Little Learner

Luca was my greatest concern when it came to going to school.  All of my previous attempts to help him learn letters, read and prepare for school seemed like a total failure.  I seriously was concerned, but over the past 9 months first as he started out in a US Kindergarten and then made the mid-year transition to Italian first grade, I have been so encouraged by his growth and development.  He has become a sponge for learning.  His speech has always been a challenge for him, but with his mouth expansion in the fall  it seems like he has had to relearn how to use his tongue to form sounds.  Add the unique sounds needed to speak Italian, like rolling his r's, and it is quite the challenge (for anyone!)  I wanted to capture him reading in Italian for you to hear, since he never speaks or performs on demand apart from saying nonsense words when asked to say something in Italian.  You can see some slowness in being able to form the words with his mouth even though I'm sure he can hear it in his head.  He has increasingly shown some frustration with English and how things are spelled, asking why they use a certain letter when it sounds like another.  Ah, yes...welcome to the complex world of English!

Luca is a little genius when it comes to math and does quite complex problems in his head.  He baffles us in this area.  He has successfully and beautifully learned how to write all his letters in cursive (even with the refusal to hold his pen correctly).  I am so proud of him and how much he has grown and matured this year.  Keep up the great work, buddy!

In addition to being a little learner, he is our little runner.  He does not know the definition of walking and is always leading the pack wherever we go.  Track and field would be right up his alley.