Sign up for the summer reading program "Catch the Reading Bug" has begun. Yeah, for the extra incentive to read books over the summer...not that it is hard to convince Elijah to read, but he loves the thrill of getting prizes for reading. That's probably not happening any other time around our house! Coinciding with this event, we decided that Eli could get his own library card. Yesterday, we headed down the road to our library and got it all taken care of. I told Elijah that he would be responsible to check out his summer reading book on his card and I would keep the rest of our items on my card for the summer, so he could practice being responsible for one item at a time. He looked at me thoughtfully and said, "Since I'm old enough to have a library card, can I have a cell phone, too?" WHAT???!!! No way!!! He giggled for atleast a half hour about getting his own phone...
I must admit, I'm not worried about him losing books or accumulating fines, etc. because I am pretty strict about where we keep our library books and besides, I work at the library. I don't think there is a week that goes by that I'm not renewing a book or eliminating a small fine or two. It's one of the perks of the job...although I am careful not to abuse it!
Luke was bummed that he isn't old enough to sign up for the reading program, so we decided to do our own version at home with prizes and all! Luke chose Museum ABC by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's more than an alphabet book...it has four images from four distinct works of art all focused on the same subject. In the back, you can find information on the work of art and its creator.
Elijah first task was to decorate a bookmark to hang in the children's room and choose a book to read. He chose Father Bear Comes Home by Else Holmelund Minarik. When we got home, he immediately wanted to read his book (after finding his wallet from the costume box for his library card...). Once he started reading, I was thoroughly impressed...but then it struck me...the boys listen to Little Bear stories on audio CD often and Elijah has an excellent auditory memory. The clincher was when he repeated the title after me and added "by Else Holmelund Minarik" in the same voice as the storyteller. Hmmm...
I know he needed to think about some of the words, but is it considered cheating if he has the stories memorized that he is suppose to be reading?
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Totally NOT cheating! As readers we rarely read from sound to sound, isolated letter by letter, or even cluster by cluster... We read with all kinds of help from context. If part of that context from Eli is his memory, then good for him! It will allow him to construct meaning from the passage, without having to labor over sounding out words he cannot identify in isolation. The fact that he is engaging with literature and comprehending the message is a huge victory and with continued practice he will improve the other skills he needs to become a proficient reader without relying on his memory of past readings.
Kiley I am so impressed and excited about the amazing year you have had with your first little mancub. i stand in awe of you :) What a beautiful family - and what a great teacher you are!
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