Phonetically speaking

Between the ages of four and nine, your child will have to master some 100 phonics rules, learn to recognize 3,000 words with just a glance, and develop a comfortable reading speed approaching 100 words a minute. He must learn to combine words on the page with a half-dozen squiggles called punctuation into something – a voice or image in his mind, that gives back meaning. (Paul Kropp, 1996).

At some stage we have all witnessed the incredible journey of language learning that children embark on, progressing from babbling baby sounds, to actually being able to pronounce, understand and finally use full sentences to communicate. My girls are both well on their way to becoming fierce negotiators and E in particular has an amazing grasp of language, but I'm astounded, each day, at the speed at which she is learning to read and write! I remember sitting at my own wooden school bench - those ones where the top lifts up so you can store books, stationery, lunch and love notes - or bang your own fingers - in, diligently reading sentences like 'Spot will run' and 'Jane went up the hill'. I feel like I'm learning all of that all over again as I make my way through Grade R with E and I'm really excited because I know what's waiting for her. I understand the joy the written word can bring, how wonderful it is to be able to read and write and communicate - and I see E discovering that joy too.

Learning to read at her level has been quite mind-boggling - esp for someone who is pedantic about spelling and can't get through a menu in a restaurant without picking up a typo. Altering your thoughts so that you can work phonetically is quite a challenge! E's homework last year in Grade 00, and again this year, but at a higher level, has been to find/draw pictures of things that start with whichever letter she has learned that week. So at the beginning of 2011 when her first homework assignment arrived, she excitedly sat down, with her book, crayons, glue, scissors and old magazines, to look for things starting with 'a'. My first thought was aeroplane. Nope! Say it out loud, and it starts with 'e'. And so my lesson in forgotten phonetics began. Cereal starts with 's', Aunt starts with an 'o', etc, etc...

E can't wait to be able to read and write and is trying so hard. She becomes frustrated with words I can't explain - that some of them start with a 'c' but then the 2nd letter is 'h' and so the sound is 'ch' which actually sounds like it could be a 't'! I guess that's where learning sight words come in...!

It's such an exciting time, and the knowledge she gains each day must be so liberating! It's such a process, and I can see her going through the motions - the wheels turning as she 'gets it'. She's going to be able read books, recipes, play board games, write letters to her friends - and play on the ipad without having to ask her Dad what each instruction is as it pops up on the screen!

I'm so proud of every little love note I receive when I arrive home from work - each one a step ahead of the last. Here are 2 of my favourites;

x Mom you are special

Beach. Dear Mom, this is your voucher. Love Jem and Ella Dad.

She even wrote a letter to her Dad telling him how cross she was with him for being mad at her sister! I have a feeling my big girl is going to have no problems in English class!

We're going to have so much fun :-)

xoxo