Proud pop

I've always given my parents all of the credit for my love of reading and learning. If they hadn't taken time to read every day, both to themselves and to me and my siblings, I might not be the intellectual giant I am today.

That's why my Supermodel Wife and I have made it a priority over the past three and a half years to read to our daughter every day.

Yesterday we received the payoff.

The princess has been interested in letters for a couple of years. About a year and a half ago she had the alphabet song down cold. About a year ago she was able to pick out the individual letters visually.

About three months ago she learned that each letter makes and individual sound, and a month or so ago, she started learning how to "draw" each letter.

Then, yesterday during our nightly reading session, she started to sound out the words phonetically.

We were reading the literary classic Hop on Pop ("the simplest Seuss for the youngest use). It contains words like "pup" and "up". It was amazing to see the young one looking at the individual letter, speak the sound, then put each letter together.

I can't believe how excited and proud I was and am. I really think my daughter is the smartest child in the world (as all parents do).

I can really see after this experience why people become teachers. One of the most rewarding benefits of being a parent is to see this kind of development, to see your child's curiosity and desire for information and education.

I've already bought her a copy of War and Peace.

tagged: education, reading, Dr Seuss, parenting, parent, book