Teach your Child to Read in 100 Lesson...I need help

[samba2nite]

I bought this book and we are on lesson 8 and it is a stuggle. She turns five next month and is quite interested in reading. She is always asking me to help her with reading words and wants to read like her two older siblings.

The problem I am have with the book is that my brain does not work the way the book does. It find it very dry and very hard to understand...I know what sounds crazy. I am a relatively smart person with a graduate degree from Stanford, but darn this book is a real challenge.

I have a have a hard time keeping my daughter intersted in the book. I am able to get her to point and sound out with me and after me....but she is not interested and it takes major bribing to get through it. After we spend our 5 - 15 minutes...more on the five side of things we move to the bob books. She likes to the bob books.

We have been working on this for the past month.

Any suggestions on helping get through the book? I think it has merit to stick with it and am open to getting past my hickup with how it works....

Insight and wisdom greatly welcome

[AngieW in Texas]

100 Easy Lessons is a very condensed version of one of Engelmann's direct instruction reading programs (Reading Mastery). I tried it with my two younger girls (my oldest was a very early natural reader). It didn't work with either of them.

Given the age of your dd, I would go for the I See Sam books instead. They are much better than the Bob books and go all the way to 3rd grade level. Each book is at least 95% decodable if they've learned the code in the previous books.

Headsprout is also a good program. It's fairly expensive, but they have a 30 day money-back guarantee. It was a huge help for my dyslexic dd.

The problems my dd had with both of these programs was that they were geared for younger kids (4-6yo) and my dd was 7yo when I tried them.

If you like the ideas behind 100 Easy, you might want to try Funnix. It's a computerized version of Engelmann's other direct instruction program (Horizons - nothing to do with the Christian company that has the same name). It doesn't use goofy orthography like 100 Easy does. My dd used the 2nd level of this program after she finished Headsprout. The 1st level covers the same content as 100 Easy and Headsprout. The 2nd level starts right where they leave off.

links to my reviews:
http://www.thehomeschoollibrary.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1020 -- I See Sam
http://www.thehomeschoollibrary.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1024 -- Funnix
http://www.thehomeschoollibrary.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1016 -- Headsprout

[Garga]

We used 100ez lessons. My ds6 hated it. I hated it. It was horrible, awful, dreadful, terrible...there were lots of tears on both sides (and I don't cry very easily.)

We persevered through the whole thing and that has been my biggest regret in my 2 years of homeschooling. I think many people on this site will agree: if it just ain't working, it just ain't working. Better to find something that does, instead of killing the child's love of learning.

We moved to hooked on phonics (because it was free) and it was only ok. I used it and it got the job done, but wasn't a great fit.

When my ds3 is old enough to learn to read, I'm going to be shopping around for something different. I've learned that just because it's cheap or free doesn't mean you should sludge through it if it's not a good fit. Not worth it.

[gracesteacher]

If it isnt working then it isnt working. I like Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching reading. My friend used starfall.com and another used Bob books and the Leapfrog videos. Find what works for you and your daughter so that neither of you are dreading reading lessons.
Good luck

[razorbackmama]

We like 100 EZ Lessons, but yes, at the point you are at right now it is boooooooooooooooooring. Learning the slow and fast, learning the individual sounds vs. a word yet, etc....yup, boring. However, all of it are stepping stones. The whole book WON'T be "say it slow, say it fast." That's just to teach the child how to sound out something slowly and then say it fast.

Not trying to tell you what program you NEED to use...just trying to explain what all of that boring stuff is and that it does change.:)

[GreenKitty]

We tried 100EZ lessons as well and it was not a good fit for us. We now use ETC, Bob Books, Nora Gaydos and others. I hope you find something that works for you!

[Anita in NC]

I used 100 Easy Lessons with all my kids. Mine liked it. When I did do it with my middle child he just wasn't ready to read so we put it up for another year.

I am now using it with my youngest child.

I have also used Hooked On Phonics and the Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading but actually liked the 100 EL the most.

[dcjlkplus3]

We like Ordinary Parents Guide here. I also tried Phonics Pathways and would have gotten that if OPGTR hadn't come out. You should be able to get either of those, and probably others as well, from the library. Check out a few different ones and see what you like.

We also use Bob books - they are a big hit at our house and actually work well as the bribery when she (dd5.5) doesn't want to do her reading lesson. I think she gets frustrated because she can't say all the letter sounds right yet.

[ChemMommy]

At first, you just read nonsense syllables. But, I think, around lesson 13, you begin to read the first story. My kids all loved reading the story and answering questions about the silly picture.

Also, your almost 5yo probably has a 5 minute attention span. Stop after 5 minutes and pick up the lesson the next day or later in the day. Her brain really is learning to decode words, even if you can't see the progress yet.

Now, if at lesson 30, you both still hate the book and it is NOT working at all, then, consider pitching it! My $0.02.

[samba2nite]

Thanks for all of the great wisdom and suggestions on new approaches. It is all so helpful!

[razorbackmama]

We like Ordinary Parents Guide here.

That was one we found INCREDIBLY boring. Yikes LOL! We were using it and switched to 100 EZ Lessons.

It's funny how everyone thinks different things are boring!

[Michelle My Bell]

I agree, if 5 minutes is all she has in her, then make it a 5 min. lesson. You could do this several times a day. Maybe you could even make 3x5 cards of the sounds she is learning and post them around the house. Make it a game. Before she can walk through a doorway, she has to say the sound.

In addition to 100 easy lessons, I found leapfrog videos really help.

I really like Explode the Code workbooks, as do my children.

Michelle

[ElizabethB]

For K, I worked with my daughter for 10 minutes max a day on the whiteboard, working through Webster's Speller.

Here's a thread on how to use it:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70153

The link below for Webster's Speller also explains how I used the white board with it.

You could also try Blend Phonics on a white board, it's free online at Don Potter's web page. It's really simple to use. The white board really held my daughter's attention. Also, doing spelling helped cement the sounds in her brain. You can do oral spelling or "written" spelling with magnet letters if writing is still painful.

http://www.donpotter.net/ed.htm

After 5 months of 10 minutes a day with Webster's Speller, my daughter could read out of the KJV of the Bible!

[Parrothead]

We loved 100EZ lessons. But that doesn't mean it works for everyone. If it is causing tears all the way around, I'd have to say it is time to try something else.

[classics4us]

At first, you just read nonsense syllables. But, I think, around lesson 13, you begin to read the first story. My kids all loved reading the story and answering questions about the silly picture.

Also, your almost 5yo probably has a 5 minute attention span. Stop after 5 minutes and pick up the lesson the next day or later in the day. Her brain really is learning to decode words, even if you can't see the progress yet.

Now, if at lesson 30, you both still hate the book and it is NOT working at all, then, consider pitching it! My $0.02.
:iagree:
What she said

[Amber in AUS]

I used 100 EZ with great success for my DD but we took it at her pace. We stopped and started and redid a whole bunch of lessons before we hit about lesson 15 - 20 (can't remember exactly). Taking my time in the early part and making sure she had it down before moving on has been excellent for DD. We are not quite finished (almost) and she is reading at a solid grade 2 level no worries at all.

It did take a bit of encouragement (sticker chart, sticker a lesson) to get her excited about it when it was boring in the early days. But it worked and once we got past the start she actually asked to 'do reading'.