The Girl Can Read

Lexi is only 8 years old and she reads better than 99% of her peers. In fact, at parent/teacher conferences the other day I was told she can read at a 6th grader's level. I knew she could read, but damn! I didn't realize she was THAT good. She has taken multiple Accelerated Reader tests on the books she has read and I just looked up the reading level for the Harry Potter books and technically she could read most of them. She isn't a very fast reader though, so I imagine it would take her quite some time to read one. Her teacher said that she should be reading for at least an hour every day. So I told her that she can stay up until 9 with the stipulation that she reads from 8-9. I am so proud of her. There was one issue her teacher brought up and that is Lexi's speech. She has a problem with -er sounds. Her teacher recommended speech therapy and there is a set time in school for that. One of her classmates that is also in the gifted program already does it, so it wouldn't be an issue with getting her there or anything. I think I might be sad when she can fully pronounce things like "hurt" and "shirt" because then every ounce of my baby will no longer be a baby. She sounds cute but I can tell she is embarrassed by not being able to say those kinds of words.

On a side note... Jacob's conference went super well. His teacher even mentioned that she will be referring Jacob for the gifted program. I believe he has the ability to make great strides in school, but definitely not the discipline. He is too lazy and unfocused. While Lexi likes to read and do her homework, Jacob does not share her enthusiasm. We will see how it works out. His teacher had nothing else to report. He is a great kid in class and he made high honor roll for the first time this quarter.