Ideas for teaching a non-reading 1st grader to read

[knoxinsox]

So my first child picked up reading at age 4, and by 1st grade was doing all sorts of reading related schoolwork.  I was spoiled with his brilliance, even though he is a tough, stubborn child to work with. 

 

My sweet girlie, is now 6 and has not picked up on reading beyond knowing all her sounds.  There is some sort of disconnect with putting the sounds together into words or she will sound out the word and then leave off the beginning sound. Also, I'm running into issues with some of her little books wanting her to write a sentence.  I can write it out and she can copy, but she has no clue what the words are later.She copies words from cereal boxes, asks me to spell them out, does her handwriting practice, even recognizes a few words, but is having major trouble with getting to the next step in phonics.  I don't mind waiting on her to catch up if thats all it is, but what do I do about the rest of the 1st grade material?  I'm perfectly comfortable with reading and studying with her as I feel 1st grade is largely teacher-directed and has lots to memorize.  She has no problems learning to read music, playing piano, memorizing, drawing, even doing math and is super capable for her age with cooking and helping mom. She does not have hearing or vision problems.

 

Do I just wait it out, realizing that on the bell curve of learning to read she is on the low age side? Or is this beyond normal--needing a specialist? What am I missing?  We are using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, but have having problems starting at Lesson 20 or so.  Started over for the 3rd time now---she is memorizing parts of it. My son was reading books by Lesson 50.  

TIA

[73349]

Hmm. Since she can read music, I wouldn't worry yet, just keep working on it.

 

100 EL did not suit us. You might try another system, such as Phonics Pathways. You can also keep working on sounds orally, for example, with rhyming games.

 

DS hates to write, so I let him answer questions orally in 1st grade even though he was reading. He's just now starting to spell in second grade.

 

 

[Kylie]

My Father's World Kindergarten got my son reading in no time but if you don't want to buy that...try this method.

 

Write the vowels one under another and then take a beginning sound (you can use letter magnets) and hold it in front of the first vowel and have her sound it out using the short vowel sound. Then move down to the next vowel using the same beginning sound. Repeat until she has done all of them. Pick a new beginning sound and do it again. After she gets the hang of this, add an end sound. 

 

Example.

 

 a

 e

 i

 o

 u

 

ba

be

bi

bo

bu

 

bat

bet

bit

bot

but

 

I did this for a couple of months with my son and it got him reading CVC words easily. Once she gets CVC maybe consider buying My Father's World first grade student workbook. It will get her reading beginning books in no time. It teaches the basic vowel teams and consonant teams. The whole program is wonderful but it is religious and if you don't want that you can just buy the workbook (I don't think it had much or any religion in it...although it's been 2 years since I used it...). 

[RKWAcademy]

Could you do something more fun?  My kids really liked All About Reading.  There were movable tiles and great little games with coloring and the readers were outstanding.  They tried OPGTR and didn't love the stiff lessons (which is what I equate with 100 EL.  sounds boring to me.)  AAR was much more fun for them and it worked well.  Is she interested when you read to her?  Or you could try Explode the Code workbooks.  I added those to AAR this year as a fun extra almost making reading "spiral" and they really like the books (mine are 6 year olds, too).  ETC helped my kids when they were just taking off in AAR with long vowels and vowel blends.  They were forgetting their short vowel sounds somewhere along the way. 

 

Anecdotally, I have heard many cases where some kids just take longer to be ready to learn to read.  When mine were 4-ish, I'd hear other parents of similar aged kids talk about how their 4 year olds were pointing out words in their environment and seeing letters when out and about.  My two were never like that.  At 4 - 5, just before kindergarten, I started the pre-reading for AAR and then just dragged them along.  They are finally really taking off now at 6 (and in AAR 3).  But at 6, my nephew read Harry Potter to himself.  Everyone's going to be different.  But, if I were you, I'd try something more fun.

[BusyMom5]

I would try something else- why try the same thing 3 times if it's obviously not working for your child.  There is a reason there are so many different programs, and so many different ways to approach reading.  I have 5 kids and they all learn a little differently.  Does she know all letters and letter sounds?  If so, then start with some basic flashcards with words she should be able to figure out.  Talk about the sounds each letter makes in the sound, work with word families (I have some free printables I found on a site?  Can't remember the name, but they are perfect for beginning sounds).  Once she gets the basic letter sounds, start on sh, th, ect.  I think AAR may be a good choice for you, she could play with the letters to make word families.

[arliemaria]

My son is six and has trouble doing cvc words.  I stress myself a lot, but really if he learns to read in the next two months or two years really won't impact him in the long term of life.  I try to remind myself of that.  I do want him to read.  I think it would allow him much more freedom.  The benefit to having a "late" reader though is more time to bond while reading for them.  I love our read alouds and time we have doing school.  I get to read to him so much.  I know very few adults who cannot read.  My biggest concern is not that he will not read, but that he will not love reading.  I want to model a love of reading and learning.  

 

Continue reading aloud.  I bet our children will both learn to read soon.  :)

[Ellie]

So my first child picked up reading at age 4, and by 1st grade was doing all sorts of reading related schoolwork.  I was spoiled with his brilliance, even though he is a tough, stubborn child to work with. 

 

My sweet girlie, is now 6 and has not picked up on reading beyond knowing all her sounds.  There is some sort of disconnect with putting the sounds together into words or she will sound out the word and then leave off the beginning sound. Also, I'm running into issues with some of her little books wanting her to write a sentence.  I can write it out and she can copy, but she has no clue what the words are later.She copies words from cereal boxes, asks me to spell them out, does her handwriting practice, even recognizes a few words, but is having major trouble with getting to the next step in phonics.  I don't mind waiting on her to catch up if thats all it is, but what do I do about the rest of the 1st grade material?  I'm perfectly comfortable with reading and studying with her as I feel 1st grade is largely teacher-directed and has lots to memorize.  She has no problems learning to read music, playing piano, memorizing, drawing, even doing math and is super capable for her age with cooking and helping mom. She does not have hearing or vision problems.

 

Do I just wait it out, realizing that on the bell curve of learning to read she is on the low age side? Or is this beyond normal--needing a specialist? What am I missing?  We are using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, but have having problems starting at Lesson 20 or so.  Started over for the 3rd time now---she is memorizing parts of it. My son was reading books by Lesson 50.  

TIA

 

Some children learn to read seemingly by osmosis. Most children do not, and will need direct, specific instruction. You seem to have one of each. :-)

 

So I'm thinking it's time for you to do specific, direct phonics instruction other than 100 Easy Lessons, something more comprehensive. As the resident Spalding geek :D that is, of course, my first recommendation. It will teach her to read by teaching her to spell, and will also include penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, and simple writing, all in one fell swoop.

[FO4UR]

Dancing Bears Reading

 

Charlotte Mason style lessons

 

 

Don't keep banging your heads against the same wall.  Try one of these two things I linked above.  

 

Learning to read requires several sub-skills to be in place before progress is made.  It's possible that your dd is lacking in a sub-skill that is not addressed with 100EZ lessons.  Ex:  Dancing Bears works well for many kids who have failed with other methods b/c it doesn't merely teach phonics, it systematically teaches and trains the eye to see the phonetic patterns, track a line, decode.  Charlotte Mason, if you do all of her ideas, will cover every area needed to build reading skills.

 

CM can be hard to wrap your head around as a teacher.  Dancing Bears is laid out simply.  

[teachingmomster]

I agree with the others!  Try something new.  No program works for all kids.  Maybe you can even try some fun games or online learning to see what kind of learning "sticks" with her before choosing a new program.  Maybe start with some sight words so she can gain confidence with those, writing sentences using those, etc.  Have her help you label the whole house! Sink, chair, table, door, piano, etc.  The more words she sees, the more likely she is to remember them.  It looks crazy to visitors, but my kids loved putting post-it notes around the house to label everything.  After awhile, we would take some off and they would race each other to put them back in the correct place!  

[RootAnn]

Others have addressed what to use, so I will attempt to put my $0.02 in for how to do 1st grade w/a non-reader. 

I've only had one kid (out of 4), so far, who was reading fluently (at a 1st grade level) in 1st grade. So, I have lots of experience with this.

 

I teach handwriting separately. So, outside of learning-to-read, they are learning how to form letters and form letters into words. This helps those handwriting skills be there when they do finally know how to read what they are writing. (We also practice reading what we wrote, but we don't dwell on it.)

 

We do a LOT of things orally and I scribe (with them copying) when necessary.

 

We do a lot of reading aloud.

 

Mine have read fluently at 7, almost-10, and 6. DS#1 isn't there yet. DS#2 is just starting learning to read (Lesson 40ish of 100EZ). I agree that not all kids can take off with 100EZ, BTW. None of mine have ever been reading fluently by the end of 100EZ.

[MerryAtHope]

My sweet girlie, is now 6 and has not picked up on reading beyond knowing all her sounds.  There is some sort of disconnect with putting the sounds together into words or she will sound out the word and then leave off the beginning sound. 

 

It sounds like she might need more work on phonological awareness skills. Have you played oral-blending types of games (you say 3 sounds--not letter names, but sounds--and she blends the sounds into a word)? Does she have a good handle on rhyming, or is that challenging for her? How does she do with games like "going to the zoo/grocery store" and identifying things with a certain first sound, or with hearing the last sound in a word? Skills like these need to be in place, or a student will struggle with blending written words, so you might explore these areas more. Here's a checklist to see if she's ready to learn to read. Hang in there, she'll get it!

[HS Mom in NC]

Some kids aren't ready until they're 8 years old.  That doesn't mean they don't any reading at all, but they may pick up a bit and then not make progress for a long time. Give it a good consistent try for several weeks and if not much any progress has been made, put it away for a few months.  Then get back to doing it consistently for a few weeks and see if anything sticks.  My oldest read aloud like an adult by her 5th birthday.  My middle didn't grasp much until she was almost 8.  We did the get it out for a while then put it aside thing like I described.  When she was almost 8 it started to click and she could read like an adult by the time she was 11.  She started college at 15.

 

100 EZ Lessons is love it or hate it.  We hated it. 

 

I taught my older two to read with real books.  Here's a pamphlet that teachers you how to 1. know when a child is actually ready 2. how to teach with real books. http://www.amazon.com/Home-Start-Reading-Grades-K-3/dp/0940319004/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1444251552&sr=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=homestart+in+reading+ruth+beechick

I was swamped with my youngest who was ready to read at around 6.  We used Phonics Pathways (PP) and the pyramid books. http://www.amazon.com/Phonics-Pathways-Reading-Perfect-Spelling/dp/1118022432/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444252222&sr=8-1&keywords=Phonics+Pathways

 

[Susan in TX]

Explode the Code has worked quite well for most of my kids. Start with the first book and do 2 to 4 pages a day.

 

Susan in TX

[arliemaria]

Some kids aren't ready until they're 8 years old.  That doesn't mean they don't any reading at all, but they may pick up a bit and then not make progress for a long time. Give it a good consistent try for several weeks and if not much any progress has been made, put it away for a few months.  Then get back to doing it consistently for a few weeks and see if anything sticks.  My oldest read aloud like an adult by her 5th birthday.  My middle didn't grasp much until she was almost 8.  We did the get it out for a while then put it aside thing like I described.  When she was almost 8 it started to click and she could read like an adult by the time she was 11.  She started college at 15.

 

100 EZ Lessons is love it or hate it.  We hated it. 

 

I taught my older two to read with real books.  Here's a pamphlet that teachers you how to 1. know when a child is actually ready 2. how to teach with real books. http://www.amazon.com/Home-Start-Reading-Grades-K-3/dp/0940319004/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1444251552&sr=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=homestart+in+reading+ruth+beechick

I was swamped with my youngest who was ready to read at around 6.  We used Phonics Pathways (PP) and the pyramid books. http://www.amazon.com/Phonics-Pathways-Reading-Perfect-Spelling/dp/1118022432/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444252222&sr=8-1&keywords=Phonics+Pathways

 

I know my son is bright, but reading just isn't coming easily.  I love to be reminded of other children who were successful in their education without reading well early.

[knoxinsox]

Oh, thanks for taking the time for all the great ideas!!  I guess I have such great memories of being her age and losing myself in chapter books---and there are so many I want her to read!!  :-)  And she wants to read badly---definitely a subset skill is missing.  It just feels like I have a puzzle piece missing and if I could just find it, things would click for her.  I just used the 100 Easy Lessons 3x because I thought maybe if she was a bit older that it would come together for her. Started Explode the Code earlier this year and just like with the pictures in 100 Easy Lessons, she is distracted by the visuals and starts telling me stories or runs to get markers to color everything in. Love her creativity, though!!  

 

 

I am going to look at all the suggestions and hopefully will find one that will work!!  Is the Dancing Bears available from a US seller at all?  I don't think I've ever heard of it before.

[scoutingmom]

 

 

just like with the pictures in 100 Easy Lessons, she is distracted by the visuals and starts telling me stories or runs to get markers to color everything in. Love her creativity, though!!

 

 

I am going to look at all the suggestions and hopefully will find one that will work!! Is the Dancing Bears available from a US seller at all? I don't think I've ever heard of it before.

 

Are you covering the picture in 100 EZ lessons while she reads, like you are supposed to?

 

Yes you can buy Dancing Bears in the US. On their site there is a flag, click on that to get the US flag

 

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

[OneStepAtATime]

If she continues to struggle you might read The Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide for some ideas on things that could be tripping her up.  Evaluations might also help.  

[Ellie]

Oh, thanks for taking the time for all the great ideas!!  I guess I have such great memories of being her age and losing myself in chapter books---and there are so many I want her to read!!  :-)  And she wants to read badly---definitely a subset skill is missing.  It just feels like I have a puzzle piece missing and if I could just find it, things would click for her.  I just used the 100 Easy Lessons 3x because I thought maybe if she was a bit older that it would come together for her. Started Explode the Code earlier this year and just like with the pictures in 100 Easy Lessons, she is distracted by the visuals and starts telling me stories or runs to get markers to color everything in. Love her creativity, though!!  

 

 

I am going to look at all the suggestions and hopefully will find one that will work!!  Is the Dancing Bears available from a US seller at all?  I don't think I've ever heard of it before.

 

Ok, she's just 6, and you've gone through 100 EZ lessons three times, which tells me that you started working with her when she was 4? 5? And you added in ETC, which teaches differently, when she was 5. She might just have been too young. And although of course you should watch for any learning difficulties, it just sounds to me as if she wasn't ready.

 

And she's too young for you to be worried yet about the wonderful books that you want her to read. That she isn't reading fluidly yet is not a big deal, and is, in fact, very, very normal.

[KrissiK]

I have a 6 year old. I tried 3 different curriculums with her last year - A Beka, Christian Liberty Press and How to Teach Yr Child to read..... All big fat failures. This year I started her in CLE's phonics program and for some reason, she's reading. She's picking it up. I don't know if it's the age, or the curriculum. They do more sight words than other curriculum, along with direct phonics. It has sped up her reading. She used to get so bogged down with sounding out words, she'd forget the beginning of the word when she got to the end of it. Now, she can memorize the sight words and sound out the others and get to the end of the sentence and know what it's about. I really really like their program. Don't know if it would help you, but that is my experience.

[Ellie]

I have a 6 year old. I tried 3 different curriculums with her last year - A Beka, Christian Liberty Press and How to Teach Yr Child to read..... All big fat failures. This year I started her in CLE's phonics program and for some reason, she's reading. She's picking it up. I don't know if it's the age, or the curriculum. They do more sight words than other curriculum, along with direct phonics. It has sped up her reading. She used to get so bogged down with sounding out words, she'd forget the beginning of the word when she got to the end of it. Now, she can memorize the sight words and sound out the others and get to the end of the sentence and know what it's about. I really really like their program. Don't know if it would help you, but that is my experience.

 

Mary Pride called it the "Rule of Three:" it doesn't matter what you use for the first three things--the fourth one will work. :-)

[hepatica]

I have a second grader who is just beginning level 3 of Barton, so not yet reading in a way that would allow him to do second grade work independently. Here's what I do for the rest of school.

 

Math - he is doing Singapore Primary math 2. We do lessons together, he can work the problems, I read the word problems and instructions when necessary.

 

Writing - We do narration and copywork from WWE level 1. He narrates very well, so we might bump up the narration passages, but the level 1 copy work is just right for him.

 

He is learning cursive handwriting with Cursive First, which is good review of phonograms.

 

We do lots of science. We pick a topic and I real aloud lots of books, we do activities, projects, experiments. 

 

Literature is read aloud. Independent reading will be added when he is able.

 

Lots and lots of audiobooks for free time. 

[knoxinsox]

I have a 6 year old. I tried 3 different curriculums with her last year - A Beka, Christian Liberty Press and How to Teach Yr Child to read..... All big fat failures. This year I started her in CLE's phonics program and for some reason, she's reading. She's picking it up. I don't know if it's the age, or the curriculum. They do more sight words than other curriculum, along with direct phonics. It has sped up her reading. She used to get so bogged down with sounding out words, she'd forget the beginning of the word when she got to the end of it. Now, she can memorize the sight words and sound out the others and get to the end of the sentence and know what it's about. I really really like their program. Don't know if it would help you, but that is my experience.

 

I might have to try CLE.  We've started the Dolch Basic Word lists per my mom, who is a long-time private school teacher--she opines that some kids are sight readers and have trouble with phonics, even though she is totally on board the phonics train.  Just glad to know that I am not alone with my failure so far to teach her to read.  I personally learned to read using Rod and Staff in 1st grade, and was reading chapter books by Christmas.  

[knoxinsox]

Ok, she's just 6, and you've gone through 100 EZ lessons three times, which tells me that you started working with her when she was 4? 5? And you added in ETC, which teaches differently, when she was 5. She might just have been too young. And although of course you should watch for any learning difficulties, it just sounds to me as if she wasn't ready.

 

And she's too young for you to be worried yet about the wonderful books that you want her to read. That she isn't reading fluidly yet is not a big deal, and is, in fact, very, very normal.

 

Well, we've started 100 EZ 3 times since she was 5, and gotten to Lesson 30 each time and it was just not clicking.  That's why I restarted her, I though maybe waiting a few months each time might help--and she maybe she was too young.  So beginning of K, middle of K and then we started school in July this year...still not clicking.  Went to Explode the Code in September, and not really picking up on that either.   We've been on a short break while we pack up the house to move, so next week hopefully, back at it....going to look at a bunch of the suggestions here on the thread and hoping to find one that works for her.  In the meantime, we'll do Dolch word lists, and keep working on the sounds and the oral parts of FLL.  

[MomatHWTK]

My middle DS did well with Reading Kingdom, but he was slightly older.  IMO ETC does teach to spell and recognize sounds but is weak on actual fluid reading.  (DS does ETC as well.) For fluid reading, I prefer co-reading with the child or online books that read and highlight the words as they go- captioned videos are great for this as well.  

 

None of my kids thus far have been reading chapter books until closer to 8, and then I start with simply textbook-style reading. I understand being a born book lover, I was one.  But each kid has their own rhythm. I've not had a reader like myself in my bunch yet.   :glare:  

[Ellie]

Well, we've started 100 EZ 3 times since she was 5, and gotten to Lesson 30 each time and it was just not clicking.  That's why I restarted her, I though maybe waiting a few months each time might help--and she maybe she was too young.  So beginning of K, middle of K and then we started school in July this year...still not clicking.  Went to Explode the Code in September, and not really picking up on that either.   We've been on a short break while we pack up the house to move, so next week hopefully, back at it....going to look at a bunch of the suggestions here on the thread and hoping to find one that works for her.  In the meantime, we'll do Dolch word lists, and keep working on the sounds and the oral parts of FLL.  

 

JMHO....I wouldn't do Dolch word lists. In fact, if you've been trying to integrate those into your phonics instruction, that could be problematic. When you're teaching your child to read with a good phonics method, there is no reason whatsoever to teach her to memorize words by sight. I'll recommend Spalding again, and that whatever you decide to do, that you take time off--real time off, which means reading aloud to her from good books but not forcing the sight words on her, and not FLL, either. Time.off.

[AimeeM]

I have a similar 6 year old.

I let myself be talked into pure phonics... and I regret it with my entirety many days. My 6 year old was miserable. Sincerely miserable. "Time to read" induced nothing but tears. I finally introduced sight words, alongside the phonics, and he is not only learning to read (finally) - he's enjoying it. 

Pure phonics, no sight words, may work well for some children, but not mine. 

[JulieA97]

Since you said she gets distracted by the pictures, have you tried OPGTR? Not for everyone but no pictures to get distracted with and you can get a copy at the library.

 

We love All About Reading here.

[knoxinsox]

Since you said she gets distracted by the pictures, have you tried OPGTR? Not for everyone but no pictures to get distracted with and you can get a copy at the library.

 

We love All About Reading here.

 

What is OPGTR?  I haven't been on the forum that long and still don't know all the acronyms.  Thanks!  

[JulieA97]

What is OPGTR? I haven't been on the forum that long and still don't know all the acronyms. Thanks!

Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading :)

[KSinNS]

So, dancing bears was/is great for my kids. I suspect because there were certain steps they were missing. D's SLP commented on how many phonemic strategies he had that most kids have never been taught. It is quick (10 minutes a day) and fully laid out for you. It is not babyish. It does work best if the work is a bit easy for the child (it gets hard fast and, at least for mine, repeating a level frustrated them). If she can't do cvc words yet, she might be better starting with Bear Necessities than with DBA. My son was about that level, and we made it through DBA and he learned, but it was hard! Because it is written for older kids, the stories and sentences definitely talk about older kid themes. There is some beer drinking (among older characters), loan sharks, and such. There's nothing I found objectionable, but it's worth looking at them ahead of time. They are printed in the US, and arrive in a week or two. Shipping is included in the price. They do have some English words that are not common here (I had to ask my MIL what a quiff was) but that helps with decoding and vocab. 

[knoxinsox]

Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading :)

 

Thanks.  I have that book. 

[knoxinsox]

Ellie, since you are the Spalding geek and I am spending my day researching a bunch of these ideas..... Have you tried the Spalding app for phonograms?  Wondering if I go that route, if I could side-load it to my Kindle.  

 Also, just to make you cry, I sold my Writing Road to Reading set before we moved a couple of years ago since I didn't use it for my son. The young lady in question wasn't even in Pre K yet.  Sometimes I regret my attempts at minimalism. 

[Ellie]

Ellie, since you are the Spalding geek and I am spending my day researching a bunch of these ideas..... Have you tried the Spalding app for phonograms?  Wondering if I go that route, if I could side-load it to my Kindle.  

 Also, just to make you cry, I sold my Writing Road to Reading set before we moved a couple of years ago since I didn't use it for my son. The young lady in question wasn't even in Pre K yet.  Sometimes I regret my attempts at minimalism. 

 

I have not seen a Spalding app. :-) I know that Spalding sells it, but still...without the *writing* involved in learning and drilling the phonograms, I'm doubting its efficacy.

 

Listen, I bought and sold the original first edition, the second edition, and the fourth edition. I finally own--and will keep forever--the fourth edition, and own the fifth and sixth editions.

[lots of little ducklings]

Oh, thanks for taking the time for all the great ideas!!  I guess I have such great memories of being her age and losing myself in chapter books---and there are so many I want her to read!!  :-)  And she wants to read badly---definitely a subset skill is missing.  It just feels like I have a puzzle piece missing and if I could just find it, things would click for her.  I just used the 100 Easy Lessons 3x because I thought maybe if she was a bit older that it would come together for her. Started Explode the Code earlier this year and just like with the pictures in 100 Easy Lessons, she is distracted by the visuals and starts telling me stories or runs to get markers to color everything in. Love her creativity, though!!  

 

 

I am going to look at all the suggestions and hopefully will find one that will work!!  Is the Dancing Bears available from a US seller at all?  I don't think I've ever heard of it before.

 

On the bolded above:  my son exactly!   :laugh:  

 

We started him with 100EZ (which he completed) because of the simplicity of the page layout.  Pictures could be easily covered, unlike books such as PP.  And having used (and loved) Spalding in teaching PS, everything I do has had a strong Spalding flavor to it -- we aren't following WRTR formally right now, but do use the notations and many of the exercises.  He's just turned 8 now, and reading Magic Treehouse books (but it is work for him... fluency has been slow, he still does a lot of decoding, and struggles with spelling).

 

I popped on here just to throw out one more suggestion, since it hasn't been mentioned.  Barton does an excellent job of developing phonemic awareness, and since beginning it this summer, I've seen definite improvement in in ds's ability to decode unfamiliar words, or spell words without missing syllables or vowels.   It's designed for children with dyslexia (which my son may have a mild case of as it runs in dh's family), and I really do wish we'd known about it when he was 5 or 6.  

 

Oh, and we didn't use Dancing Bears, but Apples and Pears Spelling (also by Sound Foundations) has been good for ds, too, so if any of my younger children run into reading challenges, I may give Dancing Bears a try.    

 

HTH!

[knoxinsox]

So last night, we were sitting around the living room before bed, and she proceeded to read outloud the first 10 lessons of the Rod and Staff 1st grade reader that we unearthed since we are packing for a move.   It was fairly fluent, there were a couple of words she didn't know, but she remembered them for the next lessons.  

 

If that doesn't beat all.  

[mamiof5]

I was going to suggest what you are already doing. We did have to start like 3 times with each kid, but eventually clicked in and worked wonderfully for us. Good luck!!