Guest SaraK Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I'm new to homeschooling at to this site, so please excuse any errors in protocol. I'm debating what to use for LA for my son (5). I'm considering Winter Promise or American Language Series. I think he will do best learning phonics "vertically" (I think that's what it is where you learn "a" has 3 sound rather than learning the short vowels, etc.). Does anyone have any experience with either program or have a suggestion for some other program I should try? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I'm new to homeschooling at to this site, so please excuse any errors in protocol. I'm debating what to use for LA for my son (5). I'm considering Winter Promise or American Language Series. I think he will do best learning phonics "vertically" (I think that's what it is where you learn "a" has 3 sound rather than learning the short vowels, etc.). Does anyone have any experience with either program or have a suggestion for some other program I should try? Thanks! You will probably get a lot of advice on when and how to start Language Arts here. Are you looking for copywork, just teaching him to read? It depends what you are looking for. I would go to http://www.starfall.com and http://www.progressivephonics.com since they are both fun, free websites for beginning readers. Unless your son is vastly different from other 5 year old boys, I would stay away from a formal Language Arts program until his fine motor skills develop. If you feel you have to do something "written," check out Explode the Code Primers, Rod & Staff Preschool A - G workbooks, and Sandi Queen's Language Lessons. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Welcome! I have a K'er also. We just started school in June. I don't know either of the programs you asked about but we use Spell to Write and Read which is another verticle phonics program. It's intense and includes spelling, reading, writing, handwriting, and gentle grammer (up to 3rd grade). It's teacher intensive (no worksheets) and some find it hard to learn for the teacher, but I haven't had that experience. I think it depends on your personality. They do have a yahoo group where the author and several certified trainers answer any questions you have. We are starting our ninth week tomorrow and loving it. I've written several posts about it on my blog if you're interested. I think it is providing my ds with a strong foundation in LA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SaraK Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Thanks! My son really, really wants to be able to read. We're going to use Handwriting Without Tears (I think) so his fine motor skills will develop a bit better. He's figured out most capital letters on his own. I don't think he quite understands copy work at all. I'd love to know more about SSRW, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I used Reading Reflex for teaching reading - it does teach "the letter a can represent three different sounds" method rather than "long/short a (and we forgot about the third a)" type of phonics - it's completely phonetic (no sight words at all) but does not teach by rules/exceptions. I hear ABeCeDarian uses the same method but has workbooks - it wasn't out when I taught reading. I used Getty-Dubay for penmanship, but I'd guess whatever style you like best would be fine. And then other than reading a lot to them, I think that was my whole LA program for K. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Winter Promise and TATRAS are the vertical phonics programs I know of. My personal favorite is Webster's Speller, the syllables learned directly translate into 2 to 6 syllable words, so they can achieve a high reading grade level by the end of the year. Here are my instructions for teaching a young student to read, with a link to a free game and ideas for games with magnetic letters: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/newstudents.html I need to add to this page that I consider a white board a must have for a young student, it makes it a lot more fun, reinforces the L to R direction of the words, and makes it more interactive. No matter what book or method you use, I would do it on a white board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I'm using and loving All About Spelling (another vertical phonics/spelling program) and Happy Phonics with my K dd. We'll be starting HWT soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyAberlin Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 We are using McRuffy Phonics K. It is a lot of fun. It has games, coloring, cutting and pasting and is colorful. It isn't vertical phonics though. My 5.5ds really likes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.