Surprise!!!!

Do you remember this post a few weeks ago?????

Yesterday,
Before we went out to play,
Little G and I went through her list of words
and she read 5 words!
Yes, you read it right!
F-I-V-E!!!!!

Two kinda dont count because they arent new, they are words and letters. But She is getting the hang of how to answer questions in this process which is another fun milestone. (when we started a few weeks ago she looked at me blankly when I asked her questions or she would answer by repeating what I asked. I kept asking the question and helping her nswer.......
Now, most of the time
When I ask her,
"what word is that?"
she signs and tries to say the word.
If she doesnt right away I jump in and answer with her.
Here are the five words:
1. I
2. a
3. Down
4. go
5. can

In case you might be interested,
The way we are doing this is by using techniques taught here(my favorite link) and here and there(Im going to purchase this book. They have many interesting resources)

I have not bought anything yet.
Let me say that again.
I have not purchased anything.....
I took all the information I learned at these websites, and a few others on "sight reading for children with Down Syndrome" or type in "teaching children to read with Down syndrome" and see what you find.(I was a phonics all the way person with my other three but what I learned was that sight reading is the way to go with my little angel)
Basically its all listed right here and will save you some time. ;) wink wink. If you are in a real hurry,the best information was the article on the very first link special reads for special needs. ( I also found some incredible kits on this site but I wanted to start with no money invested in case it wasnt the direction we needed to go in)Before I go any further please note: I am not in any way being paid by any of these websites/companies or being compensated in any way by anyone. This is research I have done on my own before we brought little G home in trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B, then researched even further when in the application process.
lets move on......
Then I looked up dolch sight words and found this incredible site with PowerPoint slide shows already made up. I downloaded the pre primer ones and just say the word while its on the screen and we sign it together and move on. Quickly. I started with the first ten words for about 1-2 weeks and saw that she knew the signs for many of the second ten so added those.
We go through all twenty and spend only a few seconds saying and signing each one. When she starts getting antsy (after about 3 run-throughs)
I let her down to go play.
I only use lots and lots of positive re-enforcement and watch to make sure she is looking at the screen and signing the word.
I think its very important to read her body language and quit while we are ahead.
I keep in mind,"This is a game!"
Reading is fun!!!
Learning is fun!!!!
I must admit,
I wasnt sure what to expect.
But we are playing and working so much that I felt like 5 mins a day wouldnt hurt a thing. Its no stress on me and I make sure its no stress on her.

My next step will be to go through all her signs and make the flash cards/ power point slideshows for ALL her signs.
I will also start making a few books for us to read together using some of the other sight words.
for example: one of her favorite words is jump. So I can have the sentence "I can jump."(since she has proven that She can read "I can" ) Also blue and see are in the first twenty words so I could use those too! I know she knows how to sign eat. So maybe a sentence, "I can eat." If I am making sure that I use words that she can sign it wont matter if she can say or read these out loud. She will still be reading!!!!!!!(what Im meaning is, I firmly believe that I should be finding ways for her to learn even though she cant verbalize. I believe the thought processes are there, I just need to facilitate it)

As you can see/read....
This is so exciting for me,
the avid reader.
I will continue just going through the first twenty words for now......
I will keep you posted on our progress.

Today is my appointment with the Retina specialist.
Im a little nervous......
Im just going to put on my Big girl panties and see what they find.
thanks for your prayers.

I remain,
Under His wings,
Anna