There are lots of things I’d pay someone else to do- and would gladly pass them off to the nanny. Potty training, riding a bike- and now reading.  “Hey, here’s $40 for the afternoon.  Oh, and by the way, can you teach him to read while I’m gone”?

My son is creating in me a nail biting habit due to his inability to grasp the concept of sounding out words.  As he looks at the book, I point out a duck swimming in a pond with the word DUCK beneath it. 

Me:  “What do you think that spells?  D-U-C-K.  Sound it out”
Him:  “Water?”
Me:  “No.  Don’t just guess.  Sound out the letters.  D.  UH.  K.” (can I make it any clearer)?!?
Him:  (Repeating me and sounding out each letter)  “D.  UH.  K.   ….  Pond”?
Me:  “Stop looking at the picture!  Try again”
Him:  “D-U-C-K” (getting all of the sounds phonetically accurate).  “Creek”?
“For the love of all that is holy!!  It’s a DUCK”!!!