"Reading"

I have been avoiding my blog because I feel pressure for it to be interesting, have pictures etc.  I have decided I am just going to blog for me and not worry about what I am saying or if it is a "good" blog.

Everly is simply blossoming and I am realizing that I really have to start talking to her and treating her differently.  She seems to understand SO much and I think I have been underestimating her.

We dropped the doing a theme for each week and I have just been really mindful of using language that will help her learn.  For example I try to constantly mention colours, how things work, what season it is etc.  This approach is working beautifully.  The week we did the letter A and the colour green she learned orange, and purple, and started recognizing several letters that did not include A.  Thus the end to any sort of structured approach.

During that week I noticed that she is able to match letters with ease.  So I thought I would just see if she could match words.  I wrote Mommy, Daddy, Everly and Nanny (her grandma) each on 2 pieces of paper.  I told her what they said and she matched them with ease.  Of course I was really proud and she seemed to enjoy it so we played word matching with other words.  The next time we did it, she didn't want to match... she wanted to "read" all the words to me.  I couldn't believe that she could remember all the words!!  She doesn't even recognize all the letters of the alphabet.  She does have a harder time deciphering words that start with the same letter but she can do it with a bit of thought.

For my own record she can now recognize:

1. Nanny
   
2. Mommy
   
3. Daddy
   
4. Everly
   
5. Amelia
   
6. Siri
   
7. Kathy
   
8. Faraz
   
9. Grampy
   
10. Nanny
    
11. Batman
12. Bum Bum (sometimes)
13. Ballet (sometimes)
14. Baby (sometimes)
15. Madelyn

She now brings me blank cue cards and asks me to write words on them.  I write whatever she wants (that is where Bum Bum) came from. :P  Then we decorate them with stickers and she writes on them and finally she will cut them all up. 

I guess for now I will just keep writing words on cue cards for her if she wants, and I also thought she might benefit from my pointing out environmental text, like STOP on stop signs etc.

I found a leap frog Fridge Phonics and Word Whammer for $20 on craigslist.  I am going to pick them up tomorrow.  I thought it might help her learn the sounds of the letters, in a way that is fun.

This has also renewed my interest in Starfall which I think I will let her do a few times a week.

I don't want to be some pushy mom, but at the same time I want to make sure I am creating a rich environment for her.  I know I always mention this but it is something I am always worrying about.

OPPS! I uploaded the wrong video.. and after waiting 15 minutes it is going to stay right here. 

Here she is dancing.  She is totally obsessed.

Books

I was reading through some of the older blog posts on Chasing Cheerios the other day, and she mentioned reading 30-40 books to "O" everyday.  Here I was pleased that I read to Pooks everyday, and sometimes 10+ books.  Anyways it got me inspired to really up the amount of books I read to Pookers daily.  It has been a week and it was REALLY renewed her interest in books.  She is asking me to read to her more and when we do read she wants MORE! 

Yesterday we did about 25.  Some of the stories were quite long and others were short and sweet.  I am trying to make a goal of sitting down and reading 5 at a time.  I am really enjoying the calmness that comes from reading with her.  There are a lot of frustrations when you are two and this really gives us a chance to just chill out and spend quality time together.

Here are some of the books we like reading:

All the Frog and Toad books

Angelina Ballerina (I don't care for them but she loves them)

Grumpy Bird

Kids research books on animals - right now Alligators.

Bill & Pete Books

Guess How Much I Love You

Anything by Sandra Boynton

Beatrix Potter books

Nursery Rhymes

Now we are reading so much more we are going to have to get more books from the library or I will go crazy with all the repetition.  We got a great fable book from the library and she has really enjoyed that. 

Speak of the devil... Pookers is calling.

Reading

"A recent study commissioned by Reach Out and Read revealed that the majority of young children — 52 percent — are not being read to on a daily basis. That's 13 million children under 6 years old who are going to bed every night without a bedtime story — without the undivided, loving attention that comes with sharing a favorite book with their parents"
Dr. Barry Zuckerman, Reach Out and Read

I pulled this from someone's post on MDC. I read to Pookie everynight before bed. Usually for 30 minutes. I think should would like it if I read for an hour! She loves her books. I also try to read to her througout the day. She insists on being read to while on the potty as well.

We also are back to going to the library once a week for "Toddler Time", and while we are there we get out new books.

I think it is so important to foster a love of reading. I remember curling up with a book as a teenager and finishing it in one weekend. I loved being transported to another life. And as a little girl I looked forward to my mom reading to us everynight. I especially loved when she would read chapter books to us.

I try to read all kinds of books to Pooks. She still likes her "baby" books, with very simple pictures and text, but she also enjoys Dr. Seuss and books with fairly complex stories like "The Paper Bag Princess". I also like to find books with interesting art work. She likes "Where the Wild Things Are" and also one called "Tis a Gift to Be Simple" which has really complex artwork. She likes trying to find the animals in the pictures which are quite abstract. Her current favourites are nursery rhymes. She really enjoys those.

I am going to make a new goal of reading to her first thing in the morning and before or after her nap. She just enjoys it so much, and sometimes I feel guilty that I don't read to her more... even though she usually gets at least 45 minutes/ day.