Progress Report #3

We made it through the holiday without getting totally off schedule with our reading program. I'm glad we stuck with it because, among other things, TJ is babbling his way through the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Did you ever realize it is the same tune as the traditional ABC song? Before, I knew for sure he was singing the ABCs but now I am not so sure which song he's singing, so it's harder to jump in and "help" him get through the song!

We had other breakthroughs, and if you've been reading you know I am big on recognizing the small things. He says "meow" now when he sees the word "cat" on the screen, and he's pretty much memorized the order of the video. He seems to know and get ready for a couple of the words that are coming next, and he will run to get in my lap right before Eentsy weensy spider comes on. I think we will definitely continue for the full 4 weeks as recommended.

Now for the other part of the program, the flashcards. We have been doing the flashcards pretty inconsistently, sort of randomly. I've been using them as sort of a last resort distraction. He still bends and chews the cards, and I really am trying to keep them usable for the full 7 months and longer, so we have not been using them as much. I think he would have a much stronger idea for the words if I would implement a 2-3x a day flashcard session. When I do bring them out, I set down two words on the floor and ask him "Which word says '____.'" If you try this process, you have to be careful of the card placement so that you are not subconsciously placing the correct card closer to his grasp, and not give the child clues with gestures or eye movements of which card is the correct one. He generally gets "nose" and "clap" correct. He is pretty confident, and picks the correct card then hands it to me. For all the other words, there is not that spark of recognition, he looks at both cards for a while, then guesses. Sometimes he will "cheat" by picking up each card and sliding the picture out. I don't take this testing process too seriously, if he picks the wrong card, I just tell him "This word says '____'" and keep the flashcard sessions joyful. I will let you know if/when he does something that indicates reading such as Aleka in Dr. Titzer's video. If he shouts out the word, or points to the body part, etc. with only the flashcard word as a prompt then I will start adding words to his reading vocabulary list.