Thank you to both mamas who suggested LiPS. I'll definitely check it out. Thank you to the mama who suggested googling minimal pairs. I'm going to look them up now!

Once I slowed down to help her, and really started hearing myself, I realized it really does sound that way! Now every word I say that starts with those blends I notice it, haha. I'll definitely have to tell her that rule. That's a good idea. I'll probably look up auditory processing issues, because I'm paranoid now. I'm hoping with practice she'll get it down. It's intimidating to think she could have something like that going on. Thanks!

Thanks for the advice! I've never heard of this. Do you know any other signs of this? Or should I just keep an eye on if she improves with practice?

It's so relieving to hear someone else say their kid has done the same thing! When I thought about the way we talk I could totally understand how she comes up with these spellings. I tried to be positive. I told her it really does sound like that, but that's not how it's spelled. It's tricky sometimes. We have a southern accent, so I'm constantly having to slow us down on certain words. I was laughing so hard inside the first time she sounded out "get" and had no clue what word she was saying. We are guilty of saying it "git."

I need some help. My 6 year old is having trouble with some beginning blends. She sometimes hears tr as ch, dr as gr, and it seems like she had one more she was struggling with, but it's slipping my mind. Like today the picture in her book stood for "drag," but she started to spell it, "jrag." We stopped and said it verrrrry slow and tried to enunciate clearly and she realized her mistake. How else can I help her? We are going to do word webs with a sound in the middle and words that start with that sound all around. Any other ideas? Is this something that will get better as she reads and spells these words more often? Also, I hope I posted this in the right place. :)

Awesome! Thanks!

I feel like it's definitely worth trying, but I'll probably wait until my youngest (almost 3) is about 4 or 5, so she can do it with us. She really, really enjoys science. We got a little chemistry kit for Christmas a few years back and she fell in love.

Do you know which animal encyclopedia you have? There seems to be tons! I'm sure any would do, I'm just weird lol.

I saw that set online when I was looking around last night. Good to know it's worth it. I'll have to put it on my list to eventually try. How long does the curriculum last?

So many wonderful ideas! Thank you so much! So, some background. I kind of hate science, mostly because I'm not good at it. I want my daughters to love it, though! Open and go, clear directions, materials that are included or easy to get, are all huge bonuses for me. I'm definitely going to look into Mr. Q, as suggested. It's hard to pass up giving something free a chance! I also loved the idea of getting an animal encyclopedia and doing a chapter a week. Does this discuss animal classification at all? I never had biology in school so I'm embarrassed to admit I have no idea how to classify living things. I'll also definitely have to check out the "Let's Read and Find Out" series. Seems like we may have one about butterflies already. Thank God for our local library! Sorry I couldn't take the time to quote individually! I've got a clingy toddler needing my attention! I greatly appreciate all of the replies!

Nice to "meet" you! Haha

I need help deciding what to do for science for first grade. I was looking at Building Blocks of Science and Biology Pre Level 1 both from Real Science 4 Kids, but now looking at reviews I'm thinking they may be too advanced? Can someone help me out here? Also, this is my first time posting here, so let me know if I've done something wrong. :)

Hello, I'm new here. I homeschool a 5 year old and an almost 3 year old. We are still trying to get the hang of things. My 5 year old started kindergarten this year. We've taken it really slow, mostly focusing on learning to read, listening to tons of audiobooks, reading aloud, with some math facts and practice counting to 100 sprinkled in. We live in West Virginia. Any other West Virginia mamas here?