Susie (my youngest, she of
toilet-paper-replacement fame) has just learned to read. Oh, she's been laboriously sounding out short-vowel sounds and trying to recall sight words for a while now; but today was that watershed moment when she turned around (she had been doing a math drill at the computer) and said, pointing at the words that had appeared on the screen, "Mommy, I can READ that."
 |
| I've memorized this one. |
Oh, people, I swear to you, angels
sang at that moment. For the past 4 years, Susie has been the only non-reader in our family -- or, in other words, the only person with NOTHING TO DO when all her siblings had settled down for a quiet hour or so of reading. Do you know what this means? Can you even begin to understand? It means that, after 21 years, no one will ever again be BORED in this house. It means that I will no longer be asked to entertain anyone. It means (oh, can it
possibly be true?) that I will NEVER have to read
Curious George again.
I could have wept with joy. But instead, I danced around exclaiming, "By George, I think she's got it" and singing, "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the pla-ain!" Much to the puzzlement of my other children...
[Curious George image:
Wikipedia]
What a wonderful moment! Yes, the only way you can ensure your uninterrupted reading time is if your kids read.
ReplyDeleteI loved that milestone with my girls. It made such a difference to our days.
ReplyDeleteMy kids CAN read, but don't. I envy you... *evil eye*
ReplyDeleteI remember vividly the instant that I learned to read -- cat, rat, mat. Holy spit! It all means something!
Congratulations!
The heavens opened up and angels sang a hallelujah chorus when I read this blog. How thrilling for you! (Between the toilet paper and reading, Susie seems really gifted!)
ReplyDeleteLMAO my son is finally reading better. I share your excitement!!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! I remember being similarly relieved when I no longer had to read all the game instructions for the educational computer games - every darn time they wanted to play...
ReplyDeleteI want to live in your fantasy. It's so much better than mine! Even after they became voracious readers, my kids still had frequent spells of profound boredom that occurred with alarming regularity at inopportune moments, such as when I picked up the phone or went to the bathroom or opened my own book!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, I'm not that naive - I guess I should have said that nevermore will I feel GUILTY when someone claims to be bored.
DeleteCongratulations! I have to say though, my youngest (she's 4 now) has been sitting quietly with a book--often a chapter book, so she can be like her older brothers--for a couple years now, "reading" when they do. So the hour after we get home from the library is quiet all around.
ReplyDeleteThat moment when they tip over from sounding out to really, truly reading...it is so magical.
Yes, some of mine did that. Not Susie, though.
DeleteI love that moment, too. That, and watching them ride a bicycle for the first time...
Glory, glory halleluia!!
ReplyDeleteNow maybe she can read those darn Capchas for you?
ReplyDelete# 8 is a very good reader. #9 is 6 1/2 and just doesn't understand reading yet. Maybe we should work with him and #10 and teach them both how to read this summer. That would really surprise the teachers when she starts school in fall 2014?
ReplyDelete