6th Grade Reading Level

I had a realization last week as I was watching my daughter prance around the house (and yes, she prances). As I was watching her, I was thinking about how far she's come with things in her life and how far I'VE COME with things in HER life.

One of those things is her reading. I knew since the 1st Grade that is would be a struggle for her, not just intellectually, but personally too. She doesn't LIKE to read. She doesn't have much of an interest unless she has to. She much rather spend her time dancing around the house, listening to music or just hanging out in her room. I knew it would be a job for me to try to keep her interested and an effort to make sure she read at all! I think little things have helped, like doing her devotional together at night before bed; or her reading out loud (I still love to hear her do that in her room)!

The first time we found out she was struggling with Reading was in Grade school at Linwood. I think she was in 4th Grade and they said she was reading at like a 1st or 2nd Grade level. I freaked out! That feeling of knowing that about your child, as much as you don't want to, you almost feel like your child won't have a chance in life or something. Or that she was, dare I say it, "dumb".  I was so frustrated and worried. I worked really hard at helping her. I tried to find her books that she found interesting. Books she'd WANT to read. It was not an easy task. 

Madelynn was a little concerned too, she wondered if she was "bad" because she was so far "behind." So of course I worked that out with her. It just seemed like such a HUGE problem and such a scary thing. I was pretty overwhelmed. I thought "How am I going to help my daughter? Is she really in trouble here?"

Well, she was tested again last year, and sure enough this reading test said about the same thing, still 2 years behind! Neither of us were as concerned as we were the first time we heard it a few years ago. Madelynn has been reading well, and on her own, and out loud. And at her conferences, her English teacher said she's doing fine, just stick with helping her out and she'll be ok. She said not to be alarmed about it. Madelynn and I more or less just accepted it. I asked her if it bothered her, and her response was "Not really". 

Well, she was just tested again a few months ago, and Hallelujah! She's at a 6th Grade level (she's in 7th grade)! Only one year behind according to the world! But ya know what I realized? It IS according to the world! I mean I went from 8 years ago thinking she'd never learn to read, to 4 years ago realizing she had trouble with reading and being very freaked out about it, to more recently still finding out that she's below average and not really caring!!!

Of course I care! BUT-I am not worried. I will continue to help her and encourage her. But the beautiful thing is, is she doesn't mind either! When she showed me these test results a week ago, she actually handed me the slip of paper while she was prancing around! She is confident to know that she isn't interested in reading, but she will read because it's required. She's confident that she is good at other things, usually we are the best at the things we are interested in. 

Either way you slice it, Madelynn was made in the image of GOD! She wasn't and isn't made in the image of the WORLD. So even if they told us she read at a 2nd Grade level, that is OK with us! Her and I both have grown, and we've moved on from clinging to what the world and teachers and tests will say about her. It's about what I say as a Mother, and ultimately what God says, and who HE made us to be! Ain't no reading test gonna interfere with that!!!