Miss Sarah Reads

I have commented (maybe ranted?) before about how important it is (I think) to be patient when teaching a child to read.

Our public schools try to teach every child to read at age 5 or 6, roughly. Every child.

I think that is a mistake.  Some unusual children can read a bit at age 3, and many really aren't ready to read well 'til age 9 or 10. I know 10 seems ridiculously late, but I have heard some kids REALLY don't read well 'til then, but are able to quickly move through levels of reading once they are ready.  Of course there are genuine learning disabilities, like dyslexia.  BUT, I believe many young ones, especially boys, get burned out about reading because they are pushed too hard, too soon.

Sarah is our 5th daughter, and so far our girls have been ready to read earlier than our boys. That is apparently common as the average boy matures about a year later than the average girl in the early childhood years.

Sarah, like her sisters before her, showed interest in letters and numbers and words from a young age.  She has recognized her name for several months, and also could "read" the words Mom, Dad, and (oddly enough) pig.

But she really wasn't reading, which is to say she wasn't sounding out words by blending letter sounds together.  She just memorized the shape of the letters and could pick her name and her parents titles out of a list of words.

Kevin stayed home on Monday, feeling sick.  It was an exhausting and difficult day. But at one point, I sat down and wrote out the word "CAT", as I had a number of times before. And this time, Sarah sounded out the word.  And read it.

So, in my mind, she's reading!  Our sweet girl is reading!

I have to admit that once my kids get over that hump, I feel much better.  It really is a HUGE step to be able to blend sounds together and come up with a word.  She is not reading well, of course. It is just one step.  But it is a big step.

I'm happy.