Where do I start my dd with ETC?

[Irishmommy]

My dd is 4 and she knows the alphabet song, she knows the letters by sight and can write them. She has some problems identifying beginning sounds, like H, W. Where should she start in ETC? I want to start with her this summer or as soon as I can get them, I don't want to start her too low and bore her, I also don't want it to be over her head. Thoughts?:confused:

[twoxcell]

Well the primers A, B, and C. Cover letter sounds, and letter formation/handwriting. Book 1 jumps right into cvc words. I started my dd with the primers at the beginning of the year. She knew all her letters and sounds well, but her handwriting was not so good yet. She enjoyed them, and was not bored by them at all. We have just started book 1, and she is doing well with it. I would suggest getting the primers for the summer and then moving onto book 1 when she finishes. By the way my dd is 4.5 right now, but she is pretty advanced. HTH

[StartingOver]

I agree with starting with A, B, C primers.

[JustGin]

We did the ABC primers and all three of my dc really liked them. One thing I always appreciated about these and ETC was that with every letter the same type of worksheets repeat in the exact same order, so that by the second or third letter, the child knows what to expect on the next page and can often work independently. We used this a pg or two each day along with a daily "letter of the week" activity. Lots of fun and a good foundation. The primers don't cover the vowels, so as we went along, I just taught those too. My ds 3 (at the time) was merely tagging along the year I did this with the older two girls, and by his 4th birthday, halfway through the year, he was reading on his own! :)

Edited April 30, 2010 by JustGin

[Jennefer@SSA]

Yes, I agree with previous posters who said to begin with Get Ready, Get Set and Go for the Code. It will solidify what she already knows and prepare her for Book 1.

 

A few things I've learned after going through the entire series once and now going through a second time with ds #2.

 

1. I stay with my dc the entire time. I know that b/c of the predictability of the program that it often can be done independently but at this early stage of the game I want to be there to support, catch every.single.mistake, to encourage and review anytime he gets stuck.

 

2. When you get past the intro books there are pages that ask your child to choose which sentence matches a picture, or has a list of 3 words and they choose the one that fits and other similar activities. I have my boys read every single word on every single page. Even if the first sentence is clearly the correct answer I go ahead and have them read the other choice as well. It is excellent practice and it develops good habits for when they get older. So often students just choose the first answer that looks good rather than reading all the options to see if there might be a *better* choice out there.

 

I think these are ways to get the maximum "bang for the buck" out of the program.

 

Just my .02

 

Best of luck!

[t-hat]

:iagree:

[LinRTX]

I made mine read every single word also. I actually covered the pictures (all of them) and then uncovered one picture at a time after each pair of sentences. These were her favorite pages.

 

I would also begin with the books before 1. My daughter knew her letters well before we began and this is great reinforcement.

 

Linda