/a/

And so it begins. Luke is recognizing sounds in words and each day I ask, "Is this the day that I write on the calendar that he started to read?" He knows quite a few sounds in fact, and I am getting ready to make a nerdy chart about it. Today we were making A's in our playdough and I asked Luke what sound the A makes. His answer was, "Africa, Alligator, Alistair." The reading specialist in me was aflutter, so I had to add "Antelope and Alphabet." The fact that he could hear the /a/ sound at the beginning of the words, any sounds in fact, actually gives me a sigh of relief.  I have met so many kids in grades K-8 who could not recognize letter sounds that I had this fear that my child would be one of them. Now I just need to continue to remind myself that he's only 3 1/2. It's okay to just let him lead the way and support him as he goes. It's not a race for him to be reading, despite my total interest in sitting him down for a daily lesson. What can I say? I miss teaching and am so excited to see Luke getting closer and closer to the grade school days.