Since she was four years old, Honor began reading and giving herself spelling tests.
Honor: "Honor, please spell CAT."
Honor: "Okay! CAT, C-A-T, CAT!"
But she insisted she couldn't read.
She read through little readers that I printed off of the internet. She read portions from the The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading
every day, drawing pictures to go with the stories she read.
But she insisted she couldn't read.
She picked books off the shelf, but only browsed the pictures. She was too afraid to attempt reading the words because....she couldn't read.
Her parents and brothers tried encouraging, but there was no convincing her that she was already reading. Last night, she argued that she was too young for it (nearly 7 now.) Joel told her, "Honor, I was reading chapter books when I was your age." Honor looked horrified at the thought of attempting such a thing.
"That's it Honor. We're doing it," I said. "Climb on the couch with me. You are ready for a chapter book." We opened up Frog and Toad Are Friends
and I explained that this used to be Aunt Misty's favorite book when she was Honor's age. This made it very intriguing, with Aunt Misty being one of her favorite people in the world and all. So she read. She paused and puzzled over several words, but she worked at it and, finally, finished the first paragraph. She read it again to be sure she followed the storyline and then....
she burst into tears.
I hate to admit it, but seeing tears during reading time is not something new to me. And while we're being honest, I must admit that the tears were usually my own. But these threw me because there had been no signs of frustration building at all! I asked what was wrong and was relieved to understand: she was crying happy tears of proud joy!
It finally dawned on her that she could do it. She had done the impossible. She breached the wall!
The girl is finally a reader.
.
Honor: "Honor, please spell CAT."
Honor: "Okay! CAT, C-A-T, CAT!"
But she insisted she couldn't read.
She read through little readers that I printed off of the internet. She read portions from the The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading
every day, drawing pictures to go with the stories she read. But she insisted she couldn't read.
She picked books off the shelf, but only browsed the pictures. She was too afraid to attempt reading the words because....she couldn't read.
Her parents and brothers tried encouraging, but there was no convincing her that she was already reading. Last night, she argued that she was too young for it (nearly 7 now.) Joel told her, "Honor, I was reading chapter books when I was your age." Honor looked horrified at the thought of attempting such a thing.
"That's it Honor. We're doing it," I said. "Climb on the couch with me. You are ready for a chapter book." We opened up Frog and Toad Are Friends
and I explained that this used to be Aunt Misty's favorite book when she was Honor's age. This made it very intriguing, with Aunt Misty being one of her favorite people in the world and all. So she read. She paused and puzzled over several words, but she worked at it and, finally, finished the first paragraph. She read it again to be sure she followed the storyline and then....she burst into tears.
I hate to admit it, but seeing tears during reading time is not something new to me. And while we're being honest, I must admit that the tears were usually my own. But these threw me because there had been no signs of frustration building at all! I asked what was wrong and was relieved to understand: she was crying happy tears of proud joy!
It finally dawned on her that she could do it. She had done the impossible. She breached the wall!
The girl is finally a reader.
.
5 comments:
That is so cute!
I remember when Blake first realized he could read. It was at the tender age of 5, and unfortunately for me, he was in public school at the time (Kindergarten).
His teacher told me that he'd been reading for quite some time, however, he hadn't realized it himself yet. The day he did, he was dancing his feet under the table with excitement!
Congrats to your reader!!
Wonderful, Wonderful Post
What a great story she will have to tell her grandkids some day, and you have it recorded on the pages of your blog. Maybe you should even print out this post and put it in her portfolio for this year. Congratulations Honor on reading your first chapter book!
Ohhhhh, hooray! hooray! We love happy tears - we have a lot of them around here. Must be because it's all about the drama.
So fun to witness the light bulb moment. :)
Congratulations, Mama! How exciting!
Awwww! Give Honor a big kiss for me, and tell her I can't wait for her to read me my favorite story.
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