Sam & the Firefly

I picked up this book from the library the other night. I loved P.D. Eastman books as a child -- Sam and the Firefly, Go Dog, Go!, The Best Nest, Snow, Put Me in the Zoo, and my favorite, Are You My Mother? I think when I was young, I thought they were written by Dr. Seuss, since they were part of the Seuss "I Can Read It All By Myself" series. I actually liked Eastman's writing better than all the nonsense words in Dr. Seuss books! Shhh! Don't tell anyone!

I grabbed the book because I thought that Gordon would enjoy it. He just turned 7, and while math seems to come to him intuitively, reading has been a little slow to catch up! He just reached a milestone in the Phonics Pathways book -- we finally progressed to long vowel sounds! Woo hoo! He's at that stage where Bob Books are just too simple, so I'm hoping to incorporate some more books from the library's early reader section. I also want to use words in context to help him along a little.

I'm glad I started with this book, because he loved it! I read it aloud to him last night, letting him follow along with his fingers under the words. This morning, without any prompting from me, he picked up the book and started reading it aloud. I sat down with him and helped him with some of the sight words he's unfamiliar with, but he read about 90% of the words himself. And he was so excited about it!

I remember this moment happening for my oldest when she was about the same age. Something just finally clicked, and she got it. As my friend Mimi said, "She stopped seeing individual bricks and saw the whole house!" Poor Elise! I really pushed my firstborn more than I should have. I assumed she'd be like me; I love to read, and I always have. I started her early, and I labored at it all through pre-K, and Kindergarten, and the first half of first grade. The result? Lots of tears on both sides and not a lot of progress. I can remember lamenting, "I can't teach my kid how to read! I have a degree in Elementary Education, and I can't teach my kid how to read!" And then it clicked.

And that's why I'm so excited today -- because I heard another click. The ironic thing is that it's happening about the same time with Gordon as it did with Elise, only I haven't left behind us a trail of tears and frustration. I'm learning! By the time I'm done homeschooling these kids, I'll have a little more of it figured out! But for tonight, I'm grateful for a wise old owl and that little stinker of a firefly!