1. He should know all of those stories. He is a slow reader at this point so he can't read them himself, but he should still know those stories because he's heard them over and over again. Somehow, in the midst of life getting crazy and him being at the "end of the line", he hasn't heard them over and over again. Some of them he might not have heard at all. Wow, that hit me like a ton of bricks. When did we let our reading out loud time go? At what point did our lives get so busy that we stopped opening up those favorite books and snuggling up with our littlest ones to read together? I honestly can't remember. That made me sad.
2. Then I started thinking about how Mr 7 yo is struggling to read. It was a shock to me last year that he still didn't even really know his letters! I began to wonder if #1 is somehow related to #2. None of the other kids had a hard time learning to read. Even my other son, who was a tad bit slower than the girls, had started reading by this point. I wonder...does the lack of being read to have anything to do with his being slower to pick this all up? I know that some kids are just slower and all that, but I have to wonder if it has had an effect?
So, being as I was in adoration at the time, I decided to take this train of thought as a nudge to get back into the habit, at least a few times a week, of pulling those books out and reading out loud to him. Knowing my children, I'm sure he won't be the only one that pulls up a seat to join me.
Sorry, accidentally hit the delete button on an anonymous comment asking me how I could be in shock over him not knowing his letters if I am his teacher. I re-read what I wrote and I guess that does sound bad, doesn't it? To clarify, it was the beginning of the year of first grade and I was surprised that he hadn't remembered his letters since kindergarten. Guess I didn't pay enough attention over the summer that year! God Bless.
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