embracing language

"store"

One of the kids' favorite activities when the weather improves is creating an entire "town" with chalk on the driveway and then "driving" through it on their bikes. This can take up the better part of a day if it's really warm and dry out. Usually "town" includes a store, a parking lot, a large green space with trees, a lake (with fish for pretending fishing) and a police station so that they can take turns being the police officer and catching each other speeding or running through stop signs (!)...

More evidence of K's interest (as well as his progress) in learning to read and spell... This week I observed him phonetically sounding out words like in, store, park, out, stop and writing them in chalk where he wanted them in the chalk "town". This is very new for him and completely self-propelled and natural.

Every single time I see examples like this I get so excited. I can't help feeling wonder and awe each time I witness him joyfully immersed in his own learning process in ways that are meaningful to him. For me it's feels no different than the giddiness and excitement I felt watching him as a toddler stand up and take his first, very own steps.

It seems to me that his motivation to read and write comes from the same source as learning to walk, talk, eat on his own... He is driven solely by wanting to explore, enjoy and get along in the world he was born into. In our society, he sees words around him constantly. He hears them being broken apart and put back together, being played with, sculpted into story and song, labeling things he wants to know more about... They are as much of a part of his world as are water and air. And he simply can't help but want to absorb, understand and use them as he grows....

And even though now we can see the "evidence" of his learning with examples like this, I'm sure his "first steps" toward reading, writing and comprehending language began long, long ago...