During bedtime recently, I’ve been reading chapter books to the kids. We’ve read Peter Pan
Geetle and Pookie seem to like it. Geetle spends a ton of time each day reading these kinds of books to herself but Pookie doesn’t read quite that well yet.
He is still probably just above a Kindergarten level in pure chugging through the book reading ability and probably a bit behind in comprehension. I’m not really sure how you test reading comprehension in a 6 year old kid with autism but that’s a topic for a different post.
Anyway, I haven’t spent much time having them read out loud to me recently.
I grabbed a random book off the bookshelf the other night while Geetle was brushing her teeth and had Pookie read it out loud. The book was a level 2 reader according to the cover. Each page has probably around 50 words or so and most of the time there are words on both pages when you turn the page. It is significantly harder than anything I’ve had him read before. In addition to more words, the sentence structures are a bit more complex.
The book is about a guy who buys a farm for really cheap and when he shows up all of the animals are doing the wrong things and making the wrong sounds.
Pookie reads 2 to 4 pages of it each night with very little difficulty. He maybe needs help with 1 or 2 words per page and he reads each sentence pretty quickly. He’s even showing signs of understanding that sentences can continue onto the next line and that they end at the period.
I’m pretty flabbergasted.
In school they normally read books way below his reading level but focus on getting him to describe what is going on in the pictures which is great for his language skills and for being able to explain what the book is about which is important for demonstrating reading comprehension.
So I’m really at a loss for where this reading leap came from other than that he is just a pretty smart kid. I need to head over to the library soon to pick up some new books at a similar reading level to add into our bedtime routine.
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Yay that he’s a smart kid and yay for the jump in reading ability. That’s awesome news. I’m sure you know this but it’s great you challenge him. I bet that helps a lot too.
Our 6 year old son had a similar experience. He taught himself to read before we even realized he was doing it. He seems to learn a number of things “in chunks” if you will – we can work on a skill for months with seemingly little progress, then one day he just “gets it” and it seems like he mastered the skill a year ago. It’s as if there is something impeding the flow and then that barrier is lifted all at once. It’s awesome to see them make these huge strides – way to go, Pookie!
I so enjoy your and BAGM’s blogs, thanks for sharing your journey with the rest of us!