Oh, the pride!

My heart is swelled with pleasure and pride for today my daughter read. It's always an exciting moment in a parent's life when his/her child shows them some new and wonderful skill, like reading. Anna is a genius and a human so I knew this day would come. Today I tried and failed to have a yard sale (the depressing details of which I will not presently reveal, but there was rain). I brought everything up to the living room and there are boxes all over. Anna found a crayon and began coloring on one of the boxes. There are a few words she can spell and write and she writes them frequently. Such as, her name, "blue," "Mom," "Dad" and that's usually about it. So I started helping her write some words. I told her to write "C-A-T" and then had her sound out the letters and she soon figured it was Cat! Then, I had her write "D-O-G" and she instantly knew what that was so I think she's already learned to spell that. She told me she was learning the letter "Q" in daycare and I asked her what Q says and she told me and I reminded her that a U almost always follows a Q and that's how you write "Quah." Then I wrote "Q-u-e-e-n" on the box and she puzzled and pondered and then shouted out "Queen!" and we both rejoiced! Then I wrote "H-a-n-d" and she puzzled and pondered and then shouted out"Hand!"

My daughter can read!!! We'll be working more on this skill. She doesn't even start kindergarten till next year. She'll be so far ahead I'll hate to numb her mind with learning colors and letters and numbers and shapes; she's known her colors and shapes since she was two and letters and numbers since she was three. And she can already add two numbers if they're each less than or equal to 5. She fully comprehends opposites. She understands the concept of rhyming! She frequently astounds me with her genius, and today I was just so tickled to see her read.

Studies have shown that kids who learn to read early end up no more advantaged than those who learn in kindergarten. And, really, Anna's going to be 5 in 3 months. So maybe it's not THAT special, but I'm still thrilled. Because she's my daughter and she's the smartest little girl I know.