BOB books are designed for phonics but they don't introduce a ton of words at a time so they could work for sight reading too. Have you looked at the Progressive Phonics books/pdfs? I'm thinking especially of the Alphabetti ones. They're free, super cute, and you "read" together which allows the child to be part of reading a more complicated book. The books address phonics, but the words the kids read are repeated so often that kids learn the words by sight.

I heard her mention this in an interview I think? Can't wait to get my copy!

I haven't hunted for a curriculum exactly, but I was planning to celebrate a few countries on their special days this year. I had settled on these 6 for this year: Morroco Day - Sept 11 on Eid Al-adha Japan Day - November 3 (Japanese culture day) Nepal Day - Jan 29 (Tamang New Year) Ireland Day - March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day) Mexico Day - May 5 (Cinco de Mayo) Italy Day - June 24 Feast of St John But I haven't gotten very far in planning the actual days--I was thinking I'd let DD help me find books and food in the week leading up to the holiday. We'd read some books ("Children Just Like Me" is a favorite) to learn more about life in each place, plan a few dishes, find some traditional music and dance on Youtube, and make the country's flag--and if possible play a game or learn something specific about the holiday. Are you thinking of something similar? :)

This is the simplest solution and would totally work -- introduce the letters with AAR first, and when you start the letter sound section you can start HWOT and the letters you're working on don't have to sync up. One thing I'd say though, the pre-reading exercises and games in the first 2 sections of the book have nothing to do with the letter you're working on each day. You'll color the letter C and read a poem about it, but the exercise will be rhyming practice, or counting syllables. i think the sequence of the pre-reading exercises/games is important--you want to do those in order since they start easier and become more complex. But you *could* to the letter crafts and poems in the HWOT sequence if you wanted to. You might make yourself dizzy switching it all around but I don't think it would hurt the learning process if you did the letter portion in a different order.

The books on your list are fantastic but most of them are going to be challenges for him at his current reading level. I would balance out with easier, "fun" books for practice and speed that he can choose, maybe. Would you be ok with the Wayside School books? They're on target in terms of reading level, very entertaining with short chapters that move. Also: Time Warp Trio books by Jon Scieszka (pretty much everything he writes is really boy friendly and at the 3-4 grade reading level) The Mouse and the Motorcycle The Hank ZIpzer Books Encyclopedia Brown The Young Merlin Trilogy by Jane Yolen Edited to Add: I have a friend whose 4th grade boy is LOVING the Shivers the Pirate who's afraid of everything books.

I agree it's pretty expensive, but the 5 yo would be free so it's not as crazy as it could be.

Museum of Natural History is a must - even when it's crowded, it's so huge it absorbs tons of people and you can still enjoy everything. You could spend a whole day there and not get bored. The Intrepid Museum is great for boys. I second the Weapons (Arms and Armor) gallery at the Met - that plus Mummies--you don't need to see the whole museum but if they like art there is a ton to explore and special map for kids. The Circle Line Tour is great and relaxing compared to other forms of sightseeing. I almost recommend it over the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island... I've also got to put in a plug for the Tenement Museum. It's such a cool and hands on way to learn about the immigrant experience in NY at the turn of the century. You have to buy tickets for a specific time in advance - but they have a tour in which kids can interact with an actress who is playing "Victoria Confino" a 14 year old recent immigrant to NYC from 1916. She's like a living american girl doll with all the accessories. :) You can also add on a tasting tour of the Lower East Side (dumplings, Jewish Bakeries, etc) or you can just do that yourself. It's a side of NY that not a lot of tourists really see (they might glimpse while buying a knockoff purse on Canal St).

She's just Red from Fraggle Rock I was "researching" potential future puppets and Red was not the most affordable choice ...but when I saw her I immediately decided she was the "Math Puppet" we didn't know we needed! :lol: You may need one too!

It can be hard to know what is social stuff that requires intervention, and what is normal but painful to watch because your child is learning through social failure... Mostly I'm following your post to get tips. :) The roaring thing sounds very familiar to me -- I cringed when my then 4 yo dd tried to join an ongoing game by bear hugging/tackling one of the kids (whom she did not know) - not a success. She's on the shy side and when she psyches herself up to dive into a game she can overdo it. I'd been coaching her on the "just ask to join in" thing but apparently that's easier said than done--things have improved considerably in the last year though. Anyway, my dd had an early intervention eval (for speech, but they check everything) at age 4 and she's normal in terms of social development, pre-k teacher said she was doing fine socially--but she does and will continue to experience some social strife.

I bought a "Math Puppet." :blush: My kid is so much happier to take instruction if there's a puppet involved and I needed some variety from my Ziggy the confused and forgetful Zebra shtick. This puppet is Red from Fraggle Rock and she really loves numbers...she likes to think up math secrets and tricks for dd to figure out. She's very enthusiastic. :lol:

sleeping in long sleeves and pants (new ones each night), maybe even a hooded sweatshirt. :p and oral meds if the doctor can see her in time!

We had a serious family-wide war with ringworm when we adopted a kitten about 9 months ago--I feel for you guys. Since she's really covered I highly recommend taking her to the doctor for oral antifungal medication--it's just miserable to be fighting off the itchy rash with cream only and the oral meds really stop the spread. Of course you have to keep using the cream for weeks too.

Agree! The rhymes in Shrek are dense and it's super slim on story. DD didn't ask for it a second time. The Amazing Bone, The Toy Brother, Sylvester, Brave Irene, Doctor De Soto...basically all the others are winners. :)

So many great recommendations, but I have a few to add! For younger kids, but the 5 year old will also enjoy: Jon Klassen Books: "This is not my hat" and "I want my hat back" Dan Stantat Books: "The Adventures of Beekle: the Unimaginary Friend" and so many others For 4-5 year olds (my 5 yo's current favorites): Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci Fritz and the Beautiful Horses by Jan Brett Taka-Chan and I: A Dog's Journey to Japan by Runcible (DD is mesmerized by this book--it's so unusual and wonderful) All things WIlliam Stieg but especially Doctor De Soto and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

I'm always drawn to the vintage. I got hooked on reading via my mom and grandma's ancient Nancy Drews (first edition The Secret of the Old Clock! I can't believe they let me have it!). And I've started teaching dd by raiding my mom's (a former teacher) shelves for curricula and books on teaching. I found a reading/phonics series I love (Stern-Gould Structural Reading) that is long out of print--and I ended up tracking down relatives of the author so I could make copies of the books in the series that I'm missing. :o (If I could only hound them into getting the books in print again, or to scan them and get them online...) I absolutely LOVE Miquon and Stern Structural Arithmetic--both 1930s to 1960s developments in math instruction that have similar roots. Some things are so wonderful they shouldn't get an update -- but definitely supplement with some modern stuff for balance right? and I'm learning a lot of modern stuff is well-grounded in what works and in a very user-friendly format. Nothing to knock about that. :p

In my dream world: Age 3 to 4 would be very Waldorf-style - follow the seasons, daily rhythms, have a nature table, lots of read aloud, songs and poems, lots of imaginative play, free art and seasons-based projects, outdoor time, "helping" in the kitchen and the home. And because I'm not a purist in the least... ...around age 4 introduce brief periods of instruction in math and pre-reading skills that are play based and hands on -- --for math: Stern Structural Arithmetic Kit A (pretend money is no object, cuisenaire rods and education unboxed if we're being realistic), magnatiles, attribute blocks, maybe some workbooks if the child is excited by that --for reading: pre-reading games from my favorite book on the subject, maybe a curriculum like Letterland that introduces the letters in a fun and memorable way, AAR pre-reading is also right on target for this too and I really like it. Season-based rhythms and lots of imaginative play and read aloud would continue, taking full advantage of the Science museum's activities, the zoo, the aquarium, the farm museum, and just getting outside all the time. Also, this is important, Puppets -- different ones with different personalities -- would alternately teach and learn all subjects with the student(s). :laugh: Around age 5 or 5.5 we'd move up to Stern Kit B for math, and more serious phonics. I'm currently nerding out on the Structural Reading phonics program from my mom's stash of ancient curricula and I'd love to bring it back to life. I think i'll be using at least some of it on DD--although we may end up doing AAR level 1 too if I can't find complete materials for Structural Reading.

My DD is the same way and we're in about the same place in Mathematical Reasoning! I ended up getting the Mind Benders Level 1 book and the Can You Find Me? books because she has so much fun with the riddles--Some of it is above her level, but they've been good additions. Following this thread for other ideas...

As a lawyer who uses timelines in court on a regular basis, I say WALL! You want it right were you can see it and refer to it easily so its meaning can really soak in. :)

I'm pretty fanatical about these books by Toni S. Gould for play-based discovery of how language, letters and words work: Get Ready to Read: https://www.amazon.com/Get-Ready-Read-Practical-Teaching/dp/0802773613/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470159000&sr=1-3&keywords=Toni+Gould 30+ Games to Get Ready to Read: https://www.amazon.com/30-Games-Get-Ready-Read/dp/0802774326/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 There may be websites out there with similar ideas--I haven't really looked because I've been relying on these books!

There is this really great out of print book called Get Ready to Read: A Practical Guide for Teaching Young Children to Read at Home by Toni S Gould -- you can get it for $4 shipped from amazon and it's packed with pre-reading games that flow into phonics games in a really fun way for kids as young as 3. The games are very easy to set up too--just using objects at home. I think with a 3 year old you'd want to keep it pretty light and fun and as she picks up enough letter sounds and symbols--then move into Bob books (or maybe ETC?) and more structured phonics lessons.