key to the reading room

Jonathan has been working very hard at school this fall, and in the last few weeks has achieved a huge milestone: he is starting to read. Last week his EA, "Mr. O," sent home a list of about 20 words Jonathan can consistently read. It was an amazing moment when I put some of the words into sentences and he read aloud, "I like to play ball. I see the cat and the dog." Then later he picked up a puzzle piece with words on it and named the word "the" (although he can't say his "th" sounds very well, so it came out more like "vuh" -- but he definitely knew it!). It's pretty exciting because while Jonathan's pace of learning is very slow, with time and repetition he does get it. It's like he's found the key to a room he couldn't get into before, and now he can.