Reid’s reading skills

Overheard at our house at bedtime:
“Row, row, row your gg-ohhh-tt. Row, row, row your ccc-ow-wuh.”
And so it continued as Reid “read” a favourite board book. I’m not sure why she decided to sound out the animals’ names but not the other words on each page. It was fun to hear her reading this book, which she has been able to recite for a year or two, in this way. I’ve taken it as a sign that I can show her words and ask her to sound them out.

We have also been playing a new game that Reid has devised. If I’m reading my own book and she wants to join in the fun, Reid will have me say a letter and then she will find it on the page. The text in my books is (obviously) small are more crowded than what Reid is used to but she finds the letters quite quickly. I’m sure this is an important pre-reading skill but sometimes she’d let me finish a chapter.

Speaking of chapters, the teachers at daycare noted on the activity board last week that they had read part of a chapter book to the kids. When we discussed it at home, Reid was talking about the tractor books at daycare. I don’t stop and correct Reid’s pronunciation, I just make sure to ennunciate clearly when using the word causing her trouble. Apparently I am not always subtle when I do this. I said, “And did you like the ‘CHAP-ter’ book that Christina read?” Reid replied, “The ‘TRAC-tor’ book was good.” Stalemate.

I followed the lead from Reid’s teachers and chose chapter books when we were at the library on Friday. I hadn’t ever noticed them but when I looked, they were hiding in plain sight next to the French board books in a section called “early readers”. I grabbed a few and noticed that early readers are in stages – if you can remember your own kids’ experiences at this age, indulge me for a bit – and while the level one is good for a child learning to read, it’s not what I want to be reading. I’m looking for novelty, folks, and books that are long enough that we don’t zoom through 10 at a sitting. An extended narrative would be nice. Level 3 early readers seem to work well for us and I’ve also borrowed Sarah’s copy of The Littles to see if Reid is ready for a book with a picture every couple of pages. I’m pretty sure Ken and I are.

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