Reading?!?

Wait...What? Where did this come from?? They're 2 and a half!!!

Both Esme and Ellerie have been able to identify a few words here and there for awhile. But now, out of the blue, Ellerie (especially) has developed a whole new confidence in her abilities and has completely taken off. This video was taken a few days ago, and I have already seen a lot of growth since then! She grabs her pile of books, sits on the couch and just starts reading her way through them...asking help on words as needed.

Ellerie is my girl who would sit and look at/read books for hours...or put together puzzles (she easily puts together 50 piece puzzles). Esme loves books and puzzles too, and is equally as gifted, but her attention span isn't near Ellerie's...but still longer than most 2-year-olds. Esme can read most of the same words, but she just won't sit and read a book on her own like that for very long...especially if the camera is on her. She'd much rather be read to, and that is completely fine by me.

I haven't pushed reading at all, but I have exposed them to lots of books, and reading/listening to stories is their favorite activity. They have learned to recognized a variety of words through me reading and playing games..."This is the word 'the.' Let's see if we can find the word 'the' in this book." This is also a fun game for learning letters. Or, play "hide-and-seek" with letters/words/shapes/numbers (anything). I'll write the word on a couple index sized cards, hide them in the room and ask my girls to "find the _____."

They have also started learning how to sound out words. Phonics is important too! Their little brains are amazing!

Check out this video of Ellerie reading one of her books. This particular book is from the library and I believe this was only the second time she had read/heard it.