bookworm...

Well, all of this DID amount to something...

As of this past week, my daughter has begun reading her first simple books! (and I don't mean memorizing... I mean reading a page in a book that she's never seen before!) At 3 1/2... yikes this girl is so stinkin' smart.

She's been putting together letters & sounding them out in the tub for a year now, and last month I started writing out simple sentences with 3 letter words in them for her to read to me-- "The cat ate the dog" and so forth. Well, that quickly turned into "Mommy, what word is this? Mommy, what does this spell?" at every little word she sees. And when I noticed her eyes watching the words in books more than she was looking at the pictures & trying to sound out the words she hears, I could just see her little brain at work!

So right now in this beginning stage of reading she recognizes several basic words, and then she can figure out some words just by sounding out the first letter. Our librarian showed us a few good series/authors of books at this stage-- this one is Caroline's favorite to read this week. It just cracks her up so much.

What an amazing thing to watch this process in a child!-- from a helpless little baby in my arms to a walking, talking toddler and now to the beginnings of a reading little girl! I am utterly amazed as I watch her hungry to learn.

And as her mommy, I'm soooo proud of her! (Forgive me for bragging.)

And I know, I know. I'm also in big trouble, too! :)

p.s. Happy Birthday, Pop! We love you!