Small dots, Huge potential...

I have wanted to learn Braille for a very long time, as far back as six or seventh grade. At first I figured it would be good to know because of my eye degeneration, and the possibility of actually needing it, but then it faded to just a ‘that would be really cool’ kind of thought. Last week I discovered the Braille section in the downtown library, and checked out a book, but even though it was simple, it was still too complicated for me. So this Tuesday, on my library/adventure day, I found another book, this one called ABC Bunny. I think it will be good for a couple of reasons- number one, it’s very simple writing, and two, it has the alphabet, and repetition of the letters. I’ve been practicing in bed (it’s dark, so I don’t need my eyes) but I realized that I might be going about it wrong. I was running my finger over the letters, and saying them out loud, but thinking back, that isn’t how you learn to read. Yes, you learn “A”, but when you first start to read it, you learn the letters phonetically. Instead of thinking C A T spells cat, you sound it out…cuh, aah, tuh…cat. So now I’m practicing linking the physical touch to the phonetic sounds. And tonight was my babysitting night, so while at my cousins’ house Princess Jeru and I made Braille flash cards. *grin* I am really excited about this. It took a little figuring, but I got it down to a system that makes sense. We cut index cards in half, then folded them and glued them shut for stability. Then we glued a seed bead in the top right hand corner to mark which way up was. In Braille books the page numbers are usually marked at the top right hand corner of odd pages, so this way we’ll get used to feeling for a marker in that place. And it will also help for practicing in the dark, because that way we’ll know which way to hold the card, so we’re not reading upside down or sideways. Each of the cards had the six-dot Braille cell marked with a marker for the visual memorization, and then on top of that we also glued seed beads in the proper cell places for touch memorization. All the cards have the letter written on the back as well, so if we’re practicing with someone else they can tell if we’re right or not. Princess Jeru and I are going to first memorize the alphabet by touch, and then move on from there; the goal is to be reading children’s books in six months. I totally think that’s doable, and I’m looking forward to this. How cool will it be to be able to read in the dark? Visually Braille also can double as a written code, which could be handy, and it’s a fun and challenging thing to learn anyways. I will keep an update going on this; we’ll see how it turns out. =)
~Ro