We have a READER!

So Kelly is 4 and she missed the cut off date to start Kindergarten this year by 20 days...sad. So since she already "graduated" from her last preschool, Edward and I decided we would work with her at home to help her learn her letters, sounds, printing, numbers, and high frequency words. It's been a tag team effort (Edward picking up a lot of slack from my while I've been going to physical therapy and the chiropractor lately). One thing I observed while working with her was she was really good at the beginning of the alphabet, but the letters toward the end she had a hard time remembering the sounds. And also she can sound out a word fine...as in sound out each letter, but having her brain blend those sounds together to form a word was worse than pulling teeth. She's very energetic so focus is definitely something we've been working on. But last week I came home from physical therapy and she wanted to show me something. This Sunday there is a primary program at church and she has been given a quote to read. So I sat down and she READ her quote. She didn't have it memorized and there were words (like "when") that she had to sound out each letter before she knew it, but she read it. I was so happy for her. The next day when I got home she showed me that she had read a book "I love Puppies".

So while she definitely struggles with words...she is starting to blend and that is half the battle. So introducing the newest reader: Kelly! Way to go, kiddo. Dad and I are so proud.