Braggy Mommy Post #2

OK I promised a Braggy Mommy Post about Avery, so here it is. Remember, just think of this as a way for me to write down what she is doing at this age so I don't forget! Right now Avery is just a month over 3 years old. She can write her name fairly legibly. She knows all of her letters, upper and lowercase and their sounds. If I tell her a word and ask her what letter it starts with, she can almost always tell me although sometimes I have to exaggerate the sound just a bit when I say the word. With a little prompting, she can match pictures to their words. She can read "emergent reader" books like Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Yes, I realize that memorization is a big part of it, but she will glance to the next page to see which animal comes next so she knows what to say. You early education majors know that that is one of the first steps to reading! She is using clues in the book like the pictures to figure out what the words are. What is amazing to me is that she has done pretty much all of these things on her own. She has a mind like a sponge and if she hears something once, it's in there. I have never really sat down and formally tried to teach her these things! Of course she has known basic stuff since she was practically a baby like colors, shapes, etc. She recognizes numbers 1-10 and can count to 30, though sometimes she skips 29! She knows her address, phone number, birthday, and her parents' full names. We have been saying she was a smart girl since she was a baby and she has fully filled out our praises! I have no doubt that if I work with her, she could be reading simple books before she's 4. I am amazed at the things she knows and remembers. I think homeschooling will be a great thing for her because she can go on with learning new things whenever she wants and won't have to hold back for the rest of the class. I realize this post was mostly about academic things, so I will mention a few other things about her. She is still the sweetest big sister ever. She still loves to hug and kiss on Bailey any chance she gets and loves to show her things and play around her. She has shown more favortism for Craig lately which I think is sweet because she has always been a Mommy's girl. (Although I am not off the hook, I am still requested to do many things!) She has a pretend doggie named Christy and she loves to play with her and feed her "tummy yummies." Christy comes with us on lots of outings and rides in Avery's pocket sometimes, too. One time, trying to play along with Avery's imagination, I said something about her doggie Christy and she said to me, "Mommy, she's just pretend." Excuse me! She knows imaginary from reality and apparently will tell you about it! Chloe is still her best friend and everytime we go to church or some activity Avery always asks, "Will Chloe be there?" As I was dropping Avery off in her MOPS class last week, Chloe who was already there, turned to the teacher and said, "That's my friend." I thought it was so sweet. While they still fuss sometimes like any kids will do, they still love each other and love to be around each other.
OK this post has gotten very long. Just wanted you to know all about my little smarty pants!