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The Early Years
My first/early encounters with literacy were through listening to my family talk, read, and play with me. -
Toddler Years
This was when I can really relate back to communicating with literacy myself. My mom would always say, "do you want me to hold you?" while moving her hands. After a few times I immediately picked it up,I would walk up to her and say, " hold you, hold you" and make the hand gesture. Was I grammatically correct, no but I was effectively communicating through language. -
Preschool
At an early age I loved to read. My mom read to me every night so reading time in preschool was my favorite. My teacher Mrs. Buckley had multiple reading areas throughout the room; carpet areas, teepee, and we even had a tall can with a hole cut out of it with pillows to sit in it and read. This was my favorite spot, it was made for only one person and you had to earn and share your reading time in it. -
Elementary Years
A few distinct memories from Elementary School I remember are tracing my name onto my desk nametag to practice spelling and writing my name. My teacher reading Judy Be Jones to us and me trying to read the book on my own and struggling with the content. This was when reading became one of my least favorite subjects. -
Dance
Dance was a popular art in my house growing up, both of my sisters danced so obviously I wanted to as well. Over the years dance taught me how to count to eight multiple times in a row and then the multiples of eight (three eight counts 3X8=24). -
Middle School
Middle school the time when I needed the most help.This was the time where I seeked extra help through a reading tutor at school. She would help me correctly sound out the words and push me to understand the storyline and what each word meant. I had mixed feelings about it at the time, all I wanted to do was please her and get the "gold star" so my time with her would be done for the day. -
High School
This was when I really took the time to fully understand or research anything with literacy I did not understand. I signed up for a foreign language and I personally think this bettered my literacy all around. It made me start from the basics again; creating flash cards, googling definitions/pronunciations, and actually being tested on language again. -
College
This is where I learned to adapt my literacy the most. I realized how to bring my works/conversations to all levels; elementary, middle, college, and professional. I learned to not be afraid to ask questions, that it is the only way you will personally grow.
