I wrote down lots of words for him to sound out....boat, road, toad, goad, shoal, goal and so on. Beside those, I faintly wrote the words again and it was to be his task to form the letters atop my faint examples. He did well on the first page. And then it happened...overwhelm! The second page loomed in front of him like a mission impossible. I even think I saw little traces of tears rising up in his eyes.
Inspired and moved with compassion, I stopped. I know too well that pushing a little boy beyond his limits does not work. Pulling him close, I whispered in his ear..."Peter you know what? You are now at the point in your reading where you're ready to read from a real book!" You should have seen the change that came over him. The glistening is his eyes turned to gleaming as he buried his face in my neck and said "Oh, thank you Mom" and held me tight. And so, we two sat in a big comfy chair by the fire and he read from McGuffey's Primer. He read several pages too, for he was really enjoying this landmark occasion. When we were finished, I gave him a special bookmark that was crafted by his great-grandmother. He proudly placed his book in his drawer, ran back to the school table and finished his phonics work.
These are the moments that make all of my efforts worthwhile! I love having the freedom to stop, assess, discern and improvise in order meet my children right where they are and take them where they need to go.
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
