great moments of the week

The other day Daniel was sitting on the porch after walking around the yard and a big grasshopper was on his jeans. Ellen was so excited that she went and got her little bug catcher and they put it in a container so they could get a closer look. Then I told her we needed to put it back outside. A few minutes later she walked back in with it on her arm! Instead of letting it out she said she put her hand out and he walked right onto her. She loved it. Arianna has always been a little unsure about holding any bugs besides ladybugs.

Something else very exciting happened this week. Ellen asked me if she could read a book to me! We always spend a short time each morning practicing reading. Ellen has been knowing all the letter sounds for a while but she didn't really like putting them together. So, she would sometimes protest when it came time to do our "reading". She would do the same thing when she was learning to ride her bike. I kept reminding her that when you first learn something it is hard work but eventually it is easier. That is a hard lesson to learn--I'm still working on that myself. But lately she really has started to recognize words and it's getting easier. I felt like it was a great relief and a great moment in my life when I saw that she wanted to read to me. Arianna is doing the same thing of course. She's still learning letter sounds and recognition. I'm sure she'll be reading soon since she wants to do everything Ellen is doing.