AJ is entering public preschool this year and we have been working all summer on preparing him for reading. We read a lot of books and try to enunciate as much as possible. We use phonics cards, letter coloring books and a sound chart to help show him the letters and how they sound as we start to form words.
As we work with the letters and sounds I am inundated with the question why.
Mommy, "Why does Giraffe start with a G and not a J?"
"Hmm, good question. The answer is that some letters have hard and soft sounds, a G can be hard like in Gift and soft like in Giraffe," I answer.
AJ asks, "Then why does Jam start with a J and not a G?"
"Well, letter J is just soft, like in jam, jellyfish, Jill, and Josef," I explain.
"Then why not just start Giraffe with a J?" he asks.
AJ is very logical, he reasons things out, puts things into order and tries to make sense of the sometimes senseless. Sometimes his logic goes beyond my capacity for reasoning. I have a choice to answer him with a lengthy description or make it brief and understandable to the 4 year old intellect.
The real reason is that the English language is complex and Phonics is only the beginning of what he will learn about spelling, speaking and conjugation; explaining that to him can open a whole other can of worms.
My answer to him is that words can seem complicated, when letters are next to each other they sometimes sound different. There are a whole bunch of rules that he will learn in school to help him understand but for now we need to focus on what the letter looks like so that he can recognize it when he sees it. He seems satisfied with the answer and goes back to working in his coloring book.
He likes to work with his flash card and knows all of the letters and their sounds. When he looks at a picture and tries to guess the first letter, it can be hit or miss, like in the case of Giraffe. He gets a little frustrated with the letter X and Xylophone and asks why not start it with a Z, it sounds like Zebra, why can’t they spell it that way.
He gets irritated that Kitten and Cat are the same animal, sound the same and yet start with different letters. Why?
Since I am not an English major, far from it, I have no answers for him. He is right, it is confusing and Phonic is just the tip of the iceberg. I don’t remember enough to explain the specifics and answer him in a way that makes sense. I fear that I will be unable to satisfy his curiosity without confusing him.
He seems baffled and a little worried that he may not get the hang of this "spelling and sounding" thing because it is quite confusing and not logical to him. My job right now is to make him feel like a superstar, like he is so smart when he gets it right, and build his confidence. It is the school's job to teach him the rest. I will be there for support and to work with him as much as I can, but I am happy to allow them to teach him about letter combinations and sounds. Honestly, I may need a refresher myself in order to be much help; Wikipedia here I come.
Off to make another Mommy Milestone.