Momnesia

We'll Be Working On Our Own Vocabulary

Emerson and I are lying in her bed, reading before we go to sleep. We have a deal: For every page I read to her, she sounds out one word of her choosing. The problem is that she doesn't have a lot of patience with the process, and wants to guess her way to the right answer. So, for example, we'll get halfway through "window," and she'll shout "Winner! Yes! I did it!"And then we have to start over, and she's not just struggling with her novice reading skills, but also with her disappointment.

We're on a smaller word this time.

"So what are the letters?" I ask her.

"H, a, l, l," she answers. No problems.

"And what sounds do they make?" I ask.

"hhhh, aaah, llll, lll," she answers. Also no problem.

"Okay. Now we put those sounds together, and we smooth them out," I coax her.

"Hhhhhhh...ahhhh...lllll...llll..." she tries. I wait.

"Hhhhhaaaalllllllll," she frowns - and then I see it click in her head.

"I got it! It's HELL!!!!" she shrieks, and looks for my approval. "... Mama?! Why you laffeend?"