I once was a "big" sister...

Thanks to my big brother, I remember my reading days very well. My mom was the type of mom that paid a lot of individual attention to reading. Every night before bathing time, my mom would have mini-reading conferences with my siblings and I. My brother was a very weak reader, therefore my mom always spent more time with him. She taught each one of us how to read learning phonics. Every day I would come home from school, mom would always have some new fantastic book or notebook of worksheets for us to attempt. Sometimes I even secretly wanted to destroy the notebooks because I just wanted to go outside and play with my friends. We even had videos with Barney reviewing phonics!

I mastered the skill of learning how to read first, and I thought it would give me a free ticket to go play outside. But I was wrong. Because I knew how to read, I was now responsible of helping my brother to master the skill. I spent hours and hours drawing pictures and sounding out letters to my big brother. I really felt bad for him because all of his friends already knew how to read, but he didn't. For once in my life, I felt like the "big" sister and that my brother needed me.

I guess phonics is responsible for my brother being my best friend now. My brother and I would always make games out of new words. Honestly, it was pretty exciting once my big brother started understanding the skill of reading. Phonics was also the beginning of my dreams of becoming an educator. When I tutored my brother, I would write on my chalkboard that I received for Christmas one year. I remember the feelings I used to get by writing on my chalkboard. It was the best present my parents could ever give me.

Phonics is the reason why I have the knowledge about learning new words today. Every time I come across a word I do not recognize, I sound all the letters out until they sound correct. I think phonics is a valuable thing when shaping the "experiences of reading" with a child. Children can relate to objects if they sound the same. When I am teaching international children new words I will definitely share my love of phonics with them, in hopes of it working the same magic it did when I was a proud 4 year old.