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Can you recommend a phonics program for an eager 3 yo girl?


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I decided to post on this board because I really am not after the standard advice of "don't rush it; take it easy; don't push your child or do formal academics". ;)

 

Before I started homeschooling, my first daughter was 5 and in kindergarten. She expressed interest in learning to read, so I got the BOB books. They worked well; she learned pretty quickly. I did not do any formal phonics with her, though, because I figured the schools would take care of that.

 

Well, her little sister (then 3) shocked me my learning how to read through osmosis. She was a fluent reader right after her 3rd birthday. I didn't push this . . . she just happened to be in the room with me.

 

So fast forward many years, and I have another 3 yo girl who is showing signs of being an early reader. She is eagerly picking out letters everywhere and saying their sounds (which she learned through our Letter Factory DVD). I think it is time to gently start her with a phonics program, so that she starts her reading journey on a solid phonics foundation.

 

Any suggestions? I myself disliked phonics intensely when I was little, and I don't think I can bear a dry program such as Phonics Pathways or Ordinary Parent's Guide (no offense to those who like these programs). I'm looking for something with a bit of fun/color, but will also provide a good, solid foundation in phonics.

 

I'm sure some of you have been in this boat before, with an eager-to-read 3 yo. What do you recommend I do?

 

Thanks very much!

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But I should warn you... we had to do some skipping around and adapting to make it work. DS enjoyed it, but it does get repetitive (so we didn't do every page) and once you're out of the primers and into the regular series it required more writing than he wanted to do, so we used stamps and mommy-scribing to keep up. It's not perfect, but it worked for us.

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I liked "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". We didn't do any of the writing stuff, just the reading. I'm so bad at remembering, but I think my 2nd son started the book when he was 3. I think he finished it when he was 4. Both of my boys thought the little stories were funny.

 

We also took breaks from it for a week or a month, if things were getting to be too much.

 

Have fun with whatever you choose,

Jean

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We used Reading Reflex. It's not designed for early readers but is easily adapted. We really liked it because it was very quick to use and my three older kids are now very good readers. It isn't a "fun" program but there are games that you can add in if you wish.

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I used 100 Easy Lessons with DD started right after her 4th birthday although could have started earlier but didn't know it existed. (she is reading at a late grade 2 level now and is 4.5) I have also started with my just turned 3 DS who sat through all of DD's lessons of his own choice and is now doing them himself. (We don't do the writing side of it)

 

We are also using Get Set for the Code for DS, again of his choosing. Explode the Code for DD.

 

I also let them play Reading Eggs online which they love and fight over who will go first.

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I'll add my recommendation for 100 Easy Lessons. My daughter loved it. We started right after her 3rd birthday. Now, she did burn out on it about 3/4 through, so we took a break for a couple of months and moved to easy readers from the library instead. By the time we went back to it, she was able to race through the rest of the book!

 

We're doing Phonics Pathways now to sharpen up her ability to sound out words, and she likes that too. But she'd rather be reading her Beatrix Potter books!

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My dd started before she turned 3 and finished it before she turned 4. We are now using the EC workbooks, which she also likes, and continuing with reading easy reader books.

 

With 100EL, don't feel as if you have to do the lesson all in one sitting. Especially from about lesson 8 to about lesson 14, there are some awkward rhyming exercises. I felt it helped to break the lesson into two sittings at times. Also, you can review a lesson easily by just doing it over. Conversely, if the child is flying along and easily reads all the practice words, I did not require the instructions to redo a list.

 

I did not force dd to do these lessons, but waited each day for her to ask for it. I did make a sticker chart for her (like a 1 to 100 counting chart, ten numbers per row), and she enjoyed putting a sticker on each number when a lesson was completed. I've used 100EL with all of my children and never did the writing exercises, since they seemed much more ready to read than to write (though the last one was more ready than my other 3). If you want to do the writing, I suggest getting a plastic shoe box and fill it halfway with sand, let your child "write" in there with a finger. That's what I would do if I were starting just now.

 

DD also loved her Leap Pad, I think that really helped. Also, I am thinking that a highly motivated reader could use a more advanced read aloud, in addition to lovely picture books. I am thinking about starting Charlotte's Web with my dd (now just turned 4), after a field trip to the local petting farmstead. One thing I've noticed about my early readers is that often they come across something in reading (or even a 100EL or EC lesson) for which they have no context. Does that make sense? They can read certain words, but they have no experience or mental image to go along with it.

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After my 3 year old knew the consonant and short vowel sounds I used AlphaPhonics. I also use the two Merrill Linguistic readers I Can and Dig In. It has worked well for all of my children. With my older ones I go through usually a lesson or page a day and then at some point add a page a day from the reader. With my 3.5 year old I let her dictate the pace since reading was her idea anyway. With a low attention span some pages took days. Now at 4.5 she follows the pace I use for my older ones. This has been the longest it has taken any of my children to go through AlphaPhonics, but then she was by far the youngest.

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I liked "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". We didn't do any of the writing stuff, just the reading. I'm so bad at remembering, but I think my 2nd son started the book when he was 3. I think he finished it when he was 4. Both of my boys thought the little stories were funny.

 

We also took breaks from it for a week or a month, if things were getting to be too much.

 

Have fun with whatever you choose,

Jean

 

Ditto for us! Fun, inexpensive and silly!

 

Julie in Monterey

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