While everyone in my kindergarten class was learning how to
read sight words, I was busy doing my own thing. I was the kid that would stand
up during class, wander around, and routinely pay a visit to classmates at
their seats. According to my mother, my teachers were constantly calling
because I just wouldn’t behave. It got to the point that my mother had to visit
the school on a regular basis to sit with me because that was the only way I
actually behaved.
It got better in 1st grade, behavior-wise.
However, what didn’t get better was my ability to read. The good thing is my mother was up for the challenge.
My mother was only four years old when her father taught her how to read and write in their native language, Spanish. By the time she went to 1st grade, she was already reading chapter books. Thanks to her father, who was an ardent Christian missionary and bible teacher, the love of learning and teaching was fostered in her from early on. When she was 16, she taught her own maternal grandmother how to read the Bible and write in Spanish. Not surprisingly, my mother would later on dedicate her life to teaching others how to read and write both in English and Spanish.
By the time I was born,
she held a university degree in education from Mexico, and was fluent in English. As an educator, she did
what she could to teach me how to read English even before I started grade school. The
idea was to have me follow her footsteps. But already at the tender age of
four, I refused to be forced to do what I didn’t want to do. Apparently, it has
always been “my way or the highway” for me.
As 1st grade reached mid-year, my teacher warned
my mother of the possibility of me repeating 1st grade. My
classmates were well on their way to mastering their 1st grade
sight-words, and I was still struggling with my ABCs. So, my mother doubled the attempt to drill the sight words that I was expected to know by the end of
the school year. Yet the more she drilled, the less interested in learning how to read I became.
My mother later admitted to me that as 1st grade began
to draw towards the end, she was at loss on how to help me learn how to read
and was fervent in her prayers, asking God to show her a solution. She had already spent countless hours trying to teach me how to read sight-words on flash cards through drills made into games, among other methods, but I just wouldn't cooperate. My dear dad was of the opinion that forcing me wasn’t going to help me and that I needed to be left alone; I would start once I was ready to do so. My mother, of course, wasn't buying it. Failing the 1st grade wasn't going to be an option for me.
Thankfully, God answered my mother's prayers and efforts.
When my mother realized that her methods weren’t enough, she looked for other ways and found Read Now!, a system based on a research-based reading program called I See Sam, at a yard sale. Although the original I See Sam consists of 52 reading levels, the version my mother found was incomplete, but it still did the trick. I got hooked and the rest is history. I caught up with the rest of my classmates, passed 1st grade, and went on to become a lover of books. After two years of unsuccessfully trying other reading methods, all it took was a red-headed lion by the name of Sam and a rat by the name of Mat to teach me my first sight words: I see! I see! I see Sam! I see Sam the lion.
Recently, as I was reminiscing about my childhood, I YouTubed
I See Sam and managed to find a short (and shaky) excerpt on YouTube of
the first video from I see Sam. As I watched the video, I felt a sense of gratitude flood in. I was reminded by how often I take my mother for granted, especially when it comes to my talents and abilities. Whether the problem was my stubbornness or my learning style, my mother was able to find a way. If it weren’t for her, my love for reading and writing today would probably be non-existent.
Here's a link to the original method Read Now!, which was developed
by the Southwest Regional Educational Laboratory in the late 1960’s (SWRL). Since
becoming public domain, I See Sam has been reformed and digitally reformatted
by others like ReadingTeacher.com
and Academic Success For All Learners
, and, as far as I can tell, do not include the videos from Read Now! In
my case, I do believe that the videos from the original reading system Read
Now! were key in inspiring me to learn how to read because of the music (“Let’s Be Friends, and let’s work
together”), the reading visual cues, and the cute furry animal animations. However,
that is not to say that other versions of I See Sam wouldn’t be as effective, only that as a visual and audio learner, the visual and audio stimulation that Read Now! offered was what I needed to inspire me to learn how to read.
Please note that I am NOT affiliated with Read Now!, nor will I receive compensation if you click the links and buy from them. I just wanted to share with you how I See Sam played a vital role in helping me learn how to read. If you have a child, or know someone who does, that is struggling with reading, please consider using this method. And please...
Don't give up on them.
May the love of learning be instilled in our future generations.
Until next time,
La Morenita Nomada
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