Which phonics should I use for advanced 4 yo?

[TreasuresFromHeaven]

My son will be 5 in February and we are just about finished with 100 EZL. He is breezing through them and it is very easy for him. When I tried to test him on reading, he is almost at a 3rd grade level. This is my first year homeschooling and I am not sure how to approach this.

 

I have looked at ETC but I think it will be too easy for him and he doesn't need a workbook type program. I think he would rather just read. I also looked at Phonics Pathways which I think he could use some work on the blends and stuff like "ough, aw" etc sounds. And I was reading tonight, there was a suggestion for someone else to work backwards and work on spelling rather than phonics.

 

I am just struggling because we are doing K but don't know where to match him for his phonics.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks,

Jessica

[TKDmom]

I would think that if he had completed 100 EZ, you can just turn him loose with reading and not worry about additional phonics. But that's just my opinion...

[EKS]

Just let him read for a while (maybe a year or so) and then if you want more phonics input you could use REWARDS Intermediate (by Sopris West). This is what I did with my son.

[kmacnchs]

I would think that if he had completed 100 EZ, you can just turn him loose with reading and not worry about additional phonics. But that's just my opinion...

:iagree:I'll ditto that from what I have heard about 100 EZ but I have never seen it (we do OPG)...when you listen to him read aloud to you and he makes a certain mistake repeatedly, you can go over that lesson with him again but other than that, in addition to the books he is reading for fun, I would get him books that coincide with what you are learning (ex. we were studying Antarctica and I found some easy readers that were about Antarctica - same with S. America)...

[Whereneverever]

We're 100 EZ dropouts, but at the end of it I'd just do spelling and let him read. :001_smile:

[StephanieZ]

I *loved* Pathway Readers for that stage!! Just the books, no workbooks, etc. Just start with gr 1 and zoom.

[TKDmom]

We're 100 EZ dropouts, but at the end of it I'd just do spelling and let him read. :001_smile:

 

:lol:

 

So are we!! But this time (with my 3rd) I am totally going to try to finish it. We'll see if I still feel that way in a few months. We're at lesson 15. I've never made it past 65.

[Ellie]

If he'd rather just read, then let him just read. In a year or so you go to Spalding or SWR, and then you'd be doing reading, spelling, handwriting, and more.

[TreasuresFromHeaven]

Thank you all for your input. I tend to be a very black and white thinker and never thought about the possibility of not doing a curriculum after 100 EZL. You can tell that I don't have the mindset of a homeschooling momma yet. I am still waiting to be told what to do...lol.

 

I am (or was) looking for a curriculum that didn't include handwriting as we are using Abeka cursive and I see that some of these already include handwriting. Is it too early to worry about spelling? Should I wait on that as well?

[Amber in AUS]

We finished 100EZ and went to AAS. My DD hated ETC. I still have her read something aloud to me each day, but she can read anything you throw at her. Don't feel that you have to have a program for everything :)

[Sahamamama]

Your son sounds exactly like my daughter, who will also be turning 5 in February. We are officially starting K in 2010, but she reads at least at a 3rd grade level, probably higher. I also wondered what to do about phonics.

 

What I've decided about early advanced readers... at least my own: ;)

 

In her free time, she can read at any level -- anything from Bob Books (super easy) to Little House on the Prairie (not too challenging) to Heidi (tougher) to 4th/5th grade science books (toughest). She likes the freedom to swing back and forth. In fact, her latest thrill is reading Bob books and Dr. Seuss to her (almost) 3 year old twin sisters -- she's teaching them to read! :D She also likes reading my emails over my shoulder, but we're working on that... :glare:

 

BUT, for "school work," we are going to finish the phonics primer that got us to this point. We have been using The Ordinary Parent's Guide (OPG). She reads at a level WAY past the lesson we are currently doing (99), but it's not a problem to just work through the lessons. In fact, sometimes we just do 2-3 in a 10 minute session, and that's great. There are other times when I know we have just hit upon something that she did NOT know, and she knows it, too! It happens often enough that we think the time is not wasted. Besides, going through the phonics in this way can only help her later on in spelling. We do Phonics Instruction 2x/week and Easy Readers 2x/week. We do the Easy Readers because they are short enough to build fluency (through repeated reading aloud), and because they are just plain fun! She laughs at Owl, letting Winter into his house! (Owl at Home). So, 2(Phonics Primer) + 2(Easy Reader) = An Even Stronger Reader!

 

It's only Kindergarten, and they are still only 5, no matter how well they read. The OPG lessons are scripted & simple, the Easy Readers are fun. I think it is WELL worth working through OPG. If you wonder where to start, take him to the library on a Saturday morning, and "test" him through the lessons, beginning where you know he's proficient. Where does he get stuck?

 

Children who are savvy enough to have figured out the code at 3 or 4 years of age should still be explicitly taught ALL of it, as far as a phonics primer can teach it. Yes, I agree that real books and real reading are better teachers of how it all really works -- but, IMO, this is true only if there has been completion and periodic review of a thorough phonics program. Why should these bright children be the ones wondering what to do with "eigh" and "augh" and "ough" -- teach them, and they'll know. So, all that to say, could you work through OPG? If he knows it, you breeze through, if there's a gap somewhere, he's going to get it in one pass (I have the female version here, so I know).

 

My other strong conviction about early avid readers is that they need QUALITY reading materials. But don't get me up on THAT soap box! :lol:

 

I hope this makes sense, I am on pain-killer tonight.

Edited December 23, 2009 by Sahamamama

[Lovedtodeath]

I would finish phonics instruction with either OPG or Webster's Speller. I didn't and wish I had. Programs that require spelling or writing take too long to complete and I would get through a phonics program while you can (before your DC balk at it).:glare: I hate feeling uncertain about my DD's reading skills because we never finished our phonics. She was reading at about 3rd grade level at 5 years old, and it seems at times that she is at around 6th now, but I am not sure what she can really pick up and read on her own... I would like to be more sure.

Edited December 23, 2009 by Lovedtodeath

[Homeschooling6]

I would finish phonics instruction with either OPG or Webster's Speller. I didn't and wish I had. Programs that require spelling or writing take too long to complete and I would get through a phonics program while you can (before your DC balk at it).:glare: I hate feeling uncertain about my DD's reading skills because we never finished our phonics. She was reading at about 3rd grade level at 5 years old, and it seems at times that she is at around 6th now, but I am not sure what she can really pick up and read on her own... I would like to be more sure.

 

Carmen, my dd took off with reading when she was five years old (she was not an early 3yr. old reader) because she read so well I stopped her phonics instruction. Now I wonder too. She still reads above grade level. Like you I wonder when she will hit a wall and need those phonics instructions she never finished. I'm using SWR with her or will start in January.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I used AAS with dd and about halfway through level 1 she took off with her reading. We took a long break (it was over the spring/summer anyway) and I just let her read. She can read pretty much anything now as long as there aren't too many words on a page. I've also decided to go through OPGTR with her. It's all been review so far and it will be for quite some time, but I just wanted to make sure that we covered everything.

[kalanamak]

If he'd rather just read, then let him just read. In a year or so you go to Spalding or SWR, and then you'd be doing reading, spelling, handwriting, and more.

 

You could start the SWR flashcards now, and use the AAS magnet letters for spelling without handwriting.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

You could start the SWR flashcards now, and use the AAS magnet letters for spelling without handwriting.

We prefer Lauri Letters to the magnets. :)

[yslek]

We finished 100EZ and went to AAS.

 

This is my current plan for D (who is about halfway through 100 EZ lessons right now.) Her motor skills are not at a point where she can do much writing yet, so the AAS tiles make this a very attractive option. (I've used SWR in the past, and like the approach, but the writing component would be too difficult for her right now...and any time in the foreseeable future. ;))

[Ellie]

I am (or was) looking for a curriculum that didn't include handwriting as we are using Abeka cursive and I see that some of these already include handwriting. Is it too early to worry about spelling? Should I wait on that as well?

Oh, yes, you should DEFINITELY wait on spelling, unless you decided to do Spalding or SWR, which teach dc to read by teaching them to spell. And FTR, you might consider reading the philosophy of those methods and why they teach manuscript first. Also, once a child's manuscript writing is decent, it's easy to move to "connected" writing and then cursive.

[Satori]

Well I'm glad we started with spelling early (at 4.5 years, now 5 years old). We're at about lesson 100 of OPG and will finish AAS Level 1 next month and I think the two lessons compliment each other so well.

 

I am very surprised that spelling has taken such a big role in our homeschooling this early but it has worked out very well for us. Maybe I love spelling because my daughter has taken a serious liking to the subject.

 

I plan to go through OPG all the way no matter what. We're also using ETC workbooks but I'm thinking it isn't really necessary, so maybe we'll stop that and just concentrate on OPG to get through that a bit faster.

[Caribbean Queen]

With just a little phonics instruction, my son started to read. I dropped phonics lessons. After a while his reading wasn't getting better. He would guess at words based on 3 of the first letters and the context. He would not try to sound words out. When I saw the need for more phonics instruction I used ideas from (the free) thephonicspage.org and his reading really took off! I am glad we did things this way. It would have been a drag to go through every lesson in a book, or every page in a set of workbooks when most of it wouldn't be needed or helpful. That kind of thing brings back bad memories of school.

[mom2att]

My oldest got halfway through 100EZ at 4.5 and could read just about anything. I never felt the need to add phonics after that--just didn't need to. We did start Spelling Workout somewhere along the line--maybe when she was about 5.5 and used it for several years. It does teach some spelling/phonics rules, so I suppose that gave her what she needed. She's never had problems with either reading or spelling.

 

My ds's are completely different. We are using AAS, with the older to supplement his reading as well as help him spell, and with the younger to teach reading and spelling concurrently. My dd was so easy--she just picked it all up on her own!

[Lovedtodeath]

Another thought: McRuffy has really good phonics based readers. You could use those since you said he would rather just read. Since they progress in order of phonics, I think it would be rather easy to teach him as you go.