Philip Newton's journal

So, Amy is progressing well in reading German (recent letters included H and I, I think). She’s also getting taught the difference between “long” and “short” vowels, which she’ll need for English, too. (Regardless of what you call it, grasping the concept that one vowel letter can stand for multiple sounds is essential.)

Anyway, the other night we read Letterland ABC, and Amy had a go at reading the words in the boxes on the right-hand pages.

And I was surprised at her tenacity! English is not like German (though some aspects of the spelling are, fortunately, similar), and there are lots of letter combinations you just have to learn (ea ou oa, etc.), and the example words didn’t seem to have been chosen for ease of reading if you’re just starting out.

But she persevered! Even with longer words, she usually gave them a shot.

She used to get easily frustrated and just quit after a while, and I was fully expecting her to do so here, too, but no: we got through half the book (up to M) and she read (or attempted) nearly every example word. (She couldn’t always figure out what the word meant, i.e. identify the word she knows from the sounds she made, but at least she tried to sound them out.)

Well done!