Emergent Literacy or the Dawn of the "E-ewe Poopoo"

So Oliver has gotten really excited about letters recently. He has a set of those ubiquitous LeapFrop Fridge Phonics magnets, which he loves. For those of you who don't have toddlers, let me explain...it's this gizmo that takes simple magnetic fridge letters to the next level. You insert each letter into the little box, and then it plays a song to the tune of 'The Farmer in the Dell.' For instance, "F says 'fuh,' F says 'fuh,' every letter makes a sound, F says 'fuh.'" There is also a button that initiates the whole alphabet song, although we wouldn't know that around here because Oliver leans on the button so it just plays "A, A, A, A, A, A, A, A...." The whole thing gets acutely annoying, especially with the volume on high.

At any rate, I think that is how he started to learn to recognize some letters. For some reason he is particularly fond of the letters "B, O, P, R, Y, A, D, I and U". He pretends to "write" letters when he is drawing, telling me that his little scribble is a B or a Y or whatever. He even traces "letters" in the sand at the playground. He also notices letters everywhere... on store logos, street signs, on cereal boxes, in books, and even in other places you might not expect...such as in the toilet!! Yes, Oliver was delighted to look into the potty one day to discover that he had made a U-shaped poop, or as he says it, "e-ewe poopoo!!" Since that remarkable discovery he has made much fan fare out of deciphering his solid waste...perhaps we should introduce reading tea leaves instead.