Literacy Quest: A Parent’s Journey – Episode 1: The Request

So, I received this message from my child’s teacher, and it’s like, “Congratulations! Your child has been selected for a reading intervention program!” Now, I don’t know about you, but when they use the term “intervention,” it sounds like my child is “hooked” on something, hopefully phonics. I mean, should I be concerned? Are these second graders so far gone, that now they have to be admitted into a… literary rehab? Or, is it that the school expected the children to emerge from the womb reading Shakespeare?

And then, they hit me with it – “We want parents to actively participate.” Oh, fantastic! Like, I wasn’t already on a first-name basis with the Kratts Brothers, PJ Mask, and the Paw Patrol crew. Now, I’m expected to be the co-captain of the SS Alphabet Soup. Smh. I saved the commencement date like it was the latest iPhone release – “Introducing the iRead 2000, now with more vowel sounds!”  

A few days later, they sent me a link to a reading website, along with a 4-minute voice note like a secret agent briefing, explaining how to navigate the website. I felt like I was in the mission impossible of parenting. I started thinking, “This website better not be some digital Narnia where I get lost in a labyrinth of consonants and vowels.” I put on my reading glasses, and plug in my headphones like I’m about to enter the matrix. I start listening to the voice note.

I click the link panningfortreasure.com and see Vision 2030 Jamaica – Sanjah’s Treasures. I feel patriotic now like I’m part of a literacy revolution; clearly, my child’s reading journey is a national affair. “Okay, this looks promising.”  “Every Child Can Learn, Every Child Will Learn.” “Mi like it”.

I click the activities page and see three levels. Level 1 is open, like when you get a little taste of the good stuff. As for the other levels, well, I guess the school is going to unlock those when they feel I can handle the big leagues.

So, I dive into Level 1, clicking “reading,” then sound and symbols set 1-4. It’s like a treasure hunt for the ABCs.  The page has 4 parts. Part 1’s all about 12 consonant letters, Part 2 – short sounds of 5 vowels, Part 3 – the rest of the alphabet’s gang, and Part 4 – some consonant digraphs. It’s like the ABC mafia meeting.

Now, each section has this fancy setup – slideshows with letters and sounds (UK pronunciation) , there is a 1-minute video that covers set 1 letters , a random letter generator that’s like a letter bingo game or the ABC slot machine ,and an audio bank for each letter – it’s like a symphony of the alphabet in your ears. It’s educational AND entertaining. Next thing you know, we’ll have a spelling bee with flashing lights and a fog machine.

Back to the Activities page, I click into the tracking sounds section. This is like word flashcard mania! Consonant-vowel, vowel-consonant, Consonant-vowel-consonant mix and match – it’s like playing Scrabble on steroids.

Teachers and parents also can generate word lists, like we’re on a phonetic word processing production line. Reading these word lists turns you into a processing superhero like Flash. If you can read these nonsense words, you can read anything phonetically.

And don’t get me started on the sight words section, back on the Activities page. It’s like a word disco in there – “Stayin’ Alive” with vocabulary. 10-word generator banks popping up words like a surprise party. My child is supposed to practice each set until the words are recognized instantly. “Practice them ’til you can say them in your sleep.” It’s like a verbal marathon.

So, here I am, folks, on this literacy journey – part Indiana Jones, part Dr. Seuss. If parenting is an adventure, then this reading intervention is my quest for the Holy Grail – the Grail being a child who can spell ‘grail.’ 

The teacher mentioned that she would send us the first step, and advised us not to engage with the children until we receive instructions. She doesn’t want us to cause frustration for the children or ourselves in the process. Okay, so I am patiently waiting because I believe my child can and will learn.

Buckle up, and join me on this literary rollercoaster – it’s a wild ride through the ABCs, where every curveball is a consonant and every loop-de-loop is a vowel!