You are the one who wanted to learn, Alphonse. The best way to learn is to practice.
P!Al: I don't see how writing numbers is gonna help me learn... *reluctantly starts writing the numbers*
IC!Alfons: It will help you remember them better, which is important in learning them. ::smiles and watches:: There, very good.
P!Al: Okay, fine, but what am I gonna use numbers for? *finishes and glances over his badly written numbers*
IC!Alfons: All kinds of things. If you can read them, you can know how much things cost, so that you know how much to pay when you want to buy a cute skirt. That way, people cannot take more money from you than they are supposed to get, so you save more money to spend on other clothes.
P!Al: ...Wait, does that mean I've been paying more than I should have for clothes?
IC!Alfons: It is possible, I do not know. But if you can read the numbers, you can know for sure.
P!Al: ...I need to learn more numbers. Like, now.
IC!Alfons: ::grins:: There we go.
IC!Alfons: See how important it is to know numbers?
P!Al: Uh, yeah. I could buy tons of new clothes~
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Alright. So you saw how I wrote eleven and twelve, right? How the numbers keep getting bigger on the right side? See if you can write a few more like that, and then I will tell you what they are called.
P!Al: The right side? So I only change that number, right?
IC!Alfons: Ja, you only change that number, until you cannot make it bigger. Because once it reaches nine, it cannot get bigger, right? Nine is the highest number that is only made of one number. I hope that makes sense.
P!Al: It kind of does... *writes thirteen through nineteen* Now what?
IC!Alfons: Alright, now let me tell you what these are called. ::names them off:: Can you repeat back to me all of the names of the numbers we have here that are larger than ten?
P!Al: I can try. *repeats the names, hesitating on a couple of them*
IC!Alfons: Very good. I know it can be tedious trying to remember all of them, but it is important. Now, say all of the numbers from one to nineteen, in order?
P!Al: ...I don't think I can do that.
IC!Alfons: Alright, then how about one through ten, do you remember those?
P!Al: *nods* Yeah! *counts from one to ten*
IC!Alfons: Very good, now you just did eleven through nineteen a bit ago, and so if you can do one through ten, and eleven through nineteen, then you can say all of them from one to nineteen. I think you should try, and if you get stuck, ask me for help, alright?
P!Al: ...Fine. *stares at the numbers and their order on the paper for a few seconds before counting*
IC!Alfons: ::smiles and waits for him to finish:: See, that was not too bad.
P!Al: Was too! There's too many numbers.
IC!Alfons: I know, I know. This is a lot to learn in one day. Would you like to take a break from numbers and try letters?
P!Al: That depends. Are letters harder to learn?
IC!Alfons: Mm, they are different. But there are only twenty-six of them, and they are all different, unlike the numbers that have that repeating pattern. We can do a couple today if you like. We certainly do not have to do all twenty-six.
P!Al: Good, cause that sounds like a lot of letters!
IC!Alfons: It is more than the numbers we did today, it is true. Do you know any letters?
P!Al: I know the ones in my name~
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Well, that is quite a few already. Would you write your name for me?
P!Al: Hehe, sure. I'll even write Mr. Pokeylope's name! *happily writes the two names*
IC!Alfons: ::grins:: Alphonse, you already know nearly half of the alphabet, did you realize? Those two names make up twelve different letters.
P!Al: ...I do? I can write other names and stuff, too, you know!
IC!Alfons: Can you? Let me see, then. ::smiles::
P!Al: Okay~ *thinks for a second before writing down Dante, mommy, and Sparky*
IC!Alfons: And now we are at fourteen, which is over half. Very good. ::smiles::
IC!Alfons: Do you know what each of these letters is called, on its own?
P!Al: ...Not really. I just know how to say the words.
IC!Alfons: Alright. That is fine. Let us take a look at the alphabet, then. Letters have an order, too, like numbers. But with letters, the order is only there to help you remember them, really, as obviously there are not letters that have some sort of greater value than others. ::writes down a b c d e:: So here are the first five. ::reads them out loud::
P!Al: ...Are you sure there's no letters with greater value than others? 'Cause maybe the ones near the front are better than the rest!
IC!Alfons: No, I do not think so. In my world, the arrangement of the letters has something to do with their order in Greek, and that is related to numbers in a way, but you do not need to know about that, and I am not sure why, or actually, if, the letters are in the same arrangement. Really, though, I think you will be alright if you do not remember the order of the letters.
P!Al: ...Oh, that sucks. Cause the first letter is in my name and everything.
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Well, in a way, since a is the first letter, I suppose it is special, even if it is not somehow of a greater value in a literal sense.
P!Al: Hee, that's what I thought~ A is the best letter ever!
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: It certainly is a very good letter, I will agree.. Alright, so anyway, the letters that I have written here that you did not have written before - b and c - are also letters you could remember, because b is the first letter in "butterfly," and c is the first letter in "clothes." If that helps at all, I do not know.
P!Al: ...They are? That is so cool! And they're close to the beginning of the alphabet~
IC!Alfons: Ja, they are. ::smiles:: So then d is for Dante, and e... hm, can you think of a good word that starts with e?
P!Al: Um... *stares at e, deep in thought* I think it looks like the letter in... ear?
IC!Alfons: Ja, exactly right. ::smiles:: Nice work!
P!Al: Hee~ It's also in earring, right~?
IC!Alfons: It certainly is, very good. Alright, let me see here. ::writes f through j:: So here are the next couple letters. ::names them off:: Let us try and think of words that start with these letters, too. Any ideas?
P!Al: Oh! I know! Friend starts with that letter! *points to f*
IC!Alfons: It certainly does. And so does Fabio. ::smiles:: And for g, that is the first letter of Gluttony's name.
P!Al: G's an awesome letter, then. I don't know one for the next letter...
IC!Alfons: Hm, well, that is the first letter of my last name, but that is a bit difficult to remember for you, I bet. ::chuckles:: Let me see.. well, it is also the first letter in "happy"...
P!Al: It is? Wish I thought of that... I think I know the next one. Icky!
IC!Alfons: ::grins:: That works. And j... Hm, that is a bit more difficult to think of a word to start it with. How about "jump"?
P!Al: And jacks! Jacks are fun to play with.
IC!Alfons: There you go, very good. ::smiles:: Alright, I think that might be enough for you to try and work on this week, do you agree? I think over the next week you should practice writing the letters and numbers, and you can try and come up with more words, too. I know you can write well enough to be understood a lot of the time, like when you wrote that pamphlet on the Divine Turtle. So think of more things to spell, alright?
P!Al: I can do that~ Writing is fun! Unlike numbers. ...Can I just ignore the numbers and work on writing things?
IC!Alfons: I thought you wanted to learn numbers, so you could buy things? Also, that way you would know how much money you make when you get paid.
P!Al: I know, but letters are a lot more fun!
IC!Alfons: Alright, well, I would like you to practice the numbers at least a little, so that you remember how to say all of these ones here when we meet again next week. But you are welcome to practice writing all you like.
P!Al: I guess I can say the numbers a few times, but I might not write them! 'Cause I'll be too busy writing letters~
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Alright, alright. Both are important, so that is fine. But we will work on more numbers next time, you know. We cannot just ignore them completely.
P!Al: ...Can we learn the rest of the letters first next time, though?
IC!Alfons: Sure, that is fine.
P!Al: Good~ I can't wait to learn the other ones!
IC!Alfons: ::smiles, then stands and brushes himself off a little:: I am glad you are so enthusiastic. Once you know all of the letters, we can work on some bigger words, alright? Like you wanted.
P!Al: That'll be awesome. Wait until mommy hears how smart I'm gonna be! *puts the paper and pencil back in his backpack*
IC!Alfons: ::chuckles softly:: Ja, I am sure he will be very impressed.
P!Al: I hope so. *puts his backpack on and picks Dante up* Meet you here again next week?
IC!Alfons: Absolutely. ::smiles and waves a little:: Tschau, Alphonse.
P!Al: *grins and waves back* Bye bye! *skips off*
When: 9/9/06
Rating: G
Category: Teaching
Summary: Alfons teaches P!Al how to count and some of the letters in the alphabet.
IC!Alfons: ::arrives at the park and looks around a bit before spotting a nice-looking picnic table to sit at while waiting for P!Al to arrive::
P!Al: *arrives a little later, skipping his way towards the table and sets his backpack and Dante on it* Hi, Alfons~
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Hallo there, you brought the pencils and paper?
P!Al: Of course I did! They're really cute looking, too. *opens his backpack and pulls out pink, bunny decorated paper and turtle pencils*
IC!Alfons: ::chuckles:: Very nice, ja. So did you want to start with counting, then?
P!Al: I guess. It's not hard, is it?
IC!Alfons: No, not terribly. It should not be, anyway. You said you knew how to count a little already, ja? How far is that?
P!Al: Um... *stares at his fingers for a moment and holds a few up* Three?
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Alright then. Do you know how to write the first three numbers?
P!Al: ...I think so? *takes a pencil and produces three shaky numbers*
IC!Alfons: Ah, very good. So I know you know some numbers that are larger than three, clearly, like your age and other things. Do you just not know which order they ought to go in, then? Or do you not know the words for them?
P!Al: I know how to say some of them, but I don't know how to put them in order and stuff.
IC!Alfons: Alright. Well, the one that comes after three is four. Do you know how to draw that number?
P!Al: *blinks and thinks for a moment* ...Nope.
IC!Alfons: Okay. I think what I will do is write down the next few in the series, and then we can practice saying them. ::behind Al's first three, draws 4 5 6 on the paper:: These are four, five, and six, and they go in this order.
P!Al: *studies the numbers* Do they have to go in that order?
IC!Alfons: If you are counting by starting with the smallest and getting bigger, then they do, ja.
P!Al: That's weird... Cause I think it'd look better if six were after three.
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: I am sorry to say that is not how it works. Alright, can you try saying the numbers we have written here, then, in order?
P!Al: That sucks. And yeah, I guess so... Um, one, two, three, four... *stares at five for a few seconds before giving up* ...something, six.
IC!Alfons: Very good. The "something" is five. Would you say them again?
P!Al: *pouts* Do I have to?
IC!Alfons: It will help you remember them if you do.
P!Al: Fine. One, two, three, four, five, six! There, done.
IC!Alfons: Wonderful. ::smiles and nods, then writes 7 8 9 10 on the paper:: Do you recognize any of these?
P!Al: I think the last one is ten...
IC!Alfons: Ja, it is, excellent. ::grins:: These other three are seven, eight, and nine. Try saying those, bitte?
P!Al: Seven, eight, nine, ten! There aren't any more numbers, are there?
IC!Alfons: There are, but they are combinations of these first numbers. Ten is like a one and a zero, ja? So the number after that is eleven, written like this: ::draws 11:: And so they keep going in order like that, with the next being twelve. ::draws 12:: Does that make sense?
P!Al: Yeah, but that's kind of stupid. Why don't they just make up new numbers?
IC!Alfons: Because then you would have to memorize lots and lots of new numbers. But if you do it this way, it is easy to remember what order they go in, see?
P!Al: I guess so... It makes the numbers look really boring, though.
IC!Alfons: Well, I guess numbers are not meant to look exciting, so much as they are meant to be useful. Here- ::hands him the paper and pencil:: Under this row of one through ten, write another row of the same so you can practice writing them.
P!Al: They should look exciting and be useful! *frowns as he takes them* I don't like writing numbers, though...
IC!Alfons: ::shrugs:: You are the one who wanted to learn, Alphonse. The best way to learn is to practice.
P!Al: I don't see how writing numbers is gonna help me learn... *reluctantly starts writing the numbers*
IC!Alfons: It will help you remember them better, which is important in learning them. ::smiles and watches:: There, very good.
P!Al: Okay, fine, but what am I gonna use numbers for? *finishes and glances over his badly written numbers*
IC!Alfons: All kinds of things. If you can read them, you can know how much things cost, so that you know how much to pay when you want to buy a cute skirt. That way, people cannot take more money from you than they are supposed to get, so you save more money to spend on other clothes.
P!Al: ...Wait, does that mean I've been paying more than I should have for clothes?
IC!Alfons: It is possible, I do not know. But if you can read the numbers, you can know for sure.
P!Al: ...I need to learn more numbers. Like, now.
IC!Alfons: ::grins:: There we go.
IC!Alfons: See how important it is to know numbers?
P!Al: Uh, yeah. I could buy tons of new clothes~
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Alright. So you saw how I wrote eleven and twelve, right? How the numbers keep getting bigger on the right side? See if you can write a few more like that, and then I will tell you what they are called.
P!Al: The right side? So I only change that number, right?
IC!Alfons: Ja, you only change that number, until you cannot make it bigger. Because once it reaches nine, it cannot get bigger, right? Nine is the highest number that is only made of one number. I hope that makes sense.
P!Al: It kind of does... *writes thirteen through nineteen* Now what?
IC!Alfons: Alright, now let me tell you what these are called. ::names them off:: Can you repeat back to me all of the names of the numbers we have here that are larger than ten?
P!Al: I can try. *repeats the names, hesitating on a couple of them*
IC!Alfons: Very good. I know it can be tedious trying to remember all of them, but it is important. Now, say all of the numbers from one to nineteen, in order?
P!Al: ...I don't think I can do that.
IC!Alfons: Alright, then how about one through ten, do you remember those?
P!Al: *nods* Yeah! *counts from one to ten*
IC!Alfons: Very good, now you just did eleven through nineteen a bit ago, and so if you can do one through ten, and eleven through nineteen, then you can say all of them from one to nineteen. I think you should try, and if you get stuck, ask me for help, alright?
P!Al: ...Fine. *stares at the numbers and their order on the paper for a few seconds before counting*
IC!Alfons: ::smiles and waits for him to finish:: See, that was not too bad.
P!Al: Was too! There's too many numbers.
IC!Alfons: I know, I know. This is a lot to learn in one day. Would you like to take a break from numbers and try letters?
P!Al: That depends. Are letters harder to learn?
IC!Alfons: Mm, they are different. But there are only twenty-six of them, and they are all different, unlike the numbers that have that repeating pattern. We can do a couple today if you like. We certainly do not have to do all twenty-six.
P!Al: Good, cause that sounds like a lot of letters!
IC!Alfons: It is more than the numbers we did today, it is true. Do you know any letters?
P!Al: I know the ones in my name~
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Well, that is quite a few already. Would you write your name for me?
P!Al: Hehe, sure. I'll even write Mr. Pokeylope's name! *happily writes the two names*
IC!Alfons: ::grins:: Alphonse, you already know nearly half of the alphabet, did you realize? Those two names make up twelve different letters.
P!Al: ...I do? I can write other names and stuff, too, you know!
IC!Alfons: Can you? Let me see, then. ::smiles::
P!Al: Okay~ *thinks for a second before writing down Dante, mommy, and Sparky*
IC!Alfons: And now we are at fourteen, which is over half. Very good. ::smiles::
IC!Alfons: Do you know what each of these letters is called, on its own?
P!Al: ...Not really. I just know how to say the words.
IC!Alfons: Alright. That is fine. Let us take a look at the alphabet, then. Letters have an order, too, like numbers. But with letters, the order is only there to help you remember them, really, as obviously there are not letters that have some sort of greater value than others. ::writes down a b c d e:: So here are the first five. ::reads them out loud::
P!Al: ...Are you sure there's no letters with greater value than others? 'Cause maybe the ones near the front are better than the rest!
IC!Alfons: No, I do not think so. In my world, the arrangement of the letters has something to do with their order in Greek, and that is related to numbers in a way, but you do not need to know about that, and I am not sure why, or actually, if, the letters are in the same arrangement. Really, though, I think you will be alright if you do not remember the order of the letters.
P!Al: ...Oh, that sucks. Cause the first letter is in my name and everything.
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Well, in a way, since a is the first letter, I suppose it is special, even if it is not somehow of a greater value in a literal sense.
P!Al: Hee, that's what I thought~ A is the best letter ever!
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: It certainly is a very good letter, I will agree.. Alright, so anyway, the letters that I have written here that you did not have written before - b and c - are also letters you could remember, because b is the first letter in "butterfly," and c is the first letter in "clothes." If that helps at all, I do not know.
P!Al: ...They are? That is so cool! And they're close to the beginning of the alphabet~
IC!Alfons: Ja, they are. ::smiles:: So then d is for Dante, and e... hm, can you think of a good word that starts with e?
P!Al: Um... *stares at e, deep in thought* I think it looks like the letter in... ear?
IC!Alfons: Ja, exactly right. ::smiles:: Nice work!
P!Al: Hee~ It's also in earring, right~?
IC!Alfons: It certainly is, very good. Alright, let me see here. ::writes f through j:: So here are the next couple letters. ::names them off:: Let us try and think of words that start with these letters, too. Any ideas?
P!Al: Oh! I know! Friend starts with that letter! *points to f*
IC!Alfons: It certainly does. And so does Fabio. ::smiles:: And for g, that is the first letter of Gluttony's name.
P!Al: G's an awesome letter, then. I don't know one for the next letter...
IC!Alfons: Hm, well, that is the first letter of my last name, but that is a bit difficult to remember for you, I bet. ::chuckles:: Let me see.. well, it is also the first letter in "happy"...
P!Al: It is? Wish I thought of that... I think I know the next one. Icky!
IC!Alfons: ::grins:: That works. And j... Hm, that is a bit more difficult to think of a word to start it with. How about "jump"?
P!Al: And jacks! Jacks are fun to play with.
IC!Alfons: There you go, very good. ::smiles:: Alright, I think that might be enough for you to try and work on this week, do you agree? I think over the next week you should practice writing the letters and numbers, and you can try and come up with more words, too. I know you can write well enough to be understood a lot of the time, like when you wrote that pamphlet on the Divine Turtle. So think of more things to spell, alright?
P!Al: I can do that~ Writing is fun! Unlike numbers. ...Can I just ignore the numbers and work on writing things?
IC!Alfons: I thought you wanted to learn numbers, so you could buy things? Also, that way you would know how much money you make when you get paid.
P!Al: I know, but letters are a lot more fun!
IC!Alfons: Alright, well, I would like you to practice the numbers at least a little, so that you remember how to say all of these ones here when we meet again next week. But you are welcome to practice writing all you like.
P!Al: I guess I can say the numbers a few times, but I might not write them! 'Cause I'll be too busy writing letters~
IC!Alfons: ::smiles:: Alright, alright. Both are important, so that is fine. But we will work on more numbers next time, you know. We cannot just ignore them completely.
P!Al: ...Can we learn the rest of the letters first next time, though?
IC!Alfons: Sure, that is fine.
P!Al: Good~ I can't wait to learn the other ones!
IC!Alfons: ::smiles, then stands and brushes himself off a little:: I am glad you are so enthusiastic. Once you know all of the letters, we can work on some bigger words, alright? Like you wanted.
P!Al: That'll be awesome. Wait until mommy hears how smart I'm gonna be! *puts the paper and pencil back in his backpack*
IC!Alfons: ::chuckles softly:: Ja, I am sure he will be very impressed.
P!Al: I hope so. *puts his backpack on and picks Dante up* Meet you here again next week?
IC!Alfons: Absolutely. ::smiles and waves a little:: Tschau, Alphonse.
P!Al: *grins and waves back* Bye bye! *skips off*