Jake is having so much fun with learning to read and write. I am really thrilled about this, especially so because he’s clearly ready for it now, wasn’t before, and I feel proud for having trusted him (against popular opinion) to come to it in his own way and in his own time.

He has no idea that he is what is regarded as a “late” reader. There is no shame or feeling of anxiety in him about not being where he’s “supposed” to be. I’m (rather smugly) inclined to believe that patience on our part has meant bypassing the frustration, resistance, insecurities, and labels that plague children who are not ready to learn but are pressured to anyway, just because some authoritative institution says it’s time. I don’t think it’s coincidental in the least that he has such a positive attitude about it, and that it is coming together so easily.