A New Era

The last few months have marked a new era for Emma and John.  Emma started reading last week on June 28th.  It was such an exciting moment when the light bulb clicked.  She started writing her first letters last year, then memorized the sounds that each letter makes.  But it wasn't until last week that she has been able to make the mental leap from individual sounds to combining the sounds into words that she knows.  Emma was thrilled and I was even more thrilled.

Emma is also improving in math.  Recently we have been telling her interactive stories about kids who wanted to go on an adventure (e.g., play in the park) but who have been detained by a "math troll."  The math troll asks a math question, such as what is 3+4?, and we ask Emma to step in to help the child out in the story.  With prompting and some minor help, Emma is able to do the simple addition and subtraction on her hands and answer the questions.   She's happy to help the child in the story.

Emma also made a big step in swimming.  She completed her one week swim lesson where she learned to dog paddle and take a breath.  She can now swim nearly 25 yards across the pool.  She can also float on her back for nearly a minute. 

John has also advanced.  He said his version of "bye" while sort of waiving his hand and acknowledging his friends were leaving.  John loves to play outside and says a few more words now, including, "her-haw," "hi," "Emma," and imitating several sounds that we make.  He is also dabbling with some sign language, including "milk," "more," and "all done."