Progress

This list of words came home with Avery the first week of school this school year. I remember that I was so curious to sit down with Avery and see how many words she knew. And so I asked her to read the list to me. At the time, she could only read a handful of the words (maybe 10 or so). I also remember thinking that I just didn't see how one earth she was going to learn all those words in 9 months. Reading has always been a struggle for Avery (and for me, when it comes to teaching Avery). This might be in large part due to the fact that Samuel taught himself how to read shortly before he turned 4. He sees a word, learns it, and never forgets it. Teaching him to read was, well, effortless. Avery, on the other hand, never had the desire to sit down and read. Don't get me wrong, she loves being read to, just as long as she's not the one having to do all the work. She's my creative child. Looking at the illustrations in a book is far more appealing to her than trying to sound out words (BORING!). :-)

So, halfway through this school year as I was cleaning out old paperwork from school, I came across this list and asked Avery to read it to me. All of the words that have a red check mark to the left of them are the words she knew halfway through the school year. And today, as we sat at the kitchen table going over her reading and spelling words, she kept flopping her head down on the table telling me that she would NEVER be able to learn all the words (she's so dramatic... I don't know where she gets it!). And that's when I had a flash of inspiration. I found the list of words, went over to the table, and handed it to her. I asked her to read the words to me, and she only missed 2 words. And when I told her to look at the 2 words she missed more carefully, she got them both correct on the 2nd try (the word try, being 1 of the 2 words she missed, ironically enough).

"My dear, sweet Avery, that is what you call progress!"

Avery got the biggest smile on her face. I couldn't help but seize the moment and use it to teach her something SO important. It's something that I've always believed for my children, but up until recently (when a dear friend reminded me of it) I had forgotten that the same could be true for myself. And here is that truth... That with a little hard work and determination, you can do anything you set your mind to accomplishing! It's true! "Look at the list," I told my precious daughter, "and realize that just a few months ago, you only knew maybe 10 of these words. But YOU learned these words. YOU did it! And you will learn these new words now. Because when you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything, Avery."

Do you teach your children (or other parent's children) that they can do anything they want to do in life... anything they set their mind to accomplishing? Do you believe the same can be true for yourself? When was the last time you took that first step of courage towards reaching a goal, and then watched the progress unfold?