 His first teacher was his mother.

r. His mother was the one who laid the foundation of his great
knowledge achieved in such a short time. His brilliance was also the character of the young Jose
Rizal.
 He learned almost without the use of books.
 Jose Rizal learned his letters at the age of three, after insisting that he be taught to read and
share the lessons learned by his elder sister. Rizal even tried to spell out the words of his sister’s
story book with the use of a syllabary in such a way that one does when using a dictionary in a
foreign language.
 He also spent much of this time in a church nearby his house just watching or observing the
people coming in and out.
 Three uncles who were brothers of his mother also had much influence on the early childhood
of Jose Rizal. The youngest uncle named Jose, took care of teaching regular lessons to Rizal. His
huge uncle Manuel developed his physique until he had a body of silk and steel and no longer a
skinny and sickly boy. The last uncle, Gregorio instilled in the mind of Rizal that it was not easy to
obtain something until you put effort into it.
 There was a also a time when Rizal was able to draw a bird flying nearby without lifting the
pencil he was using from the paper till the picture he drew was finished. He can also draw a
running horse and a chasing dog. Clay and wax were the favorite play materials of Rizal. He used
these materials in forming modeled birds and butterflies. This animal molding activity also
started his study of nature.