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Beginning to read!

Today I was tidying up the house, getting it ready for Jacob's lab group to come over for an end-of-semester lunch. Jubilee was home sick, but not too sick (just the worst sort of sick child to have at home, you know? But also the worst sort of sick child to have at school, which is why I didn't send her.) While I was putting something away, I saw our bag of BOB books, and pulled it out for Jubilee.

"Here are some great books for someone your age!" I told her. She turned five a few days ago, and has been showing signs of reading readiness*. I set the books in front of her, and as I continued to clean I helped her begin the series. But then I had to stop cleaning and take a video, because watching a child learn to read is so magical.



If you're not familiar with the BOB books, they're a paperback set of books that build upon each other and introduce new letter sounds and sight words in each book. They're terribly boring to read if you already know how to read, but if you are learning to sound words out they are just what you want. The set I have is incomplete, since I found it some years ago at a yard sale, but it has enough of the books that Jubilee read 5 or 6 of them in a row today.



The illustrations in the BOB books are "meh" for me. They get the job done (the job being, to give context clues so that the words can be sounded out properly, and to add some continuity to a story that must have very limited words). I like that they're sketched, black and white, and pretty timeless. I don't like that sometimes I think "What is going on there? Oh that's a hat!" or "Oh that's curly hair!" I appreciate that they do some things right, but part of me always itches to draw my own illustrations whenever my kids read the books.

*The signs of reading readiness Jubilee showed were 1. Holding books properly and turning through them to look at the pictures and words 2. Recognizing most letters and knowing most letter sounds 3. Asking me how to spell words when she was writing notes 4. Figuring out what one or two words were without my help, when we were out and about.

It is so fun to be beginning this new leg of the reading journey with Jubilee!

I caught Jubilee "reading" this book to Samuel.

Also of note: Hot Cross Buns!


Bitten by the bike bug!
Gotta love this girl

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