I came across Jack's baby book yesterday and I went through the parts I'd actually filled out with him. It looks like I was pretty careful about writing things for the first few months and then nothing. We talked about some of the things that were missing, things I do remember. But so much is forgotten.
One thing we talked about was his obsession with letters and words when he was really young. A good indication that he would be a strong reader!
At the post office one day, when Jack was two or three, we were waiting our turn in line. Jack spied the trash can. For some reason he loved trash cans and noticed them everywhere we went. He went over to it and said each letter on the swinging door as he pointed to it. "T-R-A-S-H." Then with a grand flourish of his hand he proudly said, "GARBAGE!"
He advanced quickly from there.
A bit later I watched him studying the sign we had in our yard when Roger was running for County Commissioner (as a Democrat so, no, he wasn't elected). "LAYTON," it said, in big, bold letters. Jack pointed at the "T," then the "O," then the "Y." "TOY!" he proclaimed.
Fast forward to today. I had to beg him to put down his book so we could get some sleep tonight.
3 comments:
This is making me worried about my girls. They're almost three and they just don't show much interest in letters. We do read together every day...
I wouldn't worry, Shelley. I think Jack's obsession with letters was really unusual, and it didn't actually lead him to read particularly early. I think the more important thing to cultivate a love of reading is curiosity and imagination and you've got that down in spades.
I once grounded my daughter from reading for a week. I don't remember what she did, but I wanted it to stick. To this day she is my most obedient child. That was a tough week.
It's wonderful to see the love of reading passed on to your kids, isn't it?
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