How many reading programs did you use?

[chiguirre]

We seen to be going through a lot of curricula to teach ds to read. We are making progress and I don't think we're on the wrong path, but every couple of months I have to switch things up a bit to keep moving forward.

We did Calvert K last year along with ETC primers and Bob books, but ds needed more practice with CVC words so we started this year with LLATL Blue, which helped cement blending really well. We got 2/3 of the way through the Blue level, and needed to slow down and practice consonant blends before going on to long vowels, so we switched to just ETC 2 and Bob books second set. That only lasted a couple of weeks because the Bob books started adding too many new concepts (r controlled vowels were our downfall). So, we started Calvert 1 and got through the first 2 (of 5) readers before we got to ds's frustration point. Now we're doing First Steps (Pathway pre-primer) and that's going well. Looking ahead, I'm sure we can get through this book and the next without hitting a wall.

Is this typical or am I just too flighty with curriculum changes? I can't really see any point in sticking with something that's causing frustration, but I would like to FINISH a 1st grade reading program this year. Honestly, I do think we can finish Pathways and LLATL Blue by the end of June. Then we can spend August and, maybe September, at least reading the Calvert books even if we don't do all the worksheets.

Ds doesn't seem to mind switching curriculum and he does enjoy reading time most of the time (sometimes the call of lego is just too strong). He is getting more fluent and confident and he's even picked up a few Level 1 readers we have around. They're still too hard to read by himself, but he does read the words he can if I supply the rest.

Has anyone BTDT with reading curricula? Did it work out all right in the end? Should I just chill out? Is there some red flag I'm missing and should be addressing with ds's reading?

[OhElizabeth]

I'd have his eyes checked and consider basic things just to be sure. Do you have any reason to suspect a problem, or do you just think it's his timetable? Are you teaching him with phonics or is it mainly sight word memorization?

[mcconnellboys]

We just worked slowly (and completely orally) through Phonics Pathways, at about a page or two a day. And we used all the Bob books we could get our hands on, along with some of the Scholastic phonics books and any other series of these I could put my hands on at our library. Then I began working slowly through the graded readers, using the very lowest levels first, until he was confident in his reading abilities.

I was able to check and recheck out the PP book from our library, as well.

Regena

[chiguirre]

We've mainly done phonics, but I'm beginning to see that we need to work more with sight word readers to get over the hump to real books. I'm pretty sure that ds doesn't have any vision issues because he can track in the Pathways reader and that has 5 to 10 lines of text per page.

Ds can spell words that he can read, but his handwriting limits how much writing we do. He's still struggling with forming letters correctly so we don't do formal copywork or dictation yet.

I keep hoping for the lightbulb to click and for ds to pick up reading quickly, but it looks like this is going to be a slog. We're progressing, but not by leaps and bounds, KWIM.

[AngieW in Texas]

My middle dd (since your signature says your 7yo is HFA, it might help to know that she's an Aspie) plataeued at the short vowel level for a full year. She had short vowel words down solid along with consonant digraphs, but she wasn't ready to add anything new for a long time. Reading Reflex had worked wonderfully to teach her basic code, but then I needed something else to keep working on. She got tired of doing the same exercises over and over again, but wasn't ready to add anything new.

Bob books moved too fast for her - there wasn't enough material at a lower level for her.

SL's I Can Read It was wonderful for her. At the time my dd used it, it was one very large book. Now it's published as three smaller books.

Another series that you should look at is the I See Sam readers. I didn't know about them until my youngest dd was learning to read. She is dyslexic, so we went through a lot of programs trying to find something that would work and would have enough practice for her. Often the program was just fine, but we needed 4 lessons worth of material for every 1 lesson that the program had. Here's a link to my review of the I See Sam books: http://www.thehomeschoollibrary.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1020

My youngest learned to read with the following succession of programs:
Reading Reflex for basic code
vision therapy
I See Sam
Headsprout
Funnix level 2
Phonics for Reading levels 2 and 3
DIBELS passages for fluency
Megawords

Most kids would not need this much work, but my dd is dyslexic. She will probably be doing something for reading instruction for a very long time. She is actually capable of reading at grade level now, but she needs continued explicit instruction to progress further.

[Bee]

I used the same things for both children but neither has any learning problems.One learned to read at age 4,one is 6& 1/2 and is what I guess you would call an emergent reader.I just think it's a matter of readiness and the child's motivation to read.We used the Learning Through Sounds books that are part of the Pathway readers program.I used books 1&2 for oldest child and only book 1 for the younger.Also ETC...younger child struggled through books 1 and 1 1/2 and flew through book 2 and now 3.We did the BOB books too which they liked because they were "real" books.I'm not sure how much I really believe this but I remeber reading somewhere that Waldorf methodology says the child isn't ready to read until they have lost their first tooth.Oddly enough it was after that that my youngest really took off in her reading.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I only used Phonics Pathways, with both of my kids. We used phonetic readers along side PP. It got frustrating at times. But, I only required 10 minutes a day at the beginning, and we worked up to 20 minutes a day. It took 1 1/2 years to get through the book (with both kids). But, at the end, they could sound out just about anything.

I did various games and such to keep it as interesting as possible. We changed our medium (used the white board sometimes, or the tile countertop, or the glass window, or plain old paper, or I'd print up the sound/word lists on the computer in different colors -- stuff like that. We played sound or word BINGO games, or other games I got from the Phonics Pathways publisher. But, we never saw a reason to switch programs. We just kept plugging away.

I started dd at age 4 1/2. But, I didn't even start ds until he was 6. I knew he wasn't ready. He had no interest in letters or sounds before then, and his attention span was too short. Once he matured a little, though, we started.

Hope something in here is helpful.
Suzanne

[Narrow Gate Academy]

with Bob books and other readers but the pace at which we progressed changed constantly. Some days we did more than one page, and other times we did one page over and over again for a week. Usually when my DC were frustrated we would either take a break for a couple of days or back up a few pages and review. Just taking that brief break was often enough and suddenly they would understand what we were working on. I always just figured it took a bit of time for their brains to grow the pathways needed for them to grasp the information. Once I accepted the fact that our learning curve looks more like a series of stair steps instead of an upward slope, it was easier to take that step back and relax a bit when things became frustrating because I knew that eventually it would click and we would step up to the next level.

HTH

[mcconnellboys]

I think a lot of boys don't read until later, but that doesn't seem to hold them back once they get started. Neither of my sons really became proficient until later in their seventh year, but they are both strong readers now. In fact, the younger one is a speed reader and we still can't get over it (constantly questioning him about stories he's completed so quickly -but he can tell us every detail!)

Practice really does make perfect. We read some of those Bob books at least twice and some of the other readers, too. He did not like reading in PP on some days and would complain or try the fake crying routine with me. But when I set a timer or set up my watch and showed him that it was only about 5 minutes out of his entire day, he was placated and didn't complain any more.....

I just continued to try to encourage him that an entire world would open up for him once the reading began to really click. I told him about his brother's learning to read and how only practice would help to get the ball rolling. And I would encourage him to pick out a word here and there when I was reading aloud, too.

Just keep on pluggin', he'll get there,

Regena

[Closeacademy]

It can take as long as 4 years for phonics to sink in and translate to fluent reading.

We tried a variety of programs including 100EL, Sonlight K LA, Hooked on Phonics, Bob Books, Sight Reading activities, Reading Pathways but I think just working on basic phonics over and over until it sticks is the only thing that really works.

We had leaps and stops. In PreK she knew her alphabet & basic sounds, in K she had around 100 site words and could read simple CVC words. 1st grade was CVC and silent e words. Now in 2nd she can read pretty much anything she wants to but needs help with larger words sometimes. We are continuing with phonics though because it is supposed to be good for spelling.


I love Spell to Write and Read but the Phonogram and spelling rules list from The Writing Road to Reading works just as well.

What I am finding works is to teach them the sounds for the letters and letter combinations, give them fun worksheets to do on their own and once in a while "test" out reading but to not push reading. When you push you end up with a reluctant reader(we had a hard time with this). You should know when they are ready and it may not be until he is in second grade.

When that time comes, stick him in a corner once a day with books that are too easy for him to read and have him read to stuffed animals or pets for 20 or 30 minutes a day. You get to just go off and do something "important" nearby and only allow interuptions for words he doesn't know.

Give him rewards for reading these books--make a chart and once he has read 100 give him something really big like a $25.00 prize of his choice. A friend and I both got our children excited about reading this way.

Don't worry he is on the right time and it will just come when he is ready. Just keep with the phonics. Good Luck!:)

[Karen in CO]

I used OPGTR, PP, SWR, AlphaPhonics, LeapFrog, Bob books and Etc products and lots of other things. My dd learned to read when she was ready. When she hit a plateau, we would switch programs at first. Later, I learned to just back off for a while or park on a concept and wait until she was ready to move on. It is like learning to walk they will do it at their own pace in spite of all the help we try to give them.

[Another Lynn]

I feel your pain! I started with a phonics program that taught in word families. My ds did fine because he could rhyme the words :) When we went up to readers and words had different vowels, it got too hard. So, I used Phonics Pathways for awhile and ETC. Phonics Pathways helped us work on blending and helped me realize he was having trouble distinguishing between the different vowel sounds (particularly i and e). ETC helped a lot too. Finally when he hit around 7.5 we had successfully completed one of 6 early readers in the set we were using, and things began to pick up a bit. But one frustration he had was all the exceptions. I think he felt like what's the point? About the time he turned 8, I found Spell to Write and Read. There are MUCH fewer exceptions because of the way it teaches the sounds and rules. He has improved tremedously since then! Now at 9+ he just finished reading The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in two days! This was huge for us!

Now I'm starting to teach my 2nd ds to read. He's just turned 6 and I'm using Spell to Write and Read and he's doing great! So after trying two or three phonics programs, this is the one I will stick with!

HTH.

[prairiegirl]

I have done the reading curriculum dance with both of my children. With my dd it was more of trying to find the curriculum that fit her learning style. We tried LLATL, PP, and finally settled on 100EZ Lessons. Once we found the program that worked with her, she blossomed in her reading.

When it was my ds's turn, I thought he would do better with OPGTR. I was wrong. We tried PP, 100EZ Lessons, the CM method and WRTR. Finally, after trying all of these for a year, I went back to OPGTR and we have been very slowly going through this. I think for ds it was more of a question of not being developmentally ready to learn. Plus, I am wondering if there is a learning difficulty here. I think we are going to keep on plugging away until the fall when he is in Gr. 2. If there is still a problem then I will ask for a reading assessment.

I have just one more to put on the reading road. I am not looking forward to it, but at least I don't have to buy a new curriculum. I thnk I have them all. :o

Julia
mom of 3 (8,7,5)

[ArwenA]

DD9 taught her self how to read with some assistance from me and no formal reading curric. We tried LLATL Red in 2nd and she hated it. We use Deconstructing Penguins to discuss books now.
DD6 is doing ETC 2 and I think we will continue through the series to book 8 unless she becomes a very competent reader before that.
DD3 is doing ETC B and will also go through the series unless it is unnecessary.

[chiguirre]

Thanks for all the support and suggestions. I'm glad to hear that other kids have been on the stair step path to reading.

Angie, I think my ds is following in your dd's footsteps. Pathways is a bit similar to I See Sam, but it seems to move a bit quicker which suits ds fine for now.

Closeacademy, I've been thinking of the tooth thing too. I thought that was a bit of Steinery weirdness when I first heard it, but ds hasn't lost a tooth yet, so maybe there is something to it.

[Closeacademy]

Oh yeah, there was a whole big long discussion on one of the yahoo-groups I am on.

I know for a fact that my 2nd dd is not ready to read. She knows all her letter sounds but she hasn't lost a tooth (4 wigglies though), has chubby cheeks, dimpled hands, and can't touch her ear when she puts her hand over the top of her head (but she is getting close). I was trying the Rod and Staff readers on her earlier but she wasn't tracking yet so I knew she wasn't ready and backed off.

If you wait it will come easier. I wish I would have waited and just reviewed phonics in a fun way with my oldest. Steiner can really be weird sometimes but a lot that he has to say and recommend on child development really rings true.

Good Luck and I hope reading becomes fun rather than a challenge.

[Testimony]

My oldest child did so well with reading. He would be your poster child for homeschooling. He shows that homeschooling works. My second child is my challenge. He struggled with reading. I thought about buying another curriculum, but I remembered a veteran mom told me years ago if the curriculum is not working put it down wait six months and try again. Well, I did that. My son was six years old and not reading. I just continued to read books to him. I also helped him memorize his AWANA verses.

Well, it worked. He did not just start to read in after the six month hiatus, but he flew. He took out 12 books in one month. The librarian even commented when he checked out the books. He could read and he has not stopped reading. To top it off, he is reading above grade level now. He came in first place at the spelling bee this year.

I would suggest. Stop teaching and just continue to read and then pick it up. I know it sounds risky, but try.

The best to you,
Karen
www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[one l michele]

Suzanne, we had the same experience with Calvert - I really don't care for how they teach reading through having the kids memorize so many "sight words". I started supplementing my ds with SWR while using Calvert 1st because he would guess a similar looking word and could only read the Calvert stories (because of learning the words for that sotry). He had no confidence in facing a new word. SWR turned him around, it was amazing. I tried using SWR without the Calvert program, just using the Calvert readers, and it still wasn't what I wanted.

This is what I finally figured out and will use with ds #3. SWR phonograms and working through the book list toward the end of this link: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED413577&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED413577 This list has been wonderful, so many of the level one books rely on sight words, I wanted real books to build his confidence that he could read with the skills he learned from SWR.

Even if you simply buy the SWR phonograms cards to begin with, it will give you an idea of how to help your dc decode new words.

[BizyPenguin]

I didn't read your other responses, but I wanted to share my experience with teaching my ds to read. I tried Alpha Phonics and found it dry. ABeka has a nice book 'A Handbook for Reading' or something like that. I found it for .50 cents at the thrift store and it did the trick. Nothing fancy...Just reading through a couple of pages each day. Plus I have to credit Arnold Lobel for helping to teach my ds to read. He's the author of those sweet Frog and Toad books. My ds had received 'The Frog and Toad Treasury' for Christmas when he was 4 yrs old and I'd read a chapter or two to him every single night. He LOVED Frog and Toad. Eventually I'd point to the words as I read them and eventually I'd have him read the word I pointed to. Over time he read a page and I'd read a page and finally he read to me. By the age of 5 he knew how to read really well. Just thought I'd share b/c you don't always need a curriculum. There are many ways to skin a chicken.