The doors to the world are beginning to open

Newt is in first grade. She is just learning how to read, and sometimes having a rough go at it. But she tries, really hard.

Last night, I dug out A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein. His books are as easy and fun to read as any Dr. Suess books. They rhyme, they are nonsensical and they're funny. The kids (mine anyway) love them.

If you had a giraffe and stretched him by half you would have a giraffe and a half.

If he found a hat, and inside lived a rat, then you would have a giraffe and a half with a rat in a hat.

You get where this is going? Yeah, you end up with a giraffe and a half, with a rat in a hat, a rose on his nose, a bee on his knee, looking cute in a suit and a bunch of other things that rhyme but I can't remember.

So last night, Newt and I sat there reading this book. I would read the simple two line sentence to give her the two rhyming words (being sure to point them out to her so she could see them and hear them) and she would read the whole long list of things (that grew with every page turn). The longer that list grew, the more excited she got when she could read the entire page with little or no help from me.

She had to get sister out of the bath last night to read to her. She had to tell grandma all about it this morning on the phone. That child read that entire book 3 times over last night. All.By.Herself.

Now, that she's learning to read, the possibilities are endless......