nissa is starting to read

i've always believed nissa is a smart cookie and now i am starting to see that while smart, everyone has their own learning style and i need to dial in to nissa's. nissa knows her letters, both capital and lower-case, and knows the sounds they make. she even knows how some letters can work together (t+h) or influence each other (silent e), thanks to watching electric company. but reading is a challenge that she frustrates her and i have to both keep her calm and not let myself get frustrated because i know she can do this. we started reading ten apples up on top and it went pretty well (she read about half, then i finished up). she'd correctly guess some words on sight (i assume from the context of other words and the illustrations), but then forget them upon seeing them again later. most times a "sound it out to remind yourself of the word" is enough to get her to try again when she doesn't recognize a word right away. the most challenging part is she has a fantastic aural memory and an ear for patterns, so she assumes a lot of what comes next, without actually looking at the words. sad part is she is usually correct. . . but i'm still pushing her to look to the letters to know what the words are, not her memory or assumptions. she is thrilled when she gets words correct and so am i! i can't wait for her to really start flexing those reading muscles!