A day by the lake......and how far she has come · Thursday February 28, 2008 by Ann
We had a lovely day yesterday, at a nearby park and activity centre.
In the morning the youngsters went off to do a mountain biking session and then in the afternoon, there was another ‘Introduction to Sailing’ session.
The sun was glorious and it was delightful to be sat by the lake, with a bunch of like minded people, watching the wildlife.
Shrieks and giggles reached us from the boats and we were all sat trying to work out from the sounds, which child was in which boat.
Lucy is so confident out there now, she did her bronze level of sailing course with this organisation last year and all being well (and if enough youngsters like the taster sessions) there will be enough people to run another set of lessons this year and she can do her silver level.
However another family joined us yesterday who really bought it home to me, just how far she has come.
Two lads joined our group last summer, both are dyslexic and dyspraxic and the younger one is as severely dyslexic, as Lucy was at the same age (9)
His mom had gone off to find his older brother and I saw the panic in Stef’s eyes when the children were asked to go and sign in.
So I suggested I went with him and helped him sign in-the relief was so easy to see.
He managed to write most of his first name -missing only one letter and then told me how his surname is pronounced (it is Greek) and I wrote that.
He was then quite happy, to go off and do the mountain biking session.
Later in the day when sailing had finished, he came off the lake with his brother with a grin a mile wide. They had had such a good time again.
But when asked if they would like to do the sailing course in the summer, the worried hunted look came into his eyes and he said “No, no I don’t want to do a course-I just want to keep on having fun like this”
And I remembered
I remembered how Lucy had refused point blank to do the sailing course aged around 9, when her older sister did it (and started what I think will be a life time’s passion for sailing)
When I finally pinned it down, it was because she was still so scared of taking any sort of formal instruction-in case she had to read or write something, or didn’t understand an instruction-”and then everyone would know how stupid I am”
Last year Lucy really ‘got’ reading finally, I have posted before about how this happened in it’s own time and how we allowed her education to run ahead whilst allowing reading and writing to catch up, in it’s own time.
She can read anything now-some days she is slower than others but manages really well overall.
It is only now that she can do that, that she is ready and able to do things like the sailing course.
The damned dyslexia has held her back for so long-or the belief that she left school with, that she was so stupid, did.
And now I see exactly the same thing happening to this young boy.
I told him Lucy wasn’t ready to do it at his age either as she was frightened of having to read or right something. He asked when Lucy did do the first course and I said when she could read properly, aged 14-he said “That’s when I’ll do it then, when I can read as well as Lucy”
