Miny Miracles

Kadie actually let me teach her something this morning! She was doing her Math Minute (in the morning at the breakfast table because I cannot keep up with 1st grade homework) and she was basically just guessing. Math minute is to help kids speed up their addition facts, however you first need to know your facts which she does not. Anyway, she was guessing wrong so I taught her some simple addition tricks. The mini miracle is that she listened and then..... music to my mommy ears....said "Hey Mom, you actually know how to do this!" Yep. The sayings is true, what goes around comes around. I am sure my mom will read this later today and reminisce over the years of me and my sister treating her like she was a total idiot- good times.

Why is it when we are 6 (and older too) do we think our parents know nothing but our teachers are God?

I have often lovingly said that Kadie has an unteachable spirit. The polite way to say she was a "know it all". Not really in the typical obnoxious way but in the creative imaginative denial way. For instance when she was 4 she asked me how the lines got on the road. When I told her how they did that, she simply said in all seriousness, "Nope, that is not how they do it mom. These fairies fly down with paintbrushes while we are sleeping and paint dandelion dust on the road." She would tell me that I spelled things wrong when she could not even read. She would tell me that letters made different sounds than they actually did. She was serious, and I clearly did not know what I was talking about.

I was delighted when she went to preschool and actually listened and learned from her teacher. It gave me hope. But now we have this issue....full out battles over what the teacher said verses what I know to be fact. For instance there have been words that she is mispronouncing when reading. I will correct her occasionally and she will say "No, Mrs Hansel told me to pronounce it this way." I talking simple words that make no sense to pronounce differently. Are you kidding me? Then we have to go thru the whole "lying" talk which leads to defensiveness and denial. Again... good times.

But this morning there may have been a breakthrough. Not holding my breath but hopeful.

I do have to say, I cannot believe how fast she has learned to read. It is shocking. Jack was an early strong reader (before Kindergarten) so Kadie was more on the normal track. But all of a sudden she brought home a chapter book and started reading it! She sounded out the word "actually" last night. Wow. We were fighting over sight words 2 weeks ago, it is amazing how it just clicks all of a sudden. I forget that.

Yay! It is so fun when they can read.