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First Recorded "Reading"
At 1 1/2, I "read" a book on camera to my parents. I didn't actually read anything, but I had the entire book memorized, and could recite it independently. -
Too Much Too Fast?
I could read and do math well enough at age 4 that I would have been ahead of 1st graders. My grandmother persuaded my mother to not put me in school early, as she said I would be teased and at a disadvantage. I went into 1st grade at the normal time, but I was always way ahead. -
Reading Made Fun
In first grade, one of the teachers had a reading loft. She allowed me to go to her room any time to read in the loft. I used to go a lot, and would read books independently while the rest of her class worked. -
Finding The Hobbit
My aunt gave me my first copy of The Hobbit. After that, I fell in love with fantasy and science fiction, and this has never changed. -
First Place!
I wrote a story that one an award at my grade level. I had always loved writing, but this achievement kicked off a love for writing that never stopped. -
My White Whale
I read Moby Dick for the first time. In fact, I read half of Moby Dick. I could not finish it. This is, I think, the first time I ever failed to finish a book. It was too dry, too technical, and I did not enjoy it at all. I have yet to finish this book to this day. -
Independent Reading All the Time
Instead of eating lunch, I read books sitting on the floor in the hallway outside the lunch room. I soon accumulated a following, and people joined me daily to read or chat. -
First College English Course
At school, we were required to take Freshman Writing Seminars. These were actually really fun, and I loved them. I had always been a writer, so these courses were just good times. -
NaNoWriMo
In 2013, I participated in National Novel Writing Month. In less than a month, I wrote over 50,000 words in a unique novel. By December, I had written 62,000 and finished the novel. Was it the greatest work of literature ever written? No. But it was a lot of fun. -
Learning to Teach
Having only done substitute teaching before, I was thrust into a new teaching position for elementary school special education students. Suddenly I needed to know how to teach reading. It was a difficult adjustment, but I think I did well. -
This Class
I have never taken a formal class in Reading. I don't actually know the ways to teach Reading. I don't know the science of it. I don't know the best methods. I just get along as I can, and it has worked so far. Taking this course is already exciting me, and I'm hoping to get more and more experience.
