I'm trying to help my 9 year old dd develop more fluency in reading. We have worked on decoding skills extensively. She reads about 100 wpm on 3/4 grade level books, but she still sounds choppy, and at times breezes through periods. She misses off word endings and then changes the tense of the next word to fit. I just bought Quick Reads, but I'm not convinced just repeated reading is the answer. Any suggestions?

I would speak with his teacher, and find out if she is as surprised with the results. If so, I would get her on board with you to speak with the principal or to share her belief that your child should be retested or allowed in the program based on teacher recommendation. The teachers already know the kids who should be in the program. Ask if the school psychologist can test him, if need be.

I have a first grader and spent tons of time doing extra reading with her last year. We used multiple sources but very phonics based, including etc. I received note fm her teacher for her to stay for extra help too. I assessed her myself with dra and she came out at c/d level - which is truly within norm for first, but with all my extra assist I thought she would be at the top of the curve. The assessments really are based on sight words and looking at pictures to guess words - approaches I have not stressd. I just don't want her to feel disheartened as I don't feel the normalcy of indiv differences is stressed,there's a rush to meet levels due to all of the upcoming stand tests. It's tough to not fall prey to comparison and concern.

I am using it with my 1st grader. I love the curriculum but it is very teacher intensive which is proving hard for me as I also have a 1 ur old. We did 30 lessons over the summer but since school started we have majorly slowed down.

You can access all of the treasures student books online if u go to the publishers website. They take a while to download but they are there for the taking. I didn't love their k program, and I saw no differentiation used. The first grade program looks much better and I will continue to work with my dd at home.

Who are you flying with? There have been a couple of instances lately where airlines have received negative attention for letting under 5's fly without being seated next to parents. Hence, I think the airlines are probably falling over themselves now to ensure this does not happen. I recently had the same issue. I booked flights to Mexico and wasn't able to confirm that my 5 year old was sat next to me. I called the airline (US Airways) and the customer service rep instantly seated us altogether in the front row. They always reserve that row for people with disabilities/young children, etc. and you usually can't book it in advance. They hold it for situations, such as you find yourself in. If I were you I would call customer service and explain your concern. I am sure the operator will switch your seats or advise you to get to the airport early so they can ensure you are seated together. Worse case scenario is that someone will switch with you. Most people have children and I cannot imagine the majority of human beings being so lacking in compassion as to refuse, in this case.

I would really love some help/advice from all of you that have been there. My daughter is just finishing up PS Kindergarten, and due to the fact it uses "balanced literacy" I started teaching her reading myself at the beginning of September. We started with Jolly Phonics, and moved onto parts of OPGTR. She is able to sound out 5/6 letter words, but it is so slow and she HATES it. I think she should be blending faster, and that is our problem?? She reads like this: She sounds out by letter, and then is able to say the word e.g c-l-i-ck click, but we go through this for every word (except the sight words she learned in school.) I recently picked up Phonics Pathway, and went back to the basics - blending two letters. She does fine until the consonants change e.g fa ra mo tu, then she will have to say f-a fa r-a ra, etc to get to the right sound. She just turned 6 last week, so I am not sure if this is developmental and I am expecting too much. I can see she is already bored reading the two letter sounds, but I am unsure as to whether to move on if she has to sound out each letter before she can blend the sound? Is this just part of the process?

There's no way to say one is better than the other. Some public schools are phenomenal, and would be hard to beat, others are terrible, and would be hard to be worse than. Same goes with homeschooling. Some parents are amazing, and it works fantastically, others are terrible. I know personally of one family who "homeschooled" their son on and off after pulling him out of various schools - P.S, Waldorf, Charter, Montessori. They were never happy with the schools, however kept him home and had him complete 2 pages of a workbook each day (that was it!.) I saw something he had written at age 11, and was appalled. At 18, he could barely read/write. So, no, not all homeschools are better! It depends on the parents.

I am contemplating different math curriculums, in anticipation of buying one to use over the summer. I almost went with Singapore, but now I am really interested in Right Start. Just wondering if anyone had used it to afterschool, especially those who have Everyday Math in their PSs. I like the idea of doing lots of manipulatives at this age, not just worksheets and drill, which is what is pulling me towards Right Start. I was thinking of doing B and maybe C, and then switching to Singapore down the road. Any help appreciated.

Hello, I have a soon to be 6 year old daughter who is just finishing up kindergarten in PS. Sadly, they use Everyday Math, so I wanted to supplement over the summer to make sure she is actually learning math. I heard great things about Singapore, and was going to order it, but then I stumbled upon a review of Right Start Math. I really like the sound of this program, and especially liked all of the included manipulatives, as I don't want to just sit her down and have her do worksheets. I am kind of on the fence as to which way to go. Anyone tried both - could compare them for me? I want her to enjoy the program, especially because it is over the summer and she is already protesting the idea of academic work over the "vacation." LOL Help!

Ha ha ha - that sounds like a "teachable moment." Did you tell her what the point is to reading Shakespeare from your perspective?? I remember loathing Thomas Hardy in secondary school - I still would rather eat nails than have to read his boring books. That's the great thing about literature - some you love and some things you don't. Just because something is considered a classic, should not mean you have to love it. If we are teaching children to think for themselves, then they should be allowed an opinion. I was schooled in England, so we read a lot of Shakespeare and I didn't always like it. The teacher makes such a difference. Personally, I would rather read Shakespeare after first seeing it in play form. It makes it more accessible, I believe. Perhaps you could take your niece to a local play? Leonardo DiCaprio did that remake of Romeo and Juliet recently, maybe she would understand the story better if she first watched the movie.

I love love love Jamie Oliver. My favorite of his books is Food Revolution. It's full of great simple recipes, that can be made quickly. His trademark is teaching people to cook who have never cooked before. He even starts by telling you what staples to have in your cupboard when you are starting out, plus there's Veggie, Indian, Italian, British, Thai recipes - bit of everything.

Hello all, just a question for all of you who have gone through watching your little ones learn to read. I currently have my first dd in Kindergarten, and she is decoding every word laboriously when she reads. She can read them, but it is sooooo slow with her decoding. She does know some sight words also, but I was wondering how long this stage usually lasts or if there is something I can do to speed up her decoding. She is able to sound out up to 5/6 sound words successfully, but I am questioning whether I should have spent longer on the shorter words (CVC) and waited until her speed was faster before moving her on? Any insight greatly appreciated!

Thank you all for your comments and great advice. I told my daughter that we would be taking a little break from doing our reading, at which she protested that she wanted to continue "in a few days." I have decided I will start up again today (I think I needed a rest as feeling frustrated) whether she protests or not :) I have a 1 year old, so I had been trying to do our extra lessons when she went to bed (7.30pm) which I know isn't ideal as then my kindergartner is tired. Think I will try to do it earlier in the evening. Ironically, my daughter just got her school report card and was deemed "advanced proficient" (whatever that actually means) in reading, so she is obviously not doing as poorly as she thinks. Also, she shared with me yesterday that while reading to her teacher, she had requested for her to "look at the pictures" when she did not know a word. That instantly reminded me why I decided to start teaching her myself to begin with. My dd informed me that she knew her teacher was wrong in saying that as "what will I do when there are no pictures, Mommy?" but she didn't want to be rude and tell her that. LOL

My daughter is in full day kindergarten, and I started teaching her reading myself outside of school, as they seemed to be doing mainly sight word learning, and I felt she could move along faster than was happening at school. My husband and I read voraciously, and my daughter has been read to every day since being born. I started off using Jolly Phonics, and have then switched to using The Ordinary Parents Guide to reading. She can read many of the Bob books, yet she FIGHTS like a dog every time I tell her it is time to practice reading. This has been going on for months, and I am starting to wonder if I should just back off. She is actually pretty good at sounding out words, but just doesn't want to do it. She has now started telling me that several kids in her class are bringing in chapter books/Dr Seuss books to read to the rest of the kids in the class, and informed me that I am not teaching her to read fast enough as she can't do that. I know I shouldn't compare her with others in the class, but I don't want her to feel that she is not a good reader at this young stage, but getting her to practice is a nightmare. Anyone been through this?

There's a great book called Reading Reflex, that is one of the best approaches for remediating reading (as approved by the National Reading panel.) I borrowed the book from library, so you could do that or buy it for about 20 bucks. It starts off with an assessment, so you can see where he is actually having difficulty, and then tells you step by step what to work on from there. The book requires phototcopying much of it and doing the exercises, so at least it's a little more interactive. Your son might like this aspect of it, and some children are helped by actually being able to manipulate the letters, rather than just sounding out the letters. One of the first things the authors note is that you need to read a little every day regardless of whether the child wants to or not, as of course, the only way to improve reading is to actually read. From what you have said, I would have your son read each sentence, and then you read it back to him. That way he gets to understand what it says, as right now all of his cognitive resources are tied up in decoding the words. Good luck to your son.

I would highly recommend a book called Reading Reflex. It is pretty much "the bible" for reading remediation. The book is very simple to use and self explanatory, with easy lessons to complete, and an assessment prior to use to advise you where to begin for your child. Sounds more of a decoding issue than a fluency issue per se, if the child is having difficulty remembering the sounds. Any issue in decoding will obviously result in slow speed of reading. If the mother does not feel up to the task of teaching the child herself, I would advise her to look into Kumon or find an Orton Gillingham trained tutor in the area. Good luck to her and her child!