I recently visited my oldest sister in Vancouver, Washington. She has five grown children who have so far given her seven grandchildren, with an eighth on the way. The oldest is five years old. So I'm watching all of these babies playing and doing what babies do, when 2 1/2-year-old Donnie walks up to me and starts placing alphabetic magnets beside me and telling me what sound each letter makes, without flaw. I kept quizzing him on them, thinking he maybe only knew a few, but he gave me the correct sound of all twenty-six letters! Having taught a lot of first graders, I was blown away to know that a 2 1/2-year-old was already sounding out letters that many six-year-olds struggle with!
Then my niece Beth brings up five-year-old Jack, who is not yet in kindergarten. She wants him to read to me a new Dr. Suess book that he has never seen before. After coaxing the shyness out of him, he begins reading this book, without flaw, words such as "marvelous" and "Mulberry". He is reading with inflection and undoubtedly reading well above the required level that first graders are expected to be reading before they pass to second grade! Rather than being painful to listen to, it was delightful, to the point that it brought tears to my eyes!
Wondering if this child was a genius, I began questioning his parents, who told me about a website they started him on when he was two years old. His two-year-old sister is now using it. It is an interactive learning site and children apparently love it. Please check it out and let me know what you think.
http://www.starfall.com/
~Dave
Great job! Great tools for educators and parents.
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