Ethan loves spelling. Ahhh, a boy after his mother’s heart.
For quite some time, he has been able to recognise all his letters (both lowercase and uppercase) and is getting really good at writing them all too.
And for the past few months we have gotten used to hearing “what does _ _ _ _ _ spell?” or “how do you spell ____?”

The latest game to play in the car is “I Spy“. Ethan loves it, and he’s very good at it. We’ve had a few laughs along the way because he can’t pronounce his ‘R’ or ‘TH’ sounds properly (they come out as ‘W’ and ‘F’, respectively). He’s getting better, but we’re not quite there yet. On the way home from Whangarei last weekend, Ethan was having his turn: “I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with W” (well, he didn’t actually say “double-u”, he said “wuh”. Or something similar. You get the picture). Rob and I tried guessing, but to no avail. Eventually he put an end to our misery. “It’s WOAD!”, he exclaimed triumphantly. Silly us!

On a side note … Tyler loves to copy his big brother, as little brothers do. So now we have Tyler *trying* to spell. According to Tyler everything is spelled “B-H-B-A”, much to Ethan’s disgust. He cannot stand to be wrong, that child. I wonder where he gets that from? Surely not me!

Anyway, we have been gently encouraging Ethan with his spelling and reading, but only because he has shown such a keen interest. We’ve let him develop his own curiousity about it, rather than forcing it on him and potentially making him upset, frustrated or resentful. He just has a natural interest and affinity for it, which I’m happy about! Especially because I was the same as a little girl.

Ethan is now able to recognise quite a few words in his books when we read to him at bedtime. He’s doing really well, right on track for starting school in less than 8 weeks! I actually can’t believe it is that close!!! But I feel confident knowing how much he enjoys learning. It gives me hope that he won’t feel too overwhelmed with the things he’ll be learning at school. Because the social and emotional aspects of starting school will be enough of an adjustment for him (and me!), without having to worry too much about the other stuff.