reading

November 14th, 2009

Luke had a lightbulb moment last night.

For weeks he has been asking me how to spell everything, wondering about the words on signs he sees around town. Every question I ask him, he answers by spelling out y-e-s or n-o. I’ve had a feeling he was about to start reading.

So after dinner, I wrote the word “cat” on a scrap of paper and asked Luke to read it.

An exasperated Luke replied, “Mama, you know I can’t read.”

I nodded and said, “Just try to sound it out.”

“Ku - A - Tuh…. cat?”

“Yep, you just read your first word!”

We all started cheering as I wrote down all the “at” words. Zach was right in there cheering his little brother on.

Later that evening Steve read to both the boys. In books that have a rhyming pattern, Steve will have them “read” the last word. Luke was guessing the words quicker than Zach, and Zach was soon in tears.

I took him in the other room and asked what was the matter.

“Luke can already read better than me,” he sobbed.

My heart broke a little. Reading hasn’t come easily to Zach and it looked as if Luke will be a natural.

I reminded him that Luke wasn’t really reading the words - he was making good guesses because of the rhyming clues. I also reminded him of how he could read chapter books, and Luke was only reading very simple words.

I talked about how we all have special talents, reminding him that he rode his 2-wheeler at 3 and that at almost five, Luke still had training wheels.

Zach wanted to know if he could read words when he was in preschool. I hesitated, but went with the truth and said no, but pointed out to him that Luke had the benefit of having an older brother. He hadn’t had that.

As I went to bed that night, I thanked God that the boys were 3 years apart. It would be awful for Zach if they were only a year apart, and Luke was always nipping at his heels. I also thanked Him for 2 boys who love reading. Zach will spend his allowance on books, and Luke and his best friend pour over library books during playdates.

Am I proud Mom?

Y-E-S.