My little reader

I have to share a milestone. It actually happened over this year and last year, but the other day I realized how amazing it was. For anyone who needs  reminder, J is six. He goes to school every other day and is full of energy and excitement. He is not the typical reader, given his age, gender and tendency to wild abandon. But he's made quite the regular habit of coming home from school and opening a book to unwind from a busy day. He even gets so excited about his library books that he forgets about his video game time, which I also allow as a way to unwind.

I first noticed this when he "let em sleep in." E must have been in on it too, because it's the only time that toddler has slept until 7:18! J is allowed to leave his room at 7 to start the day, but instead of waking me up, he went downstairs on his own. I slept in until 7:18, and brought E down to find J on the couch with a Scooby Doo chapter book, reading away. He told me he wanted me to get some extra sleep, so he was just reading on the couch.

Since he's such an avid reader, I have given him the privilege of reading before bed. We've extended his bedtime from 7:30-8:00, but the deal is, he still goes upstairs at 7:30. Then he has half an hour to read before lights out. I still read with him on most nights before that, but it's getting less because he prefers reading on his own now. Instead, in his half an hour of E-free time and before reading in bed time, we can play a game or do something else together.

I know I'll miss reading to him (I already do), but I'm so happy and proud that he's reading on his own. He recently got a book order from school with more chapter books. He looked inside and realized they don't have pictures. He wasn't upset though, because they were big-boy books. He's already read the first three chapters. I think I need to buy him a bookmark. And maybe it's not so bad that I don't read to him anymore. He wants to read to me now, and then he wants to talk about his books to me. He also fights with me about who will read to E, which is actually kind of cute.

I realized that although J couldn't be more of a "typical boy" in a lot of ways, with his energy and excitement, he is atypical in some ways too. And I'm proud of that, because it means he's well-rounded and has many interests. It also means that whenever he says, "I'm bored," I can tell him to go read something. Which is easier in so many ways.