Next up: War and Peace

As a student in both JK and SK, Liam brought home a list of 'Popcorn Words' from school that we were encouraged to have him read whenever possible. These are the little filler words like 'a', 'the', 'and', etc. that the kids learn to read by sight rather than by phonetics. Whenever we read bedtime stories, I usually let him pick these out, and he is pretty good at it.

Also, he brings home a book from the classroom library each day. These are early reader books that the kids read with their 6th grade buddies, and then they are supposed to read them to or with us each night. Liam does a good job of reading these books, needing us only to sound out or help with a few words here and there. I had attributed that mostly to him having read the book with his buddy first and having a good memory for the storyline. (Also, the books are awfully repetitive and easy reading.)

I never really considered Liam to be a 'reader' until we went to the library on Friday and he brought this book home. He read two pages to me and then I stopped him, grabbed the camera, and recorded him finishing the book. He'd never read it before. I was shocked to see him actually picking up some brand new material and making his way through it so well. We have raised a reader! It feels like it happened overnight - one day he was blind to the significance of words, and the next he was well aware of the whole world around him. That's not it, of course. I know that almost two years of school have gotten him to this point. What a wonderful point to be at. Way to go, Liam!!