Tracy called me from work the other day and told me her coworker had a collection of books she wanted to loan us. The coworker had great success in teaching her own daughter to read with the "Bob Books." Tracy asked if I wanted her to bring home the first box full of books. I, of course, agreed.
Well, we hadn't had the books for more than a day when we brought them out for Shea. She quickly flipped through the basic illustrations and expressed interest in reading when Tracy told her what they were for. Shea sat herself down at the dinner table with the first book from the set and opened to the first page. Tracy and I assisted her for a while in the process of sounding out the letters, but before we knew it she was doing it on her own.
Tracy and I were flabbergasted. We couldn't believe how well she was doing. I have to give a lot of credit to her preschool and to her Nona. Her preschool teachers have been doing a great job of teaching Shea all the sounds the letters make and her Nona has been giving her private lessons at home surrounding the alphabet and how to write characters.
I wasn't quite prepared for how emotional this developmental milestone would make me feel though. As a writer, books and reading are obviously important to me, but this was beyond that. I found myself getting choked up as I watched Shea deciphering the symbols that led to sounds that led to words that led to meanings. It is one of the most critical and foundational skills she will acquire in her young life. Soon, she will be able to discover things for herself and she won't need us, her parents, in the same way. She's discovered discovering via text.
The day overwhelms me with pride. When Shea got done reading the last page of the first book she'd ever read, she passed it over to me and said, "Can I read another one?"
Yes, Shea, you can. Please do.
Here's the video of Shea reading the first book of her young life:
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