One Issue so many fellow Awesomism families ask me is “how did you get Peyton to read so well?” When I answer them I get responses that vary from ‘WOW!’ to ‘hmmm need to try that’….mixed with skepticism.
Let me start from the beginning. When I realized Peyton was going to encounter reading issues that I had not dealt with my older 3 before, I approached it the standard way. I went out and bought just about everything I could get my hands on, from Leap Frog to books that had the letter buttons. None of these worked. I remember sitting at the kitchen table with him and both of us were in tears because he just couldn’t get “the reading thing” down. My older kids would step in and try as well, yet nothing seemed to work. I even tried singing books to him thinking it maybe would help to have a rhythm attached to the words. I was about ready to give up, Then the most amazing thing happened, Peyton figured it out for himself. He did something that was so simple yet no one I spoke with had suggested…….he turned on closed captioning on the TV, at first we were all like “Peyton stop turning that on its annoying!” He would turn it off, but when we left the room he would sneak it back on. I realized he wasn’t being disrespectful he was learning! He started to read items in the grocery store, on road signs, he started to pick up books and read them to me! I was amazed. Here I had spent my time telling and showing him how he was “suppose” to learn to read. He on the other hand quietly went about it his way. He was determined he was going to read, and he did. I remember one day watching him read the words on the TV, while he had it on mute and thinking …bless him he doesn’t let the battle defeat him, instead he figures out how to win the battle on his terms.
While I realize this may not work for everyone, I wanted to share my story because like so many Awesomism Moms, many times we feel overwhelmed. Any thoughts and suggestions that people give us as a means of caring and sharing, can be a true ray of Sunshine when we feel like we aren’t sure how we will handle this latest battle.