Tears of Joy

I cried today. Do you remember how exciting it was watching your baby take his first steps, teetering and tottering, falling down, and getting back up? Well, you should try being there when your child learns to read. It is amazing.

My first grade son is having a hard time breaking through the "learning to read" wall. Both of my other boys quickly learned to read while in kindergarten, succeeding with all of the typical book methods. They caught on quickly, and progressed quickly. And then I started teaching this one to read. It hasn't happened yet after a long kindergarten year.  He learns in a completely different way than they did and do.  I have found myself reading books about learning styles and trying all kinds of new ways to help him read.  He definitely fits into the "doer" kinesthetic type of learner.  Sitting still he can have trouble counting to 15, but spinning in a circle he can count to 100 beautifully.  It has been a journey for us........already.  It is hardest to teach those who learn differently than you do yourself.  I am definitely a visual and auditory learner.  This is foreign territory for me.  Who knew that teaching my children would teach me so much?  All of this even led me to drop the curriculum that I had been doing successfully for 4 years and jump into WAVA, Washington Virtual Academy, with all of my children.  What did I have to lose, my old ways weren't working.

Well, today the lights began clicking, the synapses started snapping, and HE WAS READING WORDS.  The joy in his eyes was beyond description.  The tears in my eyes were obvious.  And I must mention that the PhonicsWorks program from k12 is awesome, an answer to my prayers.  He gets to touch, feel, move, and hear the letters.  It is just what he needed.

And I would not have traded this experience for anything.