This was met with very little effort and a lot of grumbling. It was clear that he understood the sounds of each letter, but refused to let me guide him to put the sounds together, barring a couple of a+t or a+n sounds. Anything further than that brought on lots of eye-rolling and moaning.
Fearing that I was instilling a dislike for the whole process, I stopped and put the books away. He just wasn't ready.
All of a sudden, this past weekend, he asked out of the blue for me to get the books back out. He wanted to show me how he'd been working at school with his teacher to sound out words.
I was so proud of him! I loved watching his little mind working through the letters...tongue sticking out as he thoughtfully studied the words.
And, what a joy to see his excitement at this accomplishment! He was so proud of what he could do that he finished book after book and asked for more. By bedtime, he was armed with a flashlight and books and dove under the sheets; and, I remembered, fondly, so many nights as a little girl when I would sneak books under my covers at night.
Richard is reading The Hobbit to them at bedtime right now. I've been amazed at how excited Connor has been about the story. During breakfast, he inundates me with plot summary from the night before....and, he's all,"Can you believe that Mama?!" He really liked The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe earlier this year, but it's nothing like this.
Aidan likes to listen in too, although, I'm not quite sure what exactly he's taking away from the narrative. He talks about Hobbits, repeats some phrases, and gets tickled when Richard changes his voice for each character; but, we'll be excited to reread it to them when he gets a little older and has a bit more perspective and grasp of the story.
But, for now, I just love witnessing these little, everyday miracles.
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