erica471 Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Dd is just finishing up 1st grade. She's a solid reader and seems to be a natural speller. We are zooming right through SWO B. SHe rarely gets an answer wrong. She is definitely a Langauage Arts kind of girl. Math is whole other story :glare: . Anyway, we are currently using MCP Phonics. I really like it but I often wonder if its just busy work. Its not a challenge at all. I have thought about quitting Phonics but I wonder if I would be short-changing her? I look at how high MCP Phonics levels go and wonder.. Should I stop Phonics altogether or maybe go up a level? Help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I stopped formal Phonics w/ my ds6 for the same reasons you mentioned. He was doing ETC and SWO A and quite frankly it bored him to tears...literally. I noticed in his reading that he was very good at decoding words and really just sort of "knew" the rules even if we hadn't really studies them. He just sort of "knew" that an 'e' at the end of the word made the vowel say it's name. Now, we just read a bunch, go over any missed rules as we read but don't really do any formal phonics program. He did start LLATL 2nd grade a few weeks ago and that covers phonics but we typically skip it unless he really wants to do it (there are some phonics games he enjoys in the book). We will also start AAS when my materials come and that should really help him w/ any problem areas. I wouldn't fret it...if it seems like busy work it probably is. Move on. Read a lot. Have her read to you. Focus more on her challenge area...math! HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narrow Gate Academy Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 We stopped phonics when the girls completed PP. They had finished with the beginning reader section and moved on to books like the Boxcar Children series or Charlotte's Web. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillcrest Academy Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I'm so glad you asked this question! I was going to ask something similar. My dd6 is also a natural reader - figures out the words at a much higher grade level than she's at (2st grade), but when we do phonics rules it tends to confuse her. She'll have a hard time with the exercise, and marking up the words, and then blast through the sentence at the end (no marking, just reading) without any trouble. I can't wait to see other replies. So far, it looks like phonics is not the be all and end all, especially if there are other challenge areas - we're math-challenged too :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summer Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I would go ahead and stop the MCP phonics and just continue with SWO. Because SWO is phonics based and she already has much of phonics down, she will get whatever she missed with the SWO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorbie Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I just finished reading The Language Wars by Ruth Beechick. She suggests that after learning basic phonics children need a fluency stage of 1-2 years in which they are allowed to relax and just "read, read, read and write, write, write." This means no more formal phonics instruction. During the fluency stage they consolidate all of the phonics they have learned and fill in any gaps they might have by reading easy books as well as those at grade level. I think this is where my twins are at after 7 months of SWR, so we are going to drop ETC and slow down on spelling to concentrate on reading and copywork. -Amber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erica471 Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 Thanks for all the replies. It makes me feel more comfortable discontinuing phonics. I think this is the way to go! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillcrest Academy Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 She suggests that after learning basic phonics children need a fluency stage of 1-2 years in which they are allowed to relax and just "read, read, read and write, write, write." Amber, what does she mean by "basic phonics"? Just wondering if we're at that "need to take a break" stage ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorbie Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Amber, what does she mean by "basic phonics"? Just wondering if we're at that "need to take a break" stage ;) She doesn't expressly define the term in this book, but in another book she lists decoding as the step before fluency. So if your child has been doing ETC or any of the other phonics workbooks I would say they would fall into this stage. She stresses that you shouldn't worry that your child hasn't been exposed to every sound and rule. Any gaps will show up in the child's oral reading at which time they can be addressed. -Amber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 She stresses that you shouldn't worry that your child hasn't been exposed to every sound and rule. Any gaps will show up in the child's oral reading at which time they can be addressed. I am so glad to hear this. I was just fretting over the same question the other day, so I feel a lot more comfortable with my decision too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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