Terriblement lentement

My calvaire takes the form of teaching Lil Miss N how to read. Whenever we begin our reading lessons she will invariably swing back and forth, her backbone structure will have caved in and she is spineless thus giving way to a wriggly worm with the attention span of a sparrow. Her concentration level is at an all time low!

I am persisting and hoping that she will have a declic. She is making progress however small,slow and drawn out it may seem.

Shrek has also had the pleasure of patienter avec une petite fille facilement distraite or moreover singe like to reflect/hint at her birth year and Chinese astrological sign. She was born in the year of the Monkey after all.

Persist and persist we must...patience is a virtue unto itself.

I hope it pans out nicely. I cannot estimate how long it will take befor Lil Miss N is able to read simple extracts and children's books littered with pictures and limited literature but I do hope our efforts pay off.

Update Petit Suisse is reading and writing like a pro, improving everyday so the painstaking lessons we shared have yielded magnificent results. I cannot stress how proud I feel that it is a victory and triumph in and of itself because the long road was permeated with difficult upheavals.

Little rays of sunshine

I might appear to râle every other day re my kids out of control behaviour or their un-disciplined tendencies but I love each and every one of them and they are my little rays of sunshine.

They do exhibit expressions of affection to remind me that it's worthwhile : the sometime ungratifying and unbearing of housework and child-rearing, devaluation of home staying and merde if I was to work in a daycare looking after other peoples kids and yet send my own kids to another daycare it'd be looked upon as if I was a juggling working mum hence regarded with more value and looked up to more only because I held a job peu importe si le boulot est bien payé ou mentally challenging or gratifying.

I feel devalorised by society at large and can only console myself in the small consolation/comfort : that of knowing my kids are well looked after and taken care of.

Little rays of sunshine because at the end of the day no matter how important a position is or how high ranking ones' career may be one will only leave imprints with ones legacy be it scientific discovery or ground breaking policy or children who reflect their upbringing and education and do their parents proud by perpetuating and upholding devisal and trust.

Read update

Petit Suisse is well on his way to reading. He is reading rather impressively considering a week or thereabouts ago he was barely making out words.

I am so very proud of him having achieved this milestone.

Next step is for him to read on his own...maybe that is putting my hopes up and raising the bar too high.

The teacher in me rejoices !!!

R-e-a-d

Petit Suisse's reading prowess is progressing at a slow tortoise pace of an hour per page. It is a patience tester but I do see the progress however small or insignificant it might seem to outsiders. He is actually reading words with some prompting. So I persist and hope to see a breakthrough performance. My eyes light up in anticipation of such a milestone whenever that takes place.


On another note of training I think I am abandoning toilet training Baby Taz for now. I will try again this springtime when the weather is warmer and I am less house confined thus inciting me to attempt feats that I just do not have the energy for right now.

Progress

It has been a number of years since my teaching days but I have recently discovered that I have not lost my touch. It is my greatest pride when I triumph over difficult students to instil in them a thirst for knowledge and inspire them to attain their personal best (whatever this may be, it differs from one person to the next).

I have been struggling for some time yet when it came to Petit Suisse learning to read Alphabet letter by letter, sound by sound and eventually words, phrases, sentences, chapters and a whole book. It is heartening to report the progress I have been privy to. It might not seem like much when he is able to read such gems as 'la, le, pi, po etc etc' but he is on his way to reading by himself. I can feel that and it perks me up to no end. I really am easily stoked but witnessing slow and steady progress is a process I love.

Way to go... reluctant mum but kick ass teacher. (my own perceived titles)

Reading

I have not taught in a long while and the lapse consequently results in rustiness. I have recently attempted to relearn the art of teaching children by practising it on my own children. Teaching invariably involves a lot of patience when it comes to kids. Perseverance and most importantly comprehension that it is the first time a student comes into contact with such concepts as word recognition, sound matching and association between the spoken and written forms. I have been humbled somewhat and have to keep reminding myself that reading does not come naturally to a 5 and a half year old. It is painstakingly difficult to get it right from the word go but the reward is that once it is mastered the pride the said little person will have garnered is something to behold not forgetting that the teacher cum mother will be elated and gratified by such a breakthrough.

All that said Petit Suisse still has quite a way to go before he can truly be considered as a capable reader. Lots more practice is needed. I believe we will get there and it will be an event to celebrate. I am quite content with the progress in Mathematics and Logic he has made so far.
When I used to teach kids ranging from 4 to 18 year olds I took the greatest pride in achieving that seemingly impossible feat of inspiring slow and not so bright kids to attain their personal best and reach a level that would encourage them to further their academic endeavours. It is a teacher's hallmark to instill a sense of betterment and self improvement in their pupils.