Milestones: Reading already?

"Call me Ishmael."

We've begun what a friend of ours calls "the parabola of reading" with Miles.

The idea is relatively simple: We start Miles off by reading to him out of great works of literature. In his case, this includes Moby-Dick and the songs from The Lord of the Rings (in lieu of traditional nursery rhymes). The purpose of reading to him out of these more-complex writings is twofold. First, it gives him a sense of the rhythm of well-constructed, creative English. Second, it provides a base for his subconscious understanding of literature.

As he grows older, we'll make the readings simpler, largely due to his increasing ability to understand and process the words read to him. During this time, we may read books like The Little Prince or Aesop's Fables--books that rely primarily on plot.

When he's old enough to converse about the books, we'll be reading such works as Dr. Seuss or Dick & Jane books, ones in which he'll start recognizing letters and words, encouraging him to become an independent reader.

Once he starts to read on his own (which, of course, will be supplemented by our reading to him), he'll have this base already laid, and when he reads Moby-Dick on his own, he may somehow remember what we've read to him.

Of course, this is all conjectural, but it's certainly worth a shot.



We're working on getting Miles on a schedule--learning that day is for playing and night is for sleeping. So far, two good nights in a row!