And we have a reader...

Hey there, Mr. Too-Big-for-Your-Britches,

Who told you that you could get so big?...Or start reading for that matter?  We are not supposed to start Kindergarten for another TWO weeks and teaching you to read just happened to be one of my goals for this year.

Last Sunday afternoon you came up to me and said, "Hey, Momma, I can spell 'hat'." Then, you spelled it as you sounded it out. I quizzed you on about 12 more three letter words and you got them all right. And,  then it occurred to me...if you could visualize these words in your head, then surely you could read them on paper! So, I pulled out the first of the five sets of BOB books that I'd snatched up at a garage sale at the beginning of the summer, and you read through the first set of 12 books in two days! I was in total shock.

And, then the Mommy-guilt started to creep in.  How long had you been able to do this? I know you're often overlooked these days because of the babies...but could you have been reading all summer, had we just tried? I know it's not a race. I just never imagined that reading would come so easy for you.  (Now, I'm feeling pretty foolish for all the time I'd spent agonizing over selecting the perfect reading curriculum. Sheesh!)

You've been showing off your reading and spelling skills ever since. You are so proud of yourself. Realizing you could read was a bittersweet moment for me....so proud of and excited for you, yet slightly (okay, maybe a little more than slightly) annoyed that you didn't "need" me to help teach you...or maybe irritated that you couldn't just hold off a couple weeks and let me think that you did, indeed, need me? I did make you promise that you would still allow me to hold your big five year old self in my lap, every now and then, to read to you. You sweetly obliged to my request.

I give all the credit to Letter Factory for teaching you your letter sounds in combination with the brilliant mind that God has given you...that mind that can't stop trying in invent, create, and figure things out on your own. May the Lord use that brilliant mind for His glory one day, smart boy. I have a feeling I'm going to continue to be shocked a bunch in my life, as I discover all the things that you can do.

All My Love to you, Smartie Pants,

Your Super Proud Momma