Learning to Read

Hannah started kindergarten this year, and that means that she is learning to read.  This really means that she is just really picking up on reading; she has known all her letter sounds since she was 2 and can pretty much sound out anything, but now she has the motivation to do it more and better.  It's so exciting to see her increasing in her confidence and ability to read more complicated things, breaking the words into sections, etc.  (Yes, that was just a shameless brag-on-my-daughter moment!)

Anyway, this just got me thinking about when I was learning to read, and honestly, I can't remember learning to read!  How crazy is that?  I can remember so many other things, like when my big sister, Casey, was in preschool and I got to go join them one day for a special show and tell.  I was so excited, and took this car I had made out of Tinkertoys.  This little boy decided to take it apart and put the wheels on the bottom to make it into a hovercraft.  I couldn't have been more than 2 1/2 or 3 at the time.  I also remember learning my numbers when I was around 4 years old with A-Beka flash cards.  But I can't remember learning my letter sounds, or sounding out words.

The only thing I remember about learning to read was when I first learned to read "inside my head" instead of out loud or while whispering.  Casey and I would always go to the library and fill a laundry basket each with books of all kinds.  This continued until we were 13 and 14 years old.  This particular instance, and I must've been 6 or 7 years old, was when I had gotten a copy of Buffalo Bill.  It had a green cover, and it was a chapter book from the 60's or 70's, and I remember laying in the foyer trying so hard to read without actually reading out loud.  I finally succeeded and was very excited!  Then I ran to my parents and wanted them to watch me and listen to me reading in my head. Which on second thought makes no sense at all.

While we're on the subject, I should also mention that Casey would always get the really cool "Choose Your Own Adventure" books.

For whatever reason there was a long period of time when I wasn't allowed to get them.  It probably only seemed like a long period of time.  One time, I was sick with a really, really bad cold (the kind where I woke up and couldn't open my eyes because they were stuck together...yes...disgusting) and had to sleep in her room with her.  (I am sure she was just thrilled.)  That was when I got to finally read some of them.  Maybe because of those circumstances she was forced to share.  Most of the time though, I had to resort to sneaking into her room and reading them without her knowledge or consent.  (Sorry, Casey.)