Today, though, we had a little craft. We made snowmen from scraps of paper and fabric. When we were finished I wrote Joshua's name on his paper and he said, "J-j-j-j is for snowman." And I said, "No, s-s-s-s is for snowman." Then we wrote the letter "s" on the top of his paper, he asked to color the letter "s" on another paper, and within just a few minutes I could ask him what sound "s" makes and he would respond, "S-s-s-s".
This marks a first for him. He has been introduced to the concept of phonics, but only knows the sound "j-j-j-j" and that he never has used in the context of seeing the letter "j". He also has memorized words that begin with each letter of the alphabet, but until this morning, this has not been connected to understanding the letter makes a sound. So, this is a big milestone and the beginning of his process of unlocking the code of written language.
As with most things he learns I was surprised when he got this. While I always guide him through a new concept, I'm following his lead so he's essentially just ready to pick up new things as they are introduced. I think I'm beginning to understand this child-led learning model. From reading about it I wouldn't necessarily agree with the theory, but from experience I can say that (at least for now) it's the best teaching model I could follow.
So, we'll see how this progresses. Eventually it will be reading, but I'm trying to not get any ideas of how quickly or slowly that will happen. In his own time, Joshua will be reading and from what I've learned by the time he's a teenager, no one will know the difference if he starts reading at 3 or 10.
Regardless of when reading happens for Joshua, watching him and Hannah learn new things is an exciting part of parenting. :)
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