John Deere Green Can Read!

My heart welled up with joy yesterday as my kindergarten-aged son and I sat down for our daily time of reading. I have been optimistic all semester, but until now JD has shown little interest in going beyond the “active” part of kindergarten. He loves playing games, doing puzzles, recess — of course, and snack time. Today, he adored reading!

We’ve been using a packaged program with basic phonics to guide JD in his journey along the “reading road.” The sporadic success/failure of this program with my son had caused me to reshelve it in the homeschool room and try to find other things that might stimulate his interest in the written word.

Well, after a bout with the flu, I decided to break out the system again. We worked with it differently than the way I’d presented it the first time, and he loved it! We curled up on his floor with the workbook and supplementary books, and we just took our time going through the appropriate words. He started off slow, but quickly began to pick up speed as he recognized the relationships between letters and words. Before I knew it, JD had read his first book in the series and was asking for more. I am still in awe of his newfound intensity over the concept of reading.

First thing this morning he came with a big grin on his face and his workbook in his arms. He’s had a one-track mind since the first words began to turn on the lightbulbs in his head yesterday. He even mentioned excitedly while working on the computer today that the activity he was playing would help him learn to read more.

What a beautiful treasure this discovery of reading has been for me. I knew in bringing my kids home this year that I would receive far more blessings than the amount of work I am able to put into this endeavor. Little did I know how God would just bless my socks off with the precious treasures I now hold dear to my heart. I have watched my active son become a real student who loves to learn and can now read and write. He is changing everyday, and I am so glad I get to see him in every facet of his day. I praise God for all His surprises. He is good all the time.

On His Adventure~