Green Eggs and M.

School has started for real.

I have been spending time with Marina to help shape her study habits and offer nudges in the right direction. Recently we reached a waypost in connection with her English reading comprehension and phonics. That is, building and protecting her self-confidence as a reader.

Extracurricular reading is part of her school’s recipe for school-parent child-centered learning “partnership.” Ofttimes my book suggestions were derided by the M-ster as boring. As a fun and less challenging diversion I suggested “Green Eggs and Ham." This is the Dr. Seuss book I read to the girls when they were toddlers, reinforced by YouTube views of the old CBS animation from the 1960s.

As Marina bit into the good doctor’s rhymes her facial expressions took on a mischievous bent. Her brow furrowed when she recognized familiar sections, perhaps triggering memories of me reading it years ago. As she read aloud the words: “That Sam I am, That Sam I am, I do not like that Sam I am,” the tumblers seemed to fall into place. As we burrowed deeper into the text, roughly halfway through the book, she smiled and uttered, seemingly to herself, “I can really read this.”

Courtesy of CBS Productions

It was music to my ears. She generally reads with gusto and with incredulity at the words she’s discovering. It's tough work for her, and she earns each one, sometimes grudgingly. Still, it’s gratifying to watch your kids expand their horizons right in front of you, real-time.

We’re playing catch-up ball right now, but we are turning this franchise around!