I just realized the other day that I never wrote a post about this kiddo learning how to read...
He's been reading for almost two months now & is doing great! If you had told me two months ago how well he'd be reading, I wouldn't have believed you. Why? Because, Cohen had a really hard time reading at first. He just couldn't get the concept that letters make sounds & if you blend those sounds together, they make a word. That concept just didn't click with him instantly like it did for Connor & Aiden. Once he finally did get the concept, he still had a hard time listening to himself blend to figure out what the word was. He would blend all the sounds together, but then forget what the first sound was that he made. For example, he would blend the sounds c-a-t, but by the time he was done, he had forgotten that he ever said the "c" sound, and would tell me the word was "at." When I would blend out the words, he could hear the word, but it was hard for him to do it himself.
Well, as you can probably imagine, a mom lacking in patience didn't handle this situation as well as I should have. I just didn't understand why he couldn't figure it out. Reading always came naturally to me as a child, and it came naturally to Connor & Aiden as well. So this was a foreign concept for me. I was frustrated. So was Cohen. He had waited so long to read to be just like his big brothers, and he started feeling like he'd never be able to do it.
I talked to his preschool teacher who told me just to take it slowly with him. She said to only read with him for 10 minutes a day. She told us to even set a timer so that we would know when our time was up. She went on to say that it didn't matter if he only sounded out 2 words during that 10 minute period. We would just celebrate what he was able to do during those 10 minutes, and then be done for the day. I questioned her on this. If he's struggling, shouldn't we work longer & harder on it? Nope. Just 10 minutes a day. She said if Cohen knew he only had to read for 10 minutes--instead of the 30-45 minutes I was doing with him before--he probably wouldn't get as frustrated. And neither would I. She thought we'd see more progress that way.
We decided to give it a shot. And, it worked so great! The first few days, we only got through a few words during that 10 minute time period. We would sit & blend a word over and over again--trying to get him to hear himself say the word. h----------a----------t, h----------a-----------t, h-------a-------t, h-----a-----t, h---a---t, h--a--t, h-a-t, and then suddenly he said "HAT!!!!!!" It was the first time he'd really been able to hear the word as he blended the sounds. And, suddenly, everything clicked for him! I'm not even kidding. Once he heard himself say the word "hat," he realized that those letters sounds h-a-t made the word "hat." From there, he just took off! Both his teacher & I were amazed at how quickly his reading improved after that.
Now, two months later, he's reading books that have 4- and 5-letter words in them. Yes, he sometimes still struggles a little on those longer words--but that's when we just stop & blend it over & over again. It's so great to see the joy in his eyes when he figures out a word...
Despite the fact that Cohen had the hardest time learning to read of all my boys, he is the one who loves to read the most! No doubt about it! This kiddo loves to sit down & read books. I catch him doing it all the time! With Connor & Aiden, reading has always been a chore. Something that gets in the way of playing with friends or the iPad. But, Cohen just does it for fun--all the time! Including at 9:30 at night, when he's supposed to be asleep. It's not uncommon to come into his bedroom an hour after bedtime & find this sight...
What you're looking at is Aiden and Cohen's bunk bed. Cohen will hang a blanket up from Aiden's bunk and then turn on his light & read. I guess he thinks, with the blanket up, no one will ever realize he's turned on his light and Is still awake reading under there...
Haha! Silly kiddo! We catch him doing this all the time. But, it's hard to get mad at him when he's reading, right? Especially when he gives you that cute little Cohen smile once he realizes he's been caught. I just love him to pieces!!
I'm actually really glad that he had a hard time reading at first. It taught him that, if he's willing to work hard, he can do difficult things! I think it taught his mama that a little too. Plus, I think it made Cohen appreciate reading more. He's definitely becoming our little bookworm! --Lindsay
