The Letter "A"

Yesterday at preschool, Julia learned about the letter "A." Everything about this lesson - from what she colored and wrote at preschool to what she verbally tells everyone - lets me know that she has completely different academic strengths compared to Evelyn.

The first thing I noticed when she brought this coloring page home was the way she tried to color the picture (inside the lines). Her fine-motor skills at age three are much more controlled than what her big sister's were at this age.

Then, there is the actual knowledge of the letter. She has been telling everyone she meets that the letter "A" is for apple. This afternoon at home, while drawing on a piece of paper, she tried to write the letter "A" on her own. If you look closely at the paper below, you can see where she wrote both the big "A" and the little "a" by herself. Evelyn didn't take an interest in letters or words until she started Kindergarten.

Evelyn is an excellent reader now - reading far better than what's expected of a second-grader. My guess is that Julia will sprout sooner than Evelyn did (she already is), but then be at about the same level as Evelyn when she hits first and second grade. Only time will tell!