My dad calls himself the Oak Tree, I’m the Acorn, and the twins are the B-Corns. We see a lot of signs of the twins being like their parents – Nora is someone who reacts strongly to praise and has very definite opinions. Nick thinks long and hard about things and then likes to figure out how they work. Fell right from these trees indeed.
Both of them love to read. They’re big fans of Splat the Cat, anything Julia Donaldson, and a few other series. In the mornings they pass books back and forth between their beds and we have piles of them around the house.
A few days ago, Nora’s favorite nursery carer called me over to the table when I came in to pick up the twins. They had read a book to Nora once, and she remembered it word for word. The book was “The Smartest Giant in Town”.
Backtracking to the arbor theme – when I was 4 years old, I started to read. I did it by memorizing words (I could not do phonetics and was in a special ed reading group because of it, even though I could read). Nora also has proven she can’t do phonetics. She has, however, started to read, largely by memorizing. The acorn does indeed fall not far from the tree.
We bought her the book she read to us at nursery. I’ve read it to her once. She then did this:
Who needs the schwa sound anyway?
-S.
Children are amazig! We have a friend who like Rory will, started school at 4 due to an aug birthday. She can now read – 4 months after starting school!!
Arg. Posted too early.
Nora is just adorable!! (as is nick of course) and clearly a born reader!!! I just love that last look to the camera!! She’s stunning
I think she’s gifted. There is an emphasis on phonemic awareness in early childhood education, but it has failed to acknowledge that there is more than one road to learning to read. Watching Nora has inspired me to do a study on EC literacy for my PhD thesis :)
Such beautiful reading -I am so impressed!!
Absolutely incredible! She’s a very bright and shining star!
READING! READING KID! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
I learnt to read when I was 4 too. We early readers are the awesomest people of awesome. And Nora’s one of us! Hurrah!
I apparently taught myself to read when I was 4…because I was the youngest of 4 and no one would read the comics to me. That was my last bit of ambition, but I think I spent it wisely. My daughter seems half opposed to reading herself, but she is getting the phonetics, and she is doing well with sight words and writing and figuring things out.
Go Nora! Memorizing will get you far, and I have no doubt that Mom and Dad will teach you how to reason things out when memorizing doesn’t work. If not, your brother will help you with that.
The Mini has a photographic memory I swear. He’s really great at memorizing books and has pretty much done so since he could talk (that whole processing echolalic thing didn’t hurt either). I was an early reader, and an avid one until maybe high school, wherein I petered out. Since the kindle, I’ve read more. But anyway, he’s more of a memorization type too. He’s slowly being able to memorize words now, which surprised me. I would have thought he’d be reading Tolstoy with the way he memorizes things. Rather, he knows words like poop and farted by sight. I don’t think I could be more proud if he were actually reading, with memorizing words like that. My boy, indeed.
At one point I was getting Gareth evaluated and the diagnostician noted that he could read and that “hyperlexia is often a sign of autism.” At which point I mentioned that I had been reading at three, as had my husband, and my parents, and *his* parents… and she added, “Or it could just be a family trait.” Yeah, you think?
What an absolute delight! She can read to me any time!
I had an earlier reader (I was one, my mother was so it was no big deal here) and my MIL sniffily informed me that I shouldn’t be helping him to learn, I should leave it to the experts and anyway he wasn’t reading, he was learning the sounds the letters made and saying them. I always thought she was a silly woman and that proved it.
His school didn’t have a problem with him being able to read when he started, I didn’t have a problem because it got me out of having to come out of the kitchen to read the opening titles of “Thomas the Tank Engine” for each and every episode.
My god that really is a posh accent. I thought you were exaggerating.
I learned to read the same way, by memorizing The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Eric Carle FTW.
Ah, you’ve got a smart one there!! My youngest did the same thing at 4 and there’s no stopping her (at 40!)
OMG! I cannot believe how grown-up little Miss Nora is! Time is certainly clicking by… feels like just the other day that the lemonheads arrived.
I couldn’t understand a word she said but it was the most adorable accent ever! Seriously, American accents just do not compare. What a beautiful girl! You must be so proud :)
What an awesome reader she is- I’m especially baffled by her because to me( as a non-native-speaker) it’s still fascinating to hear those small ones talk English. SO cute.
I love her accent!! =)
Everyone learns in their own way. If memorizing is her way, then read on, sweet girl!