The Power to Read

Noah has always loved books (imagine that....have you seen my husband's office?). Last year he learned most of his letter sounds by watching Leap Frog's Letter Factory DVD. Recently he has been super interested in words. When we are going down the road, we hear a lot of "what's that sign say?" from the back seat. So I somewhat doubtfully decided I would try to teach Noah to read when he turned four.

Let me just say how terribly insecure I am about my teaching abilities. I realize that on paper I am qualified for this task (I have two degrees in elementary education), but I taught upper elementary and have never really had the privilege of teaching someone to read. What if I screw up and he is confused from this day forward about the "short a" sound?

I found the perfect book though! It's called "Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading". That's me an "Ordinary Parent"! So last week Noah and I began working on all the short vowel sounds. He was somewhat reluctant at first, but today asked if we could do a reading lesson (it takes all of 10 minutes). Everyday we settle in to "our special reading spot" and do a reading lesson together, and I read aloud a chapter from one of the Chronicles of Narnia books. We're both beginning to really enjoy this time together. As it turns out, I didn't really need either degree to snuggle up with Noah while he learns to read.

Yesterday was a big milestone. Noah read his first book! He read a book entitled "Mat". A riveting tale of Mat and Sam. Mat sat on Sam at one point in the story. It is the first phonics reader in the Bob Book Series. He was SO proud of himself and grinned the whole way through the book. He sounded out those short vowel sounds like a champ! We went out for milkshakes last night to celebrate.

What a big day for Mr. Noah. I pray that he will continue to love learning and reading!