Today was the last official day of summer vacation. The kids will start Kindergarten and 1st Grade TOMORROW! They are ready and excited, but we're all going to miss the laid-back aspects of summer... no homework, no dance class or soccer practice, no need to be as strict about bedtime or occasional mid-week TV watching, and carpooling most days (meaning we got to spend the morning hour all together and the afternoon all together, which has been so very nice). While it's been mostly fun and games this summer, we have made an effort to keep the kids' minds engaged in activities other than swimming and kickball and Legos and movies. There has been some workbook activities (mostly by Cora, because she truly likes "seatwork") and lots of reading. LOTS of reading.
Other than our Disney vacation, we have been working (semi) diligently with the kids on their reading skills this summer (having them each read 10-15 minutes with us at night, then reading to them for 10-15 minutes, sporadically doing flashcards that we got from Gramma, randomly quizzing them while out and about town when we see signs or labels that we know they can read, and leaving messages for them to decipher on their easel chalkboard).
James has been doing so very well with reading! He reads to us and to Cora, and to Buster. He stands at the chalkboard to write random sentences or leave us messages or help him spell certain words that he's trying to figure out. When we first started helping him learn to read, I had no idea how teachers did it... I mean, when you think about it, it's sort of an obscure lesson to learn (at least at first). There are so many rules. And they contradict each other at every turn! The English language is tricky!! So in the spirit of the tricks, I have to post a few of the things that James has written or read lately that have made us pause for a second, trying to figure him out!
was does not sound like has
(even though they look the same to a new reader)
mouse is not pronounced as mosey
(he knows that an e at the end makes a long vowel in the middle, but that 'ou' blend threw him off)
pink is not spelled peock
There are more, of course, but I can never recall these things when I sit down to actually type them out and record them for posterity...
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| (Practicing computer skills, and enjoying that more than reading...) |
While James has been reading a variety of short Step 1 and Step 2 books, Cora has been focusing on his little paper kindergarten weekly booklets, trying her darndest with her Hello Kitty and Curious George phonics books, and doing very well with the Set 1 BOB books. She's become more confident each week, and while we haven't been teaching her the tricks and rules quite like they will at school, we're pretty impressed with her ability to sound out words (she sounds out every syllable, just like Ms. Katy taught her, then blends them together to say the full word - whereas James will just stare silently at a word until he figures it out in his head, then say it aloud). She has pretty good word recognition (if the same word is written multiple times on the same page, or within a page or two, she doesn't need to sound it out again, she just shouts it out - whereas James has to think about it every single time, even though his memory is awesome). And her patience in general is incredible, taking the time to
learn each word and not getting frustrated if she doesn't figure it out on the first try or two (she has far more patience for reading than James does - he just wants to KNOW all the words, not have to learn them).
We think they're both going to do great at school this year and feel we've prepared them as best we can, without being too intense (we wanted reading this summer to be FUN, not work). Only time will tell, and I'll admit I'm anxious to start getting notes home from teachers, but I have a lot of confidence in these smart little firecrackers of ours!
