Spider-Man vs. the spiders

By Children Rising | April 18, 2013

Erick picked out a superhero book this week: The Amazing Spider-Man. Unfortunately, the book had quite a few words that Erick has not encountered before such as “radioactive,” “goblin,” “wrestler,” and “skyscraper.” Even understanding the purpose of an enemy was a little daunting. As he read and asked questions, I realized that Erick didn’t know very much about Spider-Man. He asked if Doctor Octopus was one of Spider-Man’s friends (no). He asked if Spider-Man could make webs (yes). He asked how Spider-Man became a Spider-Man (let’s keep reading and find out!).

As we read on about Spider-Man, I could tell that Erick did not have the same enthusiasm for this superhero as he did for regular spiders and Super Mario. From his perspective, I think it might be confusing to have a fantastical character dwelling in the real world as Spider-Man does. After all, it did take Erick a long moment to get over the fact that Spider-Man lives in New York City. Perhaps he will have a greater appreciation for the messiness of the superhero world when he is older.

After finishing that book, we read the crocodile section of an animal book and then Erick did some word puzzles. As an extra challenge, I had him write the puzzle words on a white board without looking at the spelling. Then he checked his work against the puzzle pieces. He did pretty well, but still has some trouble with the silent ‘e’ that makes short vowels into long vowels (e.g.: how “can” becomes “cane” with that silent letter at the end).

We only continue to meet together for about a month-and-a-half more. I’m hoping that Erick will recognize short and long vowel patterns before summer comes.