Words alone
“The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food!”
That will go down as the first phrase Peanut read.
Yes, that’s right, read.
Last week before our trip to Massachusetts, I bought them each two new books to occupy them in the car. But they were angels the whole way up and the new books remained zipped in my bag. At my mom’s house on Friday, I found them there and dug them out.
“Here,” I said, handing them to Peanut. “Some new books for you. Give me two minutes and I’ll read them to you.”
Peanut sat on the couch studying the covers of each one. When I returned to the room she proudly held one up and said excitedly, “MOMMY! I know what the title is to this one: “The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food.”
While I am constantly impressed with her vocabulary and knew full well she was quickly catching on to spelling and reading random site words, this revelation shocked me. To the best of my knowledge, I’d never reviewed any of those words with her. Berenstain? Really?
“Have you read that book at school?” I asked somewhat skeptically.
“No, Mommy.”
“Have you ever seen that book before, anywhere?”
“No.”
“How did you know what it said then?”
“I just looked at the words. See?” And then she proceeded to sound out each one for me. She also proceeded to sound out the words on the covers of the next three books: The Little Lamb, What is a Princess? and The Monster at the End of this Book.
I’m amazed – constantly – by the strides my children make. Not because they’re so exceptional or amazing, but because it’s unfathomable to me that they were babies only yesterday.
Now, they read and count and know a bunch of Spanish words. They run and leap and tell jokes that make no sense, but that are hilarious to them. They laugh and defy and pretend. They imagine and worry and throw giant hugs around my neck. They love and cry and do cartwheels (sort of) in the grass.
Come to think of it, they are exceptional and amazing, at least to me. I can’t wait until they come home from school, so I can tell them that.
That will go down as the first phrase Peanut read.
Yes, that’s right, read.
Last week before our trip to Massachusetts, I bought them each two new books to occupy them in the car. But they were angels the whole way up and the new books remained zipped in my bag. At my mom’s house on Friday, I found them there and dug them out.
“Here,” I said, handing them to Peanut. “Some new books for you. Give me two minutes and I’ll read them to you.”
Peanut sat on the couch studying the covers of each one. When I returned to the room she proudly held one up and said excitedly, “MOMMY! I know what the title is to this one: “The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food.”
While I am constantly impressed with her vocabulary and knew full well she was quickly catching on to spelling and reading random site words, this revelation shocked me. To the best of my knowledge, I’d never reviewed any of those words with her. Berenstain? Really?
“Have you read that book at school?” I asked somewhat skeptically.
“No, Mommy.”
“Have you ever seen that book before, anywhere?”
“No.”
“How did you know what it said then?”
“I just looked at the words. See?” And then she proceeded to sound out each one for me. She also proceeded to sound out the words on the covers of the next three books: The Little Lamb, What is a Princess? and The Monster at the End of this Book.
I’m amazed – constantly – by the strides my children make. Not because they’re so exceptional or amazing, but because it’s unfathomable to me that they were babies only yesterday.
Now, they read and count and know a bunch of Spanish words. They run and leap and tell jokes that make no sense, but that are hilarious to them. They laugh and defy and pretend. They imagine and worry and throw giant hugs around my neck. They love and cry and do cartwheels (sort of) in the grass.
Come to think of it, they are exceptional and amazing, at least to me. I can’t wait until they come home from school, so I can tell them that.
Labels: It's all worth it, my time
posted by Kimberly at
11:14 AM
6 Comments:
WOW, go Peanut! That's great!
That's awesome! Having children that read and are excited about it is the key to the world.
But not the car!
Congrats to Peanut!
I think they'll always be exceptional and amazing to you. That's what the whole mother/child thing is all about.
I can remember wondering who was more excited: we the parents, or our kids.
What a big moment! Awesome!
Congrats you got a smart one.
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