Reading...

Warning...this post is a bit of a brag, but I am beaming with pride as I watch Sophie thrive as a kindergartner, and just had to share this little tidbit.

Sophie continues to love to read. She has been tearing through chapter books for months now at a rapid pace, and has especially loves the Ivy and Bean, Magic Tree House and Junie B. Jones series.

If there's a down side to all this, it's that she prefers to read to herself "in her own head" as she puts it. Which means the time we spend cuddling on the bed with a good book has been somewhat limited these past few months. However, she's starting to embrace the idea of being read to at night again, and we've selected a book that will be reserved solely for that purpose. Presently, we're reading The BFG by Roald Dahl.

I've been volunteering in Sophie's classroom each week to help with a program called Accelerated Reader (AR). I get to take a group of students to the library, read a story and then help them log into computers to take a short reading comprehension quiz. I've loved this experience as it allows me to participate in Sophie's education, and also provides an opportunity to get to know some of her classmates better.

Here's where the brag comes in. The other day, her teacher informed me that Sophie's name had been announced to the school over the PA system during morning announcements as the Kindergarten student who had read the most AR books during the grading quarter. Her prize was a gift certificate to a local used book store for a new used chapter book. Given her love of reading, it didn't really come as a surprise to me. It was just nice to see her be recognized for something she excels at and enjoys so much.

These pictures below are from a recent trip to Barnes and Noble with Grammy and Grandpa Nick. They gave her a gift card for her birthday and took her to pick out a few books of her choice. My mom was a little surprised when one of the books Sophie selected was about the life of Harriet Tubman. Turns out they had been studying her in school and Sophie wanted to dig in deeper and learn more. So she just sat right down in the stacks and started to read. I have a hunch that B&N will soon be a favorite destination, especially since they have a Starbucks downstairs!