Mr. Big Shot
© Joan Archer
There we were, the little guy and I, reading about Mesa Verde National Park between bath and bed time. He looked at the next sentence I was about to read, and calmly stated, "That word is "flat"." Well, of course, I was floored! He went on, "And the next one is "topped". He is the fourth of my sons, the fourth one to read, and still, my heart leapt. "Torstein can read!" I shouted, joyfully. (Yes, I am a card-carrying geek, proud of it). He is lucky to live in a house full of geeks, because my shout produced brothers by the dozens, all wanting to see "Baby's New Trick". Unfortunately, Daddy was sleeping by then, but Tor was high-fived all around, and congratulated heartily. He accepted his accolades with aplomb. My mind raced with the next level of teaching I would have to develop.
Tor submits gracefully to reading the Bob books, those little pamphlet type books available in nearly any library, or for sale in book stores. We are moving into the Suess books, and he has always loved Hop on Pop, I think for the scandalous way poor Pop gets treated in the book, more than anything else. Still, it is easy to read.
I try not to tax his little eyes and brain, so he only reads three or four times a week, unless he comes to me with something he wants to read. He has shown a bit of dyslexia, but of course his nerves are still growing, so I don't worry about that yet. Most little kids are this way at first, and it is not considered a problem unless it is severe (in which case, he would still be a non-reader, most likely) or if it doesn't clear up by the age of six. It is the usual, starting words with their ending sounds, or substituting lower-case "b" for "d" and vice-versa.
He also works on computer things, like the Reader Rabbit software for about half and hour at a time, also about three times a week. It is more important for four year olds to be outdoors playing. This has the added benefit of encouraging their neurodevelopment, so very important in learning of all kinds. There are also games on the Web for the use of the littlest ones. Tor likes http;//alfy.com. For parents there is http://thegateway.org for lesson plans, which is associated with ERIC, the clearing house for learning resources.
