Learning to Read

Elaine has been dying to learn to read. So, we got out our trusty old copy of Dick and Jane: Fun Wherever We Are and began.

"Go. Go, go, go. Go, Jane. Go help Sally. Help Sally find Puff."

Elaine loves it and loves to climb up in the rocking chair with me and practice her reading (also, she pronounces "Puff" to rhyme with "roof," which is way too cute for me to correct her).

Then the other day, I saw her race by with her pink doll stroller--Yo-Yo seated in it with his ears back and his tail lashing from side to side.

"Mom!" she shouted over her shoulder. "It's just like I read in Dick & Jane! Animals DO love to ride in doll buggies!"

(Look how much he's enjoying it. Now whenever he hears the stroller rev up, he hightails it out of sight.)

Yesterday when I read the information in her school folder, the teacher said they were working on the words, "I am" this week and to please practice with them whenever we could. I immediately thought of Green Eggs and Ham, so last night we settled down to read that. I would read all the text, and Elaine would read whenever I pointed to the words "Sam-I-am."

"I will not eat them in a house," I read. "I will not eat them with a mouse. I will not eat them in a box. I will not eat them with a fox. I will not eat them on a train or in the rain..."

"He's rude," Elaine interrupted in an unconscious parody of me. "All he needs to say politely is, 'No, thank you. I don't care for any. Besides, I bet there are a lot of people who really do like green eggs and ham."

So in addition to newfound reading skills, she also appears to be putting critical thinking skills into practice.

Happy New Reader: