Phonics program

[Osaubi]

I am having trouble finding engaging curriculum to interest my daughter. She knows all of her letters, and letter sounds. I was getting ready to start her on OPGTR. I tried a few lessons, but she didn't take to them that well. So I flipped ahead, and asked her what some of the words were in lesson 27 where they start blending the letters together. She read all of the sentences effortlessly, and still seemed bored by it.

I am not really sure where to go from here. With my older child reading didn't come easily to him. I have been slowly working on OPGTR with him, and I thought that is what I would use for her.

She is a hand on learner with a love for crafts. She also have a love of workbooks. She will do 1/2 a workbook in a day if I let her. Is there something else I could use for her that she would like. She asks for school everyday, and gets upset because she says I don't give her enough.

I also have the same problem for math. Earlybird is to easy, but she doesn't seem ready for the pace of Singapore 1A. I have also tried the free math program MEP. She did well until we got to symbols. She can do the math, but the symbols don't make sense to her.

I didn't want to post on the K-8 board b/c I didn't want to hear that she shouldn't be doing school, and to let her play. I have tried that, but she gets upset when she doesn't have school even on the weekends. She will also get mad if I hand her a coloring page for school.

Thanks

[MissKNG]

I am having trouble finding engaging curriculum to interest my daughter. She knows all of her letters, and letter sounds. I was getting ready to start her on OPGTR. I tried a few lessons, but she didn't take to them that well. So I flipped ahead, and asked her what some of the words were in lesson 27 where they start blending the letters together. She read all of the sentences effortlessly, and still seemed bored by it.

I am not really sure where to go from here. With my older child reading didn't come easily to him. I have been slowly working on OPGTR with him, and I thought that is what I would use for her.

She is a hand on learner with a love for crafts. She also have a love of workbooks. She will do 1/2 a workbook in a day if I let her. Is there something else I could use for her that she would like. She asks for school everyday, and gets upset because she says I don't give her enough.

I also have the same problem for math. Earlybird is to easy, but she doesn't seem ready for the pace of Singapore 1A. I have also tried the free math program MEP. She did well until we got to symbols. She can do the math, but the symbols don't make sense to her.

I didn't want to post on the K-8 board b/c I didn't want to hear that she shouldn't be doing school, and to let her play. I have tried that, but she gets upset when she doesn't have school even on the weekends. She will also get mad if I hand her a coloring page for school.

Thanks

WOW!!!!!!!!!

LOL!!!!!!!!!! This sounds just like my 3 year old!! And I understand about the "shouldn't be doing school thing" cause I get it too! DD loves workbooks too and goes to school everyday and sometimes later on in the evening, she'll ask to do more worksheets! And I tried to do a coloring page for school this past week and she pretty much snubbed her nose to it! haha, funny!! I do limit weekends though. If she asks, I try to keep it light - maybe a couple workbook sheets and/or a craft. I always have extra stuff ready for when she wants to do more after official school.

As for a phonics program, I can't help cause we are having problems too. I'm using Horizons K and she doesn't seem too excited about it. I did buy a sight word book where you cut and paste letters to make words - I think. It hasn't come in the mail yet.

We are also doing Earlybird and it's too easy for the most part too at least in Level A. I think it will pick up in Level B as those are newer concepts for her. I supplement with Critical Thinking Company Math Reasoning Level A.

http://www.criticalthinking.com/getProductDetails.do?code=p&id=06906

Though it has some easy parts (like the counting and shape stuff), it also has stuff that EB doesn't like fractions, 1st - 4th positional stuff, even/odd.

For EB Level A, sometimes we complete a unit in one day, sometimes two. I am just doing that mainly as review except the weights and measure stuff is a newer concept. The CT book has been introducing brand new concepts (like even/odd was within the 1st 20 pages) and that is where she's been getting some "meat". I have to give credit to the CT math book we completed over the summer - it pretty much introduced everything in the entire EB Level A and B, we just didn't work on it in depth.

[Melinda]

We have tried OPGTR, Phonics Pathways, Hooked on Phonics, 100EZ, Color Phonics, and on and on...and on. What has worked best for us has been to use The Reading Lesson combined with BOB books and Reading Eggs.

http://www.readinglesson.com/
http://www.bobbooks.com/
http://readingeggs.com/

For math, we have also jumped around a lot. My son was zooming through Saxon and several people here suggested switching him to Singapore, so now we are doing a combination of that and Right Start math. They also use the Flashmaster and things like Timez Attack sometimes.

http://www.alabacus.com/pageView.cfm?pageID=261
http://flashmaster.com/
http://www.bigbrainz.com/

[Pamela H in Texas]

Honestly, I'd just quickly work through the materials systematically. Though she'll know a lot of the information, she will pick up a few little things along the way. You can go quickly, but sometimes we push through things we don't find entertaining (dishes? laundry? toilets?).

As I put on a recent thread, I regret not doing a phonics program with my daughter (who was reading chapter books like Little House, Charolette's Web, etc just after her 3rd bday). It would have been easy, but there would have been some benefits.

You can use the OPGTR without reading the script and taking forever on each lesson. Just make sure she is solid on each thing before you move on but move on as much as she can handle in a small amount of time per day (she's 3 and should be doing other things much more than mommy-led academics).

[homemomandnild]

We used Phonics Pathways and added Explode the Code with one that needed something more.

Earlybird does get a little harder in B, we added a lot of math games and real world problem solving.

Maybe just use OPG as a Guide for you to follow the progression of skills, but make it more of a game ors group similar lesson into one. That's what I had to do with Saxon when we used it. I highly recommend singapore when she's ready for level 1.

[AngieW in Texas]

Take a look at the I See Sam readers. If she can already read cvc words, then I would start her in set 3. With these readers, you would be teaching sounds as you get to stories that use them. Each book is at least 95% decodeable if you've read the previous books.

There are two sources for the books.

www.3rsplus.com has the books for just $20/set.

www.iseesam.com has the same books for $30/set. The difference is that at this website, each story has a list at the front that tells you what the new sounds and words are for that story.

These readers are perfect for 3-6yo. I started them with my dyslexic dd at 7yo. She read through the first 4 sets, but then was unhappy with how young they were. That won't be a problem for your dd.

The sets go up through 3rd grade level.

If you want something more game-like, then check out www.headsprout.com . The program isn't cheap, but it is solid. For kids who don't have issues like dyslexia, the program usually gets them up to mid to late 2nd grade level. Dyslexics rarely get much beyond mid 1st grade level with the program. They have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

[bluemongoose]

With my 3yo we used Sing Spell Read and Write for Phonics K. It was pretty good. I DD liked it (I also got the age remarks with her). I will warn you though, the amount of writing and the very narrow lines are daunting in the 1st grade level. DD is not doing all of the writing in the 1st grade level and is often writing on wider lined paper instead of in the book.

For math we did EB B level. Level A was way too easy. We also added their essential math book. It added another way to think about some of the lessons as well as fractions and even/odd numbers.

My DD also gets upset if we do not do school everyday and doesnt have a concept of weekends either.

[ElizabethB]

You could try Blend Phonics (http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/blend_phonics.html) on a whiteboard. The way it is laid out, you can do as few or as many words from each section as needed, it makes it really easy to go at your child's pace.

If you're really motivated, you could try Webster's Speller from a whiteboard (linked in my signature.) The phonics foundation it lays is later used for 2 to 6 syllable words.

You could also try my phonics game (http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html) as a fun supplement.

[Crimson Wife]

My oldest figured out how to decode CVC, CCVC, and CVCC words on her own at 3 1/2. I hadn't planned on starting a formal phonics program with her but she was getting frustrated that there were words she couldn't read so I did a heavily modified version of TWRTR. I used fridge magnets for the spelling since her fine motor skills made writing a challenge. I focused on teaching her the more advanced phonemes and within 3 months she was reading Magic Tree House type books.

For math we did hands-on activities and then I started her in Right Start B the following year.

My 2nd is 3 1/2 and he seems to be strong in math so I'm thinking of starting him in Right Start A soon.

[LittleIzumi]

You could try Blend Phonics (http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/blend_phonics.html) on a whiteboard. The way it is laid out, you can do as few or as many words from each section as needed, it makes it really easy to go at your child's pace.

If you're really motivated, you could try Webster's Speller from a whiteboard (linked in my signature.) The phonics foundation it lays is later used for 2 to 6 syllable words.

You could also try my phonics game (http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html) as a fun supplement.

That game rocks my socks :D

[ElizabethB]

That game rocks my socks :D
:001_smile::001_smile::001_smile:

I'm glad you're enjoying it.

[LisaK in VA]

I just used leveled readers for my now 6yo... which are part of the phonics program we use (Abeka) as he seemed to be reading effortlessly. He had to read aloud to me, and if we came to a sound/blend/digraph he didn't know, we'd go over it, and then he'd be "off" again.

We also introduced spelling early because he wanted to "do" spelling (again, went along with the phonics program we used...) He didn't do a written test, we just did spelling exercises orally for the most part (use x word in a sentence).

If she doesn't want a coloring page... perhaps some inexpensive workbooks from Costco that she can pick out?

Playdoh to make the letters and exercise her hand muscles...

If teaching textbooks were available at grade 1, I'd have her do that too, as my 6yo LOVES it. Prior to TT, my kiddos started out in Abeka. However, I will be buying all of the LL TT (1-3), as they become available, and using those for my precocious learners.

[Mommy22alyns]

What about the Kumon cut & paste workbooks? Sylvia loves those. We've gone through Pasting and Jigsaw Puzzles. I get you on the workbook thing, because Sylvia will take one and just page through it, working several pages in the time it takes me to get through one little thing with Becca. :glare:

I stopped doing formal phonics with both girls once they took off reading. They just did not have the patience to sit through work that they considered beneath them. They got flat-out insulted. Sylvia likes her McGuffey's readers and I have her read a small section or two to me every day. She goes through ETC pretty independently.

We finished Singapore EB 1A and 1B and now we're just in a holding pattern until she turns 5 and I feel like I can undertake teaching RS A and B. :001_huh: I got an inexpensive math workbook that she can do independently.

Have you tried teaching the < and > as hungry mouths (alligators? crocodiles?) or maybe even Pac-Mans? That made them click for Becca and she completely gets the symbols now.

Sylvia also loves to play on Starfall.com. Even Becca still likes it!

[Aurelia]

If she likes workbooks, you might look at Math Mammoth. They have a first grade curriculum that's inexpensive (or you can get the blue series and just work on certain topics). Everything is done in the workbook, and it's straightforward. I get the symbol thing, I told Ariel that > and < were mouths and they always want to eat the bigger number. She decided + was the numbers holding hands and sharing; and x was kissing (there's a new twist on "go forth and multiply" :lol:. I don't think she picked up on that though. At least, I hope not.). The minus sign was a thief because he always took things away and the divide symbol was mean because he was always trying to push the numbers apart and didn't share. (I hope that makes sense.)


Can you skip ahead in OPG? I would skim through a couple (or 4) lessons a day until she gets to a place where you can slow down. Do a pretest - if she can read the first sentence or two without effort, you could skip the lesson. ABeCeDarian is another option, it's got a workbook and works much more quickly than a number of other phonics programs. Level A (now revised, apparently) takes 12 weeks if you do one lesson a day and level B takes a total of 24, I think. It's mostly done via the workbook, but the level A TM is good to have because it has segmenting practice, which has definitely given Ariel a leg up on spelling. ETC sounds like it would be WAY too slow for her, but if you want to use them as filler, she might like to do several pages a day.

You could also look into those Brain Quest workbooks - get her K or 1st grade and let her pick and choose what to do. I'd buy those if my child liked workbooks.