Friday, June 04, 2010

Changing my M.O.

Seems like my new M.O. is to pop in here every four weeks heralding another sleep-full month and then disappear into the happy slumbering ether. Well, I'm getting a jump on myself this time because it won't be another full month of sleep until the 7th of the month. But if I waited 'till then I'd feel obligated to post again about how incredible, absolutely amazing it feels to well, you know, sleep. And it is. But there are lots and lots of other things going that I want to write about, too.

Like the fact that my two boys are now readers! I think I mentioned that a few weeks back I made a commitment to myself to focus more on teaching the boys -- especially Oliver -- to read. Well, one day, not too far into our reading odyssey, I sat down on the couch with the two boys and a small white board. Carefully I laid out the word MAT for them, starting with the sounds of the A, then the T, then the AT together, then the M. Alrighty, I said, now you have all the sounds, let's link them together and see what word this spells. Before I could say another thing, Oliver quietly read the word. He went on to read word after word and I actually saw the look on Sami's face change when he realized that his brother could do something that he could not.

It was quite a moment for all of us.

Since then, Sami has actually developed a greater fluency but Oliver continues to amaze and inspire me. I'll admit that I had been afraid to go down the reading road with him for quite awhile -- afraid I guess that it would be an exercise in frustration. It turned out to be something far different.

Time and time again this boy totally amazes me. You'd think I'd be used to it by now but it always leaves me amused at myself: I am such a slow learner! When Oliver is ready to do something he does it. We still have a long, long way to go but my boy and I? We're both making progress.

5 comments:

  1. this is sooo awesome !!!
    VERY impressed

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  2. How does Oliver like the computer? I bet there are some good reading programs he could use if he likes the computer. That is so awesome that he is reading!!! A whole new world will open up for him now. Good to hear from you. Glad you are all still sleeping!!!

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  3. WoW! That's so wonderful. I love what you wrote about being a slow learner! LOL I often feel the same way.

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  4. I know what you mean about the anxiety of teaching something you think will be a battle only to see that it is not. I too am a slow learner, and Wyatt does things only when he is ready, and when he wants to:) I often imagine that he is thinking "when will this woman ever get it."

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  5. This is a great bloog

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