KayTar and the Great American Novel

Okay, not really, but I am taking a break from the bleakness of healthcare to brag a bit on the wee one. Bragging touches a nerve at times, so let me preface this by saying I know it is totally NOT normal at this age AND I am pretty certain it is tied to her unique little pattern of brain functioning. I've posted about this a couple of times before (all those links have videos of her doing her thing), but it has kind of reached a new level. Her reading vocabulary, which is now not only site words, has to be over 200 words. I know it sounds like an exaggeration, but our jaws drop DAILY from her reading something new. Her ability to retain these things is NOTHING we've cultured in her or worked with her on. When you say "My two year old is reading." the standard reply is "Well, we don't QUIZ OUR CHILD ON ACADEMICS." Well, neither do we. She just KNOWS this stuff. It is 100% her. We encourage it only because it is something she enjoys so much.

She's gone from words like stop, go, mom, dad, cat, dog, to words like work boots, library, bring, planet, adventure and so on. I wish I could remember some of the real jaw droppers, they are the ones that leave Josh and I slack-jawed in awe staring at each other. Words that I truly cannot place where she might have learned them in context. I really need to start writing them down, because she truly shocks us every day. She reads billboards out the car window. She lays down with me in the evenings when I read my novels and points to words and reads them to me. She reads words from the episode summaries that come up on the DVR menu. She lays with me looking at her own books, pointing out words and often sentences. She still doesn't understand the "rules". She doesn't consistently read left to right or top to bottom, but she is reading the words on the page. Not 100% of them, for sure, but a huge number. She attempts to sound new words out, too. When she learned library she said, "Yi. Buh. Rah. Eee." She says "Yi" because she can't articulate the L sound. I've heard her trying to sound out lots of words recently. It just so impressive. This is where she shines. She might not be able to jump or run or walk up stairs or hear with both ears or eat table foods consistently, but reading? That she understands. It blows my mind.

This video I took 5 minutes ago. I opened BubTar's riddle book from the library to a page we have NEVER read with KayTar and asked her to read it. This is the FIRST time I asked her to read it, I didn't even do a practice run before turning on the camera. I promise.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It might not be reading the Great American Novel, but maybe by Kinder, right? ;)