Reading alone

Here is Beth, enjoying some big girl time. I love walking around a quiet house, looking for her (expecting something awful) and finding her sitting in her chair,with the lamp on, reading library books. Ahhh, these are the moments that make me just want to eat her up!


Earlier that day (this was last week sometime) we received a special package in the mail for Luke and Beth, from Ryan's uncle and aunt in Missouri. Beth received some lacing boards (similar to this) as a gift, which is really awesome considering literally earlier that day I was wanting to go out and buy her some! Lacing boards are great in helping develop fine motor skills. Beth was intrigued with them and actually was a lot better at it than I expected! We're also working on a very basic form of narration, which I've read about from Charlotte Mason. Since Beth is so young, we basically read the book (multiple times, usually) and then I ask Beth to "read" the book to me. She flips the pages, tells me what she sees and what she understands about each page. Eventually, she should recount the story to me in her own words. That's the goal, at least. :-) We've been going to the library once every two weeks and we get books for her each time, usually Franklin books. She loves Franklin- I let her watch a few episodes on tv and now we read the books. What's fun for me is that I remember my little brother watching this show so it's sort of nostalgic in a way, lol. On our computer, I've downloaded a bunch of music from The Wiggles, and most mornings she jams to those songs while I'm getting ready for the day. I let her watch a couple of short clips on YouTube and BOY does she really get into that! I would love to get my hands on some DVDs but our library doesn't have any! She's not really into painting and coloring as much as I thought she would be, but water play is a huge deal right now. Basically, I've discovered that playing is not about a goal, it's about the process. So, having clean hands doesn't matter- washing them, making bubbles, splashing around does. Finishing her lacing board doesn't matter- getting the laces to go through the holes is the exciting part. She does want to cheer whenever she finishes a task though; "Beth all done!" is frequently heard around here! Or, "Yay Beth!" Watching her grow up is so much fun!