For the past 3 months, I've been trying to teach my 3 year old daughter how to read by using the principles of phonics. Even though she's only 3, I must admit that I have been discouraged at how she just wasn't getting it. But, I would try to incorporate the principles, quiz her on how to spell simple words, and read to her without making her feel any pressure, but just acting as if we were playing different games. I could just tell that she was just reciting back to me things that she had just memorized instead of actually understanding the concept of how words are formed.
BUT...on the way to preschool today, she randomly asked me "how do you spell restaurant"? And instead of just spelling it back to her, I said "let's sound it out. What letter makes the sound rrrrr?" And she answered back with "r". I was shocked because up to this point, she would always just answer back with "I don't know".
So we continued through the rest of the word, "what sound comes next?" And she was able to tell me most of the letters in the word! So to see if she actually got the concept, we tried a few more words and sure enough, she got it! It was a great day, and it finally made me feel like all those little moments in the last few months were finally worth it! It's just amazing how the kids will just wake up one day and just get it. Amazing. And I have renewed hope to not give up in all my efforts to continue teaching her a little bit everyday.
