Reading and Writing

Reading:

Maggie asked me the other day to teach her how to read books. I told her that we could certainly do that, but that I'm sure there were books she could already read. Books she knew so well that if she looked at the picture, the picture could tell her the words.

I brought out one of her old favorites, Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton, and sure enough, she "read" that book to her brother and me.

This evening she was so excited when she realized she could "read" Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? as well. When she asks me what something says I'm taking more time to share with her the sounds of each letter that help me decode that word. I've also made a conscious effort to add more print to her environment.

Writing:

The other day Maggie ran out of her playroom to show me that she could write a T, and sure enough, she had scribbled out a little capital T. Today she came downstairs and went right to work again. She once again called me into her playroom. She had made two H's side by side, and an O. she then worked very hard on a G and an A. She was so proud of herself! I took a picture of her notebook, but her pencil markings were just a little too faint. She's always been interested in print and it's meaning, and we've enjoyed following her lead with it...from pointing out those first important letters (mainly her M) everywhere we went, to typing letters on a keyboard, to making cards for friends and family with their names on them, and now to writing them.

This has been, and will continue to be, and amazing process to watch unfold.