My mother-in-law took these pictures last month when I was away at a writing workshop in Pennsylvania. It brought such joy to my heart to see images of kids #3 and #4 reading to kid #5, apparently helping him to sound out words, in my faraway location. It brought me close to them in an instant and kept me high the rest of the stay.
This weekend, our little one slipped into bed with us (as he often does). I woke up Sunday morning to this:
“Mom, does R-O-X spell Rox?”
(He was looking up at a caricature of my husband and I pinned to a nearby bulletin board. It was taken in our first year of marriage and the artist had written “Rox” below the drawing of me.)
“It does,” I said.
“Okay, and does B-L-U-D spell blood?”
(Not exactly sure the source of that question…)
“Almost, but not quite. Blood is B-L-O-O-D. It seems like it should be B-L-U-D, though, huh? But O-O can also make the ‘uh’ sound, just like U can.”
It’s never quite so evident how little sense our English language makes until you try to explain it to a five-year-old. Some things just can’t be explained well. But either way, I’m thrilled he’s trying. He’s sounding out words on his own, not only by looking at them but by imagining them in his mind and sounding them out. What a phenomenal process, if you think about it, considering everything that has to work together in order for that to happen. Soon, he’ll be reading real books by himself. Soon also I’ll have no one to read to in our household who can’t already read by themselves. That’s a bit of a bittersweet thought.
But oh how I delight in this discovery of words that our kids have come upon one by one. Bumping into the world of words is among the greatest discoveries of all, next to the realization of how we came to be, the source of our being, God.
We’ve been experiencing a few parenting challenges recently, and I have to grab onto these positive moments because the struggles can be so difficult. I won’t be blogging about these things anytime soon — I think it’s wise to be discerning when it comes to matters involving family (unless I’ve garnered permission first) — but I’m not above asking for a prayer or two. I’ve seen other ways in which the blogging world can bring about meaningful connections, after all. Why not through prayer as well? Even if I can’t share exactly how things are unfolding, at the very least I’ll check back later and let you know the ways in which God entered our life during this time. I don’t know how it will all turn out but I’m convinced God will play an integral part.
Blessings, and have a week filled with sprinklings of beauty!
PGM
I love watching my kids blossom as readers – the ever-changing journey of discovery as they learn and develop favorites. So fun!
You and your family will be in my prayers. 🙂
Writing you down on the short prayer list by my computer. Nothing can strike to the quick of you like parenting issues. *Hugs*
On the subject of new readers and spelling, my daughter always makes me laugh because she has decided that our dog Snow is academically-challenged. So, she will periodically ask me: “Mom, do you know how Snow would spell this word?” and then give me a wrong spelling for the word in question. She will occasionally even descend to writing out a quiz for Snow and filling in Snow’s wrong answers. 🙂
Shannon, thanks so much, friend. Feeling your love from Montana.:)
And Rosslyn, I love how your daughter is feeling empowered through having her dog be the one that is learning-challenged. That is GREAT! LOVE it. In our house, they just pick on the next lower child, but since Nick is the lowest of the low, he may just turn to the cats one of these days. I’ll have to be on the lookout for that, and kats who just don’t know how to spell well! 🙂 Haha. Love the story — made my day.
Roxane,
Thank you for sharing about your little guy and his learning to read words. The thing I miss about my children getting older is reading to them and sharing the connection of books. (I cheat a bit and borrow the neighbors children…gives their parents a break and fills my need to share my love of words with younger ones.)
I will be praying for your family…parenting even the greatest children can be filled with many challenges.
Blessings, k
What a sweet thing to capture in pictures! You can see how clearly focused they are on the words on the page. My youngest and I have taken to playing a scrabble like game on the Ipad and its been fun to see him try to make all kinds of words.
Ah yes, the parenting struggles are so much a part of the fabric of daily life, we forget sometimes to focus on the shiny, satiny ribbon wrapped around the edges 🙂 I too think God will bring you through it and it will be an honor for me to pray for just that. Blessings to you 🙂
In response to pets taking the heat, I’m the one using the cat in our house. Matilda, seriously, how can you sleep ALL DAY?
Oh, your reading family is cute. I still read to my kids once in a while.
Prayers – you’re always in my prayers, you and the whole S. crew!
Vicky and Mary, you two are so dear. Thank you and hugs to you both!
Kim, how could I have forgotten you? Those neighborhood kids are the luckiest around! What a sweet thought!
Hi Roxane..What joy reading has brought to me throughout my life. I hope the same for your littlest one as he begins his reading adventure!!
Well..you have a teen and a couple of tweens..I would guess that not everything is always rosy..teens and tweens can be real twerps sometimes. Common sense and the love of good parents who stand strong together like unmovable trees in a windstorm and a strong faith will carry you through. I will say a little prayer too:)
This post just warms me up all over! As a librarian, English teacher, and writer for children, I believe that reading is essential and LOVE of reading is even better!