Caleb's words

Thursday as I was ironing Caleb was drawing on his marker board. It was turned away from me but I knew from what he said that he was working on a fire station. He started saying letters and I went to look and just loved the little picture I saw. He told me he was trying to write fire house or fire man at the top. He had F r H and said he couldn't make an S. I showed him on the side where to start and how to curve an S and then he drew one himself.




Later that same day for our farm lesson he was matching labels to farm related pictures. I'd had this set of farm related pictures from a bulletin board I did in college. I actually knew where it was and was able to get it down so he's been playing with it this week. The barn didn't have a label as the other pictures did so he said he'd make one. He did this one by himself too. He wasn't sure how to make the n so I showed him that one too and he did it. He wrote b r n as seen below.

As a teacher this really excites me. I see him on his own putting together the things he knows. My husband asked me privately about the missing a in barn. He said he knew there must be a reason for leaving it out and that I didn't correct him. I remember in my college classes learning about the steps through which children progress as they are learning to write and spell. What he is doing matches what I learned. Caleb's spelling would be "invented spelling." He was using the sounds he heard to write the words. Here is an article I read related to this that refreshed my mind regarding what I'd learned in college about these stages of development.

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"The Lord.....is righteous; he does no wrong. Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and every new day he does not fail." Zephaniah 3:5