Our whistle stop trip to KZN became a beautiful  memory as I hit the ground running straight into the new term.   Returning to a classful of eager faces is always rewarding and after listening to all the holiday stories and catching up with all the lost teeth, and outings to Ratanga Junction, the circus and the beach we settled down into our ‘normal’ routine.

The first term is the hardest in Grade One as everything is so very new.  Each term becomes easier although the pace of learning increases.   The rewards of teaching fresh, new learners is great.  I get to watch them grasp new Mathematical concepts with awe and wonder.   I experience a special kind of thrill when I see them catch on to how a word can be decoded by using those funny phonemes the teacher has been drilling into them. Even in the first week of term their progress is impressive.

Isn’t it amazing how easy it is to get little ones to do just what you want them to do?  Sometimes I wonder what goes through their heads.  Is my teacher crazy asking me to do these funny finger exercises?   Oh well, that’s what she wants we’ll go ahead and do it!  It seems to make her happy.   What do you mean sound out this word?   Isn’t it a sound already?  Hey – this is magic – I can read!

I was feeling very pleased with myself when one of my bright sparks read beautifully to me the other day. “Who taught you to read like that?” I asked.  Without a missing a beat she replied “I taught myself!”

No credit to the teacher. No credit to the parents.  Because children ‘catch’ reading and no matter how good a teacher you are that child will not learn to read until he is ready to ‘catch’ it.  That’s why they believe they teach themselves.  So parents, expose your child to the written word.   Read to her and read with her.  Let her catch this amazing thing called Literacy!