Talk to me about OPG

[maadrose]

DD5 knows all the letter sounds consonants and short vowels. We skipped right to the section that starts with them sounding out short vowel words. Previously (this whole year) we've been reading through the Fun Tales readers from Sonlight. But she just wasn't quite getting the blending part. I would always find myself sounding the words out for or with her b/4 she would actually get the word. So we started OPG. (She didn't like 100EZ and I don't either!). So in OPG when there are new words to sound out we are to follow this procedure: I sound them out and read the words by myself, then we sound out and read them together, then she is to sound out and read them alone. She looks at me like I am insane reading it 3 times! And then by the time it's her turn to do it alone, she can just read them, b/c she has them memorized! This just doesn't make sense to me and is somewhat frustrating to both of us. My next oldest DD7 had the same trouble. It just doesn't really seem like DD5 is really sounding out the words, just copying me and then rereading something she already has memorized. Does anyone do it differently? Also when you use OPG do you read anything else at all or does that serve as a sufficient reading lesson? We will only do 1 lesson per day at a time. If she asks for more then I'll do more later in the day, but not in one sitting. It's too much to process for little ones. Just wondering if we should continue reading the BOB books and the Fun Tales readers? Or if OPG would be sufficient?

[YHZNS]

We are using OPG mainly as a supplement. We use ABeCeDarian as our main reading program. My daughter is reading Primary Phonics readers, etc. When I go through the OPG with her I review the rule very quickly and then get her to sound out all the words herself. I don't read them to her because she could just spit them back at me without even looking at the page. I don't do a lot of review with the OPG. Before we start a new lesson I just pick a portion of the previous story for her to read. Hope this helps.

[Emmy]

I used OPG to teach my first 2 kids to read. I did not use it as directed where I read, then they read, etc. I explained the concept and then had them read it on their own. My kids are way too good at memorizing for me to read it to them first! :D

I did a lesson a day and then later in the day (in a separate session) I'd have them read a Nora Gaydos reader (serach for her on Amazon - great books!) or a Bob book. I also coordinated Explode the Code with OPG and had them do a page or two from whatever we were working on in OPG.

HTH