From the very beginning, my sweet Oldest Girl has made a habit out of making me worry. Being as she was born early, that was pretty easy to do. I was afraid she'd never gain weight. When I was just about ready to take her to the doctor, she put on five pounds in a week. I was worried that she might not ever crawl. When I was ready to call her physical therapist back, she started cruising around the house. When, at eighteen months, she still wasn't walking, I got out the therapists' number again. She toddled across the room. And it didn't end there. When I was sure she'd never learn to add, that I was a failure as a teacher, and determined to buy a new curriculum, she proudly announced that two plus two was four. When I thought she'd never get up the courage to go down the slide at the park (at age six, mind you) she went down squealing and laughing the whole time.
It seems there a pattern there, doesn't it? Hmm.
So I was concerned that she'd never finish a chapter book on her own. Most homeschooled kids finish their first chapter books before they start the first grade. It's not that she can't. The child reads at a level that never ceases to amaze me. It's just that... well, she'd rather not. There are more important things to do, you know, like build Lego cities and mix up magic potions that will turn her sister into a magpie.
Ah, but tonight, she finally finished her first chapter book. All day I'd notice how quiet it was, and realize there was a Very Small Blonde Person following me around as though there was no one to entertain her... because her sister was busy reading. Ha! Reading! On purpose! O, the joy! And tonight she came to me and proudly announced that she'd finished her book. She told me all about every detail of it - ah ha! so that's where the magic potion idea came from (though the magpie intention was entirely her own.) The lucky book? "Ivy and Bean". From a "conservative mother" standpoint, I'm not all that certain I approve of the book, but I'm not gonna argue it now - she read a whole book!
I saved all my Babysitter's Club books from when I was a kid. They were my beloved, most treasured books. They've been in the basement waiting for some sweet little girl to read them again. I'd just about decided to give up on them, to wait to pull one out until Cora was old enough to read them. But maybe I'd better hold off on that decision - oh what fun it will be if she decides to take an interest in them! Or maybe I'd better start looking for the next book in the Ivy and Bean series instead... Either way, she's reading! Ha! I'm so happy.
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That's so exciting, Julie! Lilli's first was Charlotte's Web. Her current is Black Beauty. She also doesn't generally WANT to read, but when she finds a book she likes, she can't put it down.
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