My job at Red Apple School is to help kindergartners with their reading. It is fascinating to watch the reading process unfold throughout the school year. At the first of the year, there are only a few children who are really reading. Some of the students are still learning the names and sounds of the letters. Soon many of the students are reading books with three or four words per page. What fun it is to listen as they begin to sound out words! Still, there are a few children who have not begun to read yet.
As the year progresses, so do the reading skills of the students. Reading, like all aspects of children’s learning, is developmental. Just like crawling, walking, and talking, children begin reading when their body and brain are ready to read. That is why different children learn to read at different times and progress at different levels. Last week one of the children who had been struggling with reading was able to read more than ever before. I’m not sure who was happier – the child or me! We were both full of smiles. This week that student read well again. I can hardly wait until next week.
By the end of the year almost all of our students will be able to read at least a little. One of the reasons first grade teachers at schools throughout our area are excited to have Red Apple students in their classrooms is that our Kinders are usually reading on a late first grade or early second grade level when they graduate. Some of them even leave us reading on an advanced (3rd or 4th grade) level. I am excited to see how far the 2013 graduates will progress.
Can you tell that I have the best job ever?!