The student is ready, but the teacher is not

[podoba01]

This question is about modifying WRTR or similar programs for a child who is not ready to write yet.

 

Some background: I have a four-year-old daughter who is wanting to learn to read. She recognizes her letters and knows their basic sounds, she wants me to stop while we read and help her sound out the words, and she asks me to point out specific words after I read them so she can study them. If the text repeats the word she studied, she can usually point it out before I say it. Her new favorite game is to think of words that rhyme. She likes to make up songs, and most of the time she can think of rhyming lyrics. I don't have any experience with teaching reading, but these seem like signs that she is ready to read, or maybe it's just normal four-year-old development (she is my only child, so I don't really have another child as a point of reference). On the other hand, she has average fine-motor skills, so think it would be better to wait at least a year before I have her do any formal handwriting.

 

I really like the Spalding method, and I think the WRTR (or perhaps PR, SWR, or the Logic of English) would streamline LA instruction, but I don't want to frustrate her efforts if her fine-motor skills aren't sufficient. On the other hand, I don't want her to develop bad strategies for reading (and eventually spelling) while we wait for her fine-motor skills to catch up with her desire to read. I don't really know the phonics rules well enough to explain them as needed. Can any of these programs be adapted by using magnetic letters or letter tiles? If not, what do I do with her in the meantime? She was interested in AAR Pre-K, mostly because of Ziggy the puppet (:001_smile:), but I can always just buy the puppet and use him for a different reading program, and I am beginning to think AAR Pre-K may be too much review for her. She really loves playing games, so if you know if any phonics-based games (physical games, not computer games) we can play independently from any formal instruction, that might hold her over until she's ready for any of the above programs.

 

Thank you in advance for any advice you might have.

Edited March 24, 2012 by podoba01
some clarification

[Briartell]

Sounds like she will love All About Spelling, maybe AAR will work for her.

Edited March 24, 2012 by Briartell

[blondeviolin]

Try Games for Reading by Peggy Kaye. I don't know how much it would hurt the Spalding method for her to begin sounding out CVC words, but you might also try sounding out CVC words with hopscotch. We do this with Emmett where I write a word with each letter in a square and he jumps and says the sounds. He also enjoys the reverse of this where I have written a bunch of random letters all over and then I give him a word to segment and find the letters for.

[meggie]

starfall.com is how my son learned to read. I had a newborn at the time and he would play while I fed the baby. After he could read CVC words, we moved to OPGTR and finished out phonics with that.

[boscopup]

Keep doing what you're doing right now, and start studying on your own the phonics rules. A copy of WRTR is easy to pick up cheap. If you make yourself a notebook, you can learn the phonics/rules pretty quickly.

 

Not every child needs WRTR or AAR or other such programs in order to learn to read, and your DD sounds like one of those who doesn't. ;)

[KristenR]

My oldest dd was an early reader. She sounded a lot like your dd. She would ask when she would learn how to read. I taught her without using any "boxed" curriculum. Just lots of book reading together and games and activities I pieced together. We went through the alphabet one letter at a time and basically did a sort of "Letter of the Week" of my own improvising. I also utilized Starfall.com

 

When she was 4 we started AAS and she flourished with it.

 

My middle daughter used to have no interest in reading. It's literally been within the past few months that she actively participates and enjoys reading now. Maybe it has something to do with her older sister reading to her... In any event, I decided to pick her up a "boxed" curriculum. We are doing AAR PreReading level 1. She loves it and feels like a big girl doing school work like her sister. You're right in thinking that your 4 year old sound like she would just be reviewing the PreReading level. It covers the letters, their sounds, and concepts like rhyming and syllabification.

 

AAR wasn't available when I was teaching my oldest so we went right to AAS. It worked for her very well. My middle daughter is thriving with AAR and I'm glad I didn't attempt to start her on AAS first. So it really is a case of doing what is best for your child and you. There really isn't a right way to go about it other than that.

[podoba01]

Sounds like she will love All About Spelling, maybe AAR will work for her.

 

I was hoping to stick w/ the Spalding method, but maybe AAR 1 and/or AAS 1 would do the trick.

 

Try Games for Reading by Peggy Kaye. I don't know how much it would hurt the Spalding method for her to begin sounding out CVC words, but you might also try sounding out CVC words with hopscotch. We do this with Emmett where I write a word with each letter in a square and he jumps and says the sounds. He also enjoys the reverse of this where I have written a bunch of random letters all over and then I give him a word to segment and find the letters for.

 

I will look into this book. Thanks!

[podoba01]

starfall.com is how my son learned to read. I had a newborn at the time and he would play while I fed the baby. After he could read CVC words, we moved to OPGTR and finished out phonics with that.

 

Thank you for the suggestion. I'm trying to keep my daughter off the computer for now, but I can take a look at how the games are played and create my own offline versions. :001_smile:

 

 

Keep doing what you're doing right now, and start studying on your own the phonics rules. A copy of WRTR is easy to pick up cheap. If you make yourself a notebook, you can learn the phonics/rules pretty quickly.

 

Not every child needs WRTR or AAR or other such programs in order to learn to read, and your DD sounds like one of those who doesn't. ;)

 

I was thinking about studying the phonics rules myself when I woke up this morning. I will probably do this. Thank you! In regards to every child not needing WRTR or AAR to read, I would agree with you. However, I was hoping to have a good speller, so I thought WRTR would be a good way to go.

 

Thanks again.

[podoba01]

So it really is a case of doing what is best for your child and you. There really isn't a right way to go about it other than that.

 

:iagree:Isn't that the truth?!? You think you have something figured out, then the next child comes along and messes up what you think you know! Thank you very much for your insight.

[podoba01]

:lurk5: I'm hoping Ellie, the WRTR expert, might have some insight. :001_smile:

[KristenR]

:iagree:Isn't that the truth?!? You think you have something figured out, then the next child comes along and messes up what you think you know! Thank you very much for your insight.

 

Yeah, I USED to think I was an expert on potty training. I potty trained my oldest in 2 days when she was 16 months old. I kept wondering what all the hoopla was about potty training. Then I tried training my second. :glare: A year and a half later we're finally done. :D

 

Oh gotta love those ignorant statements uttered that you wish you could go back in time and slap the back of your head for saying. :lol:

[Hunter]

Have her write the letters in the air. Have her write the letters in sand. Have her write them in BIG letters on a blackboard or whiteboard.

 

Or merely have her trace BIG letters, with her finger, that you have drawn.

 

I back up Ellie. So far I haven't found anything, ALL IN ALL, that is better than Spalding. I'm frustrated with some parts that I wish offered a little more support, but all my attempts with other programs have been disappointing so far. Better vaguely done than badly done, in my opinion.

 

The offshoots cannot copy certain important parts of Spalding, and substitute some inferior methods, that look ALMOST good enough, but are entirely NOT good enough once you try and start using them.

 

For example LOE looks good, but it substitutes an inferior handwriting font and doesn't finish the spelling list.

[podoba01]

Have her write the letters in the air. Have her write the letters in sand. Have her write them in BIG letters on a blackboard or whiteboard.

 

Or merely have her trace BIG letters, with her finger, that you have drawn.

 

I back up Ellie. So far I haven't found anything, ALL IN ALL, that is better than Spalding. I'm frustrated with some parts that I wish offered a little more support, but all my attempts with other programs have been disappointing so far. Better vaguely done than badly done, in my opinion.

 

The offshoots cannot copy certain important parts of Spalding, and substitute some inferior methods, that look ALMOST good enough, but are entirely NOT good enough once you try and start using them.

 

For example LOE looks good, but it substitutes an inferior handwriting font and doesn't finish the spelling list.

 

Thank you for the advice. Do you think I should do this type of practice first, develop her fine motor skills, then move on to WRTR, or should I do this type of practice while I start with the reading instruction?

[PeterPan]

SWR has an entire chapter on pre-writing skills you could be doing now. There's a TON you could be doing with games for the phonograms, syllabification, etc. Sounds like she's very driven! I wouldn't do AAS (which I own 1-6 of) with your dc, because it's going to be too slow for her. I would use SWR. I started with WRTR, and it's fine in a pinch. It just doesn't have all the EXTRAS SWR has.

 

Get a copy of SWR and see what you think. It's very workable for your dc. You can do spelling with letter tiles. I really, really love the AAS manipulatives. Or get the Lauri crepe foam letters. I have a box of them I bought at a convention one year, and it had never occurred to me how to use them till I saw the pic on the new MFW catalog. They would be FABULOUS for that stage.

 

When my dd was that age, we did our phonograms by drawing in the sand while we took walks, etc. etc., just very natural. Teach her the phonograms. Start breaking apart words. She's probably even ready to play Boggle Jr. and do spelling puzzles. It's ok to plow forward. You're not going to ruin her. As long as she understands the word and how it breaks apart and is spelled, go ahead and let her practice reading the words too. There's no crime in it, and her reading does NOT have to be tied to her writing. It's fine to teach them together, but you don't have to.

 

Britta of MorningStarLearning at one point was selling or giving instructiosn for sandpaper letters. This kind of thing would be good too. They do the in montessori and you can buy them. Or form the word with the Lauri crepe foam letters and trace them with her finger for that same sensory input.

 

Have fun! This is the most marvelous, wonderful age and stage. I'm hoping high school turns out to be as good. :)

[podoba01]

SWR has an entire chapter on pre-writing skills you could be doing now. There's a TON you could be doing with games for the phonograms, syllabification, etc. Sounds like she's very driven! I wouldn't do AAS (which I own 1-6 of) with your dc, because it's going to be too slow for her. I would use SWR. I started with WRTR, and it's fine in a pinch. It just doesn't have all the EXTRAS SWR has.

 

Get a copy of SWR and see what you think. It's very workable for your dc. You can do spelling with letter tiles. I really, really love the AAS manipulatives. Or get the Lauri crepe foam letters. I have a box of them I bought at a convention one year, and it had never occurred to me how to use them till I saw the pic on the new MFW catalog. They would be FABULOUS for that stage.

 

When my dd was that age, we did our phonograms by drawing in the sand while we took walks, etc. etc., just very natural. Teach her the phonograms. Start breaking apart words. She's probably even ready to play Boggle Jr. and do spelling puzzles. It's ok to plow forward. You're not going to ruin her. As long as she understands the word and how it breaks apart and is spelled, go ahead and let her practice reading the words too. There's no crime in it, and her reading does NOT have to be tied to her writing. It's fine to teach them together, but you don't have to.

 

Britta of MorningStarLearning at one point was selling or giving instructiosn for sandpaper letters. This kind of thing would be good too. They do the in montessori and you can buy them. Or form the word with the Lauri crepe foam letters and trace them with her finger for that same sensory input.

 

Have fun! This is the most marvelous, wonderful age and stage. I'm hoping high school turns out to be as good. :)

 

I was looking at SWR as an alternate. I noticed there's also a book tied to SWR that has reading games. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and order the SWR core kit along with the Education Game Book and Cursive First program. I think I just need to make. a. decision. already. :tongue_smilie:

 

I saw the instructions for making cursive sandpaper flashcards. I think I'm going to try that. I just bought some Crayola pink sand to dump in an old baking sheet so she can practice "writing" with her finger. I also have some magnetic letter tiles to use.

 

Thank you so much for your input. I really appreciate the help. I was beginning to panic a little because I thought I had at least another year to make a decision. You have been a big help. :001_wub:

[PeterPan]

You know the other thing you should do is free yourself to make some mistakes. :)

 

Seriously, when I first started I read something of Cathy Duffy saying that we should plan to make some mistakes, that they're our investment in the university of homeschooling. Some things you can't learn except by trying and making mistakes. So sure investigate, but at some point just buy it and see what happens.

 

We used RS btw. You're using lots of great things! You're doing a great job!! :)

[The Governess]

You may be able to adapt Spalding and leave the writing out. She can learn the phonograms through the oral phonogram review. Instead of dictation of phonograms and section A-G of the word list, you could make tiles (or use the AAS pre-made tiles) for the phonograms and have her point to the correct phonogram tile rather than write it, or use the tiles to build the word. You could even make smaller tiles with numbers so she learns how to number the different sounds.

 

You could then go through the word list from the beginning when she is ready to learn how to write.

[PeterPan]

That's the way we did it. We played with phonograms, rhyming, etc. for a while, then started spelling words with tiles and aloud. When she was writing more confidently, we went back and started the lists over. So it works whether you do it with SWR or WRTR or whatever.

 

The AAS tiles are a little small for this age. (Of course my dd was no good with fine motor, haha.) What would be really cool is magnets on the back of crepe foam letters. I'm SO needing to find out what they're using in this pic on the MFW catalog. I have Lauri letters, but they're smaller than the ones in the image.

[podoba01]

You know the other thing you should do is free yourself to make some mistakes. :)

 

Seriously, when I first started I read something of Cathy Duffy saying that we should plan to make some mistakes, that they're our investment in the university of homeschooling. Some things you can't learn except by trying and making mistakes. So sure investigate, but at some point just buy it and see what happens.

 

We used RS btw. You're using lots of great things! You're doing a great job!! :)

 

I am confident that I will make many mistakes. I'm O.K. with making mistakes, because it will show my daughter that I make mistakes, regroup/recover, and learn something useful as I course-correct.

 

You may be able to adapt Spalding and leave the writing out. She can learn the phonograms through the oral phonogram review. Instead of dictation of phonograms and section A-G of the word list, you could make tiles (or use the AAS pre-made tiles) for the phonograms and have her point to the correct phonogram tile rather than write it, or use the tiles to build the word. You could even make smaller tiles with numbers so she learns how to number the different sounds.

 

You could then go through the word list from the beginning when she is ready to learn how to write.

 

Thank you. I will keep these approaches in mind. This makes sense.

 

That's the way we did it. We played with phonograms, rhyming, etc. for a while, then started spelling words with tiles and aloud. When she was writing more confidently, we went back and started the lists over. So it works whether you do it with SWR or WRTR or whatever.

 

The AAS tiles are a little small for this age. (Of course my dd was no good with fine motor, haha.) What would be really cool is magnets on the back of crepe foam letters. I'm SO needing to find out what they're using in this pic on the MFW catalog. I have Lauri letters, but they're smaller than the ones in the image.

 

I received my MFW catalog this week. I'll have to dig it out and look what they are using. The AAS tiles might work for her, but I do like the idea of creating tiles with numbers to familiarize my daughter with the notations. I don't think she has any delays in her fine-motor development, but I don't think she is ready for formal handwriting instruction. I've known a few friends who started formal handwriting instruction with their children early (before they entered public school Pre-K programs), and their handwriting isn't too good. Perhaps they picked up some bad habits along the way, and their teachers at school simply didn't have the time to correct them. Perhaps it's just not a priority because so many schools have stopped teaching cursive in favor of touch-typing, but that is another debate for another thread.