Literacy Biography

My earliest memories of reading are few in number - not because I didn't read as a child, but more because my memory stinks. :-P Anyway, when I think back on the times when I was reading as a child, I recall myself sitting with my grandmother and making her listen to me read Dr. Seuss books. I don't know if she enjoyed it as much as I did, but she pretended well. I also remember writing as a child. I used to 'play restaurant', and I would make menus, write down my siblings' orders, etc. I also remember really enjoying handwriting time in third grade. I thought cursive was such a cool thing that only older people did when they wanted something to look pretty.

(As I'm typing this blog, the memories are actually coming back, and so I'm enjoying this more than I anticipated!)

In school, I don't really remember learning how to read and write in the very beginning, but I do remember the books I used in first grade; I think they were called Red Fish, Yellow Fish, and Blue Fish---each color having something to do with the reading level. I also remember using brown clay in kindergarten to form letters and then we as a class would write them on paper. Other than that, I don't remember much about learning to read and write---but I do know I did eventually learn how! :-D

As for spelling and phonics, they went hand in hand. The teacher taught the class what sound each letter makes, and then I guess we repeated after her until it eventually stuck over time. Once I learned the sounds of the letters, I used that knowledge to spell words correctly, and most of the time I was actually right. :)

I liked language arts in elementary school the most, and it was still enjoyable and/or tolerable in middle school and high school. The last couple of years of high school were more challenging because I had to 'over-analyze' things at times, or at least, that's how I saw it. Sometimes it was a bit of overkill with the analysis, but I still look back on those times as experiences that made me grow as a writer and reader.

Nowadays, I don't really read for fun. I'm not a novel person. I do read articles online quite often though, and I read emails, instant messages, and other electronic postings. I read to learn more than I do to relax or "get away." I suppose that is one of my downfalls, but right now, that is all my time and taste allows.