My girl is a reader! I am so pleased!
I don’t mean that in the sense that ‘she has learnt to read at last’ – she has been able to read for probably the last nine months or so, I guess. She’s always been happy enough with her reading books, never really grumbling about doing them with me, but never really embracing them either, just seeming to accept them as part of the weekend.
But, I don’t know why, she suddenly seemed to decide around Easter time that she WANTED to read. And since then, I have not been able to stop her! It’s hard to put my finger on where it started, but the first time I noticed was when I’d been reading her The Worst Witch at bedtime, and a bit later on I found her under the covers with a torch trying to decipher the words. They were making no sense as the book is in English, and she was reading phonetically in Welsh, but she was having a really good go.
Over the next few days I noticed that she was trying to read road signs and bus posters, and getting quite upset when she couldn’t figure them out. Next thing, she began literally inhaling her school reading books on the way home from school on a Friday, not even waiting till we got into the house, and THEN she started trying to read her big brother’s books, and I have to say doing really, really well with them. It has been amazing, quite amazing to watch – she has jumped 4 reading stages since Easter and I’d say will probably have jumped another couple by the end of the holidays if she chooses to carry on the way she is going. She has also taught herself to read in English (technically, her second language for educational purposes) and again, is not far off reading at her brother’s level.
I’m really excited by this development. Firstly I am so proud of my girl for deciding that she wants to do something, and then sticking at it until she has mastered it. I think that’s a trait that will stand her in good stead in life, though the Husband thinks a bit differently – his comment on the matter was ‘clearly she is going to grow up as pig headed as her Mother when she has her mind set on something’. I do not know WHAT he is talking about.
But what I am most pleased about is that I can dust off my collection of childhood books and begin to enjoy them all over again, with my little girl! I am thinking Five Children and It, The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, Ballet Shoes, Anne of Green Gables, all seven Narnia books, the Chalet School series, Harriet the Spy, Tom Sawyer, Swallows and Amazons…and that’s just for starters. I am literally bubbling over with excitement about this!
Looking at the above list, well, lets just say it shows my age somewhat. While a good book is never out of date, I wonder what other books are out there that a sparkly six year old would like? I would love to hear your recommendations and suggestions, for English and Welsh books that she can read herself, as well as books that I can read to her. You know the drill – tweet me, or comment below – and I’ll let you know how we get on!
Thank you/ Diolch!
ps I would like to say thank you to @mrboosmum for this lovely post, which inspired me to write about my lovely daughter and her reading milestone.
