BikeBookBread Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 We're slowly going through Phonics Pathways with DD5 (and DD3 really wants to tag along much of the time, too!) after a mis-start with 100 EZ Lessons. We've been doing the short-vowel/consonant blends for about 6 weeks now (I told you we are going slowly!). So....just how "perfect" should these be before we move on to the next section? She does really well with the train game and blending, but just put a paper with "ba" or "ki" in front of her and it's 50/50 whether she gets it. Some days she really gets it, some days, she doesn't. The author says to make sure the vowel sounds are down pat before moving on (which she's got down solid), but what about the blends? My concern is that she'll really start to get bored with this and completely lose interest. Am I wrong to assume that she could just continue to pick up the concept if we move on? Or should this first concept be mastered before we move to the next step of consonant-short vowel-consonant blends? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 If she's capable of it, I would try having her spell them orally or write them, either real writing, or "writing" them with magnetic letters. My daughter learned much faster and the info quit "jumping" out of the brain when she learned it so well she could spell it. The math facts still jump out of the brain, but we now have RS math games, that's been very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I used another phonics program with my son and we did not get the blending down pat. About six months later, we had to start over from the beginning with Phonics Pathways because he was unable to read unfamiliar words because he couldn't make the blends. My vote is to get it down pat. Each day my son starts by writing from dictation the sounds we have learned this far (I don't make him do every single thing we have studied, just a representative sample, such as a, e, i, o, u, fu, le, ni, mo, sa). If your dd writing is not strong, you could have her spell them with magnetic letters or flash cards. You could also play a matching game where she has to turn over two different cards and blend the sounds. You could also play a go fish-type game where she has to ask you for a sound, lay it down with one of her cards, and blend the sounds. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I agree, get the CV blends down pat first. It'll be harder to move to smoothly reading CVC words if the CV part doesn't come naturally. Is it the vowels that are throwing her off? Can she rattle off the short vowel sounds without a preceding consonant, or does she have to stop and think about it? And is she still shaky with the consonants too? If it is just the short vowel sounds, you might try the short vowel songs on Starfall.com. They are in the ABCs section, at the very bottom of the page. They're goofy, but if she watches/listens to them once a day for a while they'll help cement the sounds in her memory. If it is consonants too, I'd again suggest Starfall's ABCs section as well as the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narrow Gate Academy Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I vote for getting it down pat before moving on as well. We love and are using Phonics Pathways with our 3rd child now. It can definitely be frustrating for me to stay on one topic for awhile, but it would be even more frustrating for my kids if I tried to push them along before they were ready. (Our 3rd is currently stuck at the CVC stage and has been for almost 2 months.) Hang in there. It will come eventually. It always seems like just when I'm close to giving up whatever we're stuck on finally clicks. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 (edited) Thanks everyone...I think there's a consensus, and I think that I *knew* that would be the answer...:glare: I tried the fridge letter idea this morning, and you know what? It worked! I then (foolishly) pulled out a Bob book. Major frustration. Away they go again for a while! I also just posted a cross-over thread about this...I'm wondering if I need to have her tested for dyslexia: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115776 Edited July 20, 2009 by BikeBookBread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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