Reading and 'Rithmetic

Two stories to share:

Robert has grudgingly worked on phonics and reading with me, but never really tried it on his own unless it was expressly assigned. Until today. We are walking home and he's staring off at something. I hear him whisper, "Sssss-t-op." Then he turns to me and smiles, "That sign says 'stop'." Later, Matthew walks by and Robert points at his shirt, "That says 'mom'." He's not asking. He's not showing off. He's just stating a fact. I playfully scold him for learning to read, and I moan loudly about how I will never be able to hide another secret from Robert because now he can READ! That makes Robert smile. He wants an example. I say, "What if I tell Alice to hide something behind d-a-d?"

"Dad!"

"Argh! You would know where to find it! See? No more secrets."

Then I spell other "secret" words and places and he loooooves figuring them out, too.


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We're walking home from school and we take a new route. It's a fun little side trail that meets up with our usual route about halfway. We turn onto our usual route and Robert suddenly recognizes where we are. Delighted. He wonders out loud if the new route is shorter than the usual route. A shortcut. I mention that maybe I could use my pedometer to compare distances next time. The next thing I know, he's explaining to me how I could take larger steps on the longer route to make it so the two routes would appear to be the same number of steps.

Seriously, Dude? You're 5 years old...and totally right.

I don't naturally think about the world that way. Alice doesn't seem to, either. Surprise! Robert's different (again). Moments like these are a thrilling peek into his perspective and a terrifying reminder that this mom thing is way more complex than I like to admit.