We do copywork and then when the dc is ready dictation. I started this when my oldest was in 5th grade and I saw a LOT of progress in her spelling by the end of that year. We've used Spelling Wisdom quite a bit!

I'm going through the second 1/2 with my 10yo ds who also needs help and I've seen progress. It's helped him to see how to break words apart, etc. I own Reading Pathways and plan to follow up with that after we finish Phonics Pathways.

Ditto, ditto, ditto!

I agree that PP and OPG both are excellent but like others have said I've had better success with PP since my dc have liked the layout and presentation of PP better. I like either of these better than 100EZ!

I just was just trying to explain this to someone the other day. But he does a MUCH better job than I did! Thanks!

I second this!!!! My 13yo has really been enjoying this program, is learning, and is doing the work without complaining! It's sold by Apologia.

Don't know if you're still looking for anything but my 13yo is a poor speller. She started reading very easily very young so I realize now that I didn't give her the benefit of a complete phonics program and it's showing up now in her spelling! We've been using Sequential Spelling for Adults for her for the past couple of months and I see improvement already. Since it teaches in word groups I can tell that she's starting to break words down more to spell them, etc. And the fact that it's 'for adults' is making her feel like she's not doing remedial work!

I think Bob books are great, too. We also like Pathway Readers. They are readers that build on themselves as skills are introduced and the 1st grade ones may be good for her. They're not free but Pathway Readers are quality and VERY reasonably priced. My little guy who sounds like he's in a similar place as far as skill level has done some Bob books but I've held off on readers for the most part yet because he likes to write and worksheets seem less intimidating. He really likes Explode the Code workbooks so is doing that and I'll introduce Pathway readers later in the year.

I've got a couple of different levels going with various children and we like it, too!

I think that with FLL, WWE, and ETC and readers you have it pretty well covered. One more thing I've done with those (haven't used WWE but have used others) is something like Phonics Pathways or First Reader. Your ds would start part of the way through but that way you could be sure he got complete phonics instruction. ETC is actually quite good, but I think either of those would fill in any possible gaps. The only other thing that comes to mind is copywork, but I imagine that he'll be getting enough of that in WWE. Sounds like your ds is doing well!

I totally agree with this! I have a quite delayed reader. He's 10 now and is finally making good progress now that he sees the benefits of being about to read and I think is just more mature and ready to focus his energies in that direction. He just didn't retain phonics rules, etc, at ALL until he was over the age of 8 (and I started teaching him at 4 like his older sisters) even though he could remember interesting Science facts without even trying. But I've made sure all along that he's being fed good, exciting, interesting books by me even if he wasn't reading them himself. I've been following the progress of friend who lives far away who has a son who my ds seems to be following in the footsteps of but a few paces behind. Her ds is about 13 and is an avid now, even though it was an intense struggle for YEARS to teach him to read. So hang in there and your ds sounds fine to me!!!! Boys often don't seem to fit the educational 'mold' often anyway. P.S. Love the idea that someone said of time before bed that can either be spent reading or sleeping! Fantastic!

My dd's of around that age have just started it. I don't have any long-term results to tell you yet, but they aren't complaining about the work at all. :001_smile:

I agree! And Garcia's Classical copywork books at lulu.com are great for copywork, too.

I just went online and purchased the next level of Rod and Staff as well and will have ds read them to me as part of his Bible this year. We'll still keep up with Pathways for reading, though.

My 10yo ds is a delayed reader and he's finally really taken off in the last 6 months with Pathway readers. He's really needed the consistant building of a reader rather than the random stories in the books that SL chooses, for example. He loves the stories and even though he's older than the 'target age' of the readers, he enjoys following the lives of the children in the stories. They are fun stories and for him building his interest was a key part of his new success. BUT after reading this thread, I think I'll check out the Rod and Staff readers as well!!!!

I've been using a copywork book that's free at lulu.com put together by Kimberly Garcia (part of the CW team?) with my 5yo. Another ds has just started using another of her other copybooks and I've got to say they're just GREAT! http://www.classicalreadingandwriting.com/ I'm going to be using WWE with my 5yo and have wanted to implement something similar with my 10 yo (who's a delayed reader). These copywork books fit the bill really well and then I will be doing narration with him from either 'The Aesop for Children' or 'Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare'. However narration could easily be done from the stories that Garcia puts before the copywork lessons. Thought I'd just suggest it for anyone else whose dc might not have a WWE workbook out yet suited to them!

What a great story, Rose! I've been going back and forth about whether to purchase this or not but I can tell from what you said that my 5yo would love it, too! Off to check out Rainbow.....

I've used it with one dc who was a very active 1st and 2nd grader!!! He really liked it and I feel like he learned a lot without having to sit still for too long. There were lots of things in there that I feel are excellent for the grammar stage. This ds is not my most logical dc but has always EASILY understood grammar concepts and is able to apply them after using FLL. They've just stuck in his brain! The poetry memorization helped him to be a better speaker (plus they're fun!). She does a good job of giving options for copywork and dictation, too. The picture study is nice. All in all, I credit FLL a great deal towards developing his concentration skills and it didn't take long each day to do. For me FLL has plenty for that age to develop LA skills while not being overkill. I have looked at a number of other programs before deciding to go back and use FLL again soon with my 5yo. Guess I'm on the 'love it' list. :001_smile:

I'm currently using the Primer with ds aged 5 that has been arranged into a copywork book that you can download for free at lulu.com : http://www.lulu.com/content/1159762 He loves it!!! I've seen the more advanced books but have never actually used them.

I have a very active 10 year-old ds who is probably a bit ADD and couldn't sit still and focus when he was younger for long at all. Now he does better about having most of his school stuff without too many breaks inbetween, but I do give him mental breaks. We start out with something that takes quite a bit of concentration and work on that for 15 min. or so and then I read him a fable or some poetry, for example. Then, we do more focused work and then I read his history to him, and continue that way through all of his work. (kind of Charlotte Mason style) My 5yo ds has excellent concentration skills already but I pretty much do the same style of lessons for him. I think it just makes it more enjoyable for him and keeps him loving to learn! Boys are just a different ballgame to teach altogether, aren't they?!!!

I'm wondering how her reading is???? Is it just spelling she's behind in or is she a delayed reader as well. Can she put thoughts together orally? My 10yo ds is somewhat dyselxic with perceptual motor difficulties and is a delayed reader so is also a very delayed speller. The combination that's been working wonders for us lately is kind of a hodge podge of small things each day. We do either a 1/2 or full page in Phonics Pathways (we didn't start at the beginning of the book but picked up where I felt he needed reinforcement to start), read from Pathway Readers, copywork and we'll start dictation soon. I'm going to use Writing With Ease with my small one so I've looked through the 'Complete Writer' book which is the spine of the series and really, really like her approach of teaching how to write. Basically you get children to narrate back to you about something you've read to them, you write it out for them and for an older dc they then copy at least part of what you've written. If her problem is mostly spelling issues I'd really recommend Sequential Spelling. It's something that I'm just beginning with my ds but I've heard rave reviews from people with dyslexic dc or just upper elementary grade dc who aren't spelling well. It teaches how words are built so they can spell more difficult words faster than in many other programs. I think copywork is also VERY useful for all dc but especially important for those who need to make up for lost time, like someone else said about building foundations. Personally, I would REALLY hesitate about getting her to just write out her own thoughts incorrectly at this point. That's great for a dc who are spelling well but that would only reinforce her bad spelling habits. S.W. Bauer (and I've also read things supporting this by Ruth Beechick and Charlotte Mason) says in WWE that seeing their own misspellings visually reinforces the problem and part of what dc need is to see the correct spelling and usage of words repeatedly. So copywork is excellent here! Plus, it would be something that she could do quite a bit on her own without your constant attention. S.W.B. recommends that you watch the dc write when they're using their own thoughts or in dictation and as soon as they begin to misspell a word you stop them before they see it written incorrectly. Another method I've heard of is to use small sticky notes and to cover up the incorrect word right away. Then when you are finished with the dictation you write the correct spelling on the note so the dc doesn't view the misspelled word again and have the dc copy it. Anyway, just my 2 cents! Hope you find something that works for you!!! I'm sooooo grateful that I've been able to homeschool especially this particular ds who would have labeled himself 'stupid' years ago in a classroom setting. He's actually VERY bright and incredibly creative. He just doesn't fit the mold. I commend you for your committment to try to help this young lady succeed!!!

I've got Workbook 1 for my little one but will try to do something similar for my 4th grader. He will be doing classical copywork from Kimberly Garcia that I found on lulu.com and dictation from Spelling Wisdom. I plan to have him do narration as she explains at his level just from things we will be reading otherwise or from fables. I really like the bit by bit way that she works towards narration becoming writing. One of those things that you 'know' in the back of your head but such it's presented in such a clear, way it seems heaps easier for busy moms to implement!

LOL, I just purchased FLL again ro start with my 5 yo mid-year after selling my copy recently! Not the first time I've done something like that! I was just reading my WWE teacher's book last night and I'm VERY pleased as well with what I see as well!

Otto of the Silver Hand is another good one.

Thanks for mentioning this!!! I just checked it out and downloaded the series. Exactly the one area in the LL program that I wished there was more of. Thanks!!!!