hollyh Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Hi. I have a 4 year old who knows all basic sounds along with many of the vowel pairs, etc. She can decode, but I haven't officially taught her all the rules, etc. I want to start formally teaching her, but am not sure which program to start with. I want to make sure that she is SOLID in reading/spelling... what programs have you like the most and why? Also, what readers would you recommend (or are they included in the program that you suggest). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 In my experience, if you ask ten different people the best program to use for teaching reading, you will get ten different answers! That said, we love, love, love 100 EZ Lessons, and I have taught all my kids successfully with that program (though I'm sure that others will say they hate it and that it didn't work for them at all). My last child started 100 EZ when she was 3.5 because she really wanted to learn to read like her older siblings, and she finished the whole book a little while after she turned four. Of note, we only spent about 10-15 minutes per day on the book (unless my child wanted to do more), even if it took us three days to get through some of the lessons in the later half of the book. There are also a lot of reviews on Amazon about 100 EZ if you are interested. One of the best aspects of 100 EZ in my opinion is that it teaches blending the sounds together rather than pronouncing the sounds separately when the child is trying to learn how to sound out new words. After 100 EZ, I check out books from the library: Dr. Seuss (anything I can find--Go Dog Go, Red Fish Blue fish, etc) Then Frog and Toad books Then Little Bear books Then Mr. Putter books Then Henry and Mudge books Then Nate the Great books. After that, they are around 2nd-3rd grade level. I keep asking my child comprehension questions as they are reading as in 100 EZ to make sure they understand what they are reading. Also, some people say that they may have incomplete phonics knowledge after 100 EZ, so I check out a phonics book from the library and review to see what they know/don't know after they finish 100 EZ to do any extra teaching that is necessary. Hope you find something you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 (edited) I have the same problem that you do. I have a 4 year old that wants to read. I did stumble across this ... http://www.starfall.com/ To see the benefits of this site, you truly need to go look at the videos and interactive activities. :) Edited April 29, 2011 by ChrissySC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest momk2000 Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Adventures in Phonics - Christian Liberty Press It is solid, no frills, and cheap. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dovrar Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 BOB Books. The first couple of boxes are very straightforward in terms of phonics and only introduce one or two sight words at a time. Also, my little one loved making words from our School Zone flashcards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Kirkwood Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Progressive Phonics. It's free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Hi. I have a 4 year old who knows all basic sounds along with many of the vowel pairs, etc. She can decode, but I haven't officially taught her all the rules, etc. I want to start formally teaching her, but am not sure which program to start with. I want to make sure that she is SOLID in reading/spelling... what programs have you like the most and why? Also, what readers would you recommend (or are they included in the program that you suggest). I used the Phonics Pathways book with all of my children. It was a simple effective way for them to internalize the rules without the busy work that they don't enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I used the Phonics Pathways book with all of my children. It was a simple effective way for them to internalize the rules without the busy work that they don't enjoy. Because I share the OP's problem, I want to ask you a question. Busy work - is it a straightforward approach? We are working on handwriting to some extent, which will increase during the summer. I believe that you mean without the finger puppets and glitter or glue pages. :glare: (I do not like those types of things.) For the OP: I used Bob books a long, long time ago. However, I used them with a program. I cannot remember the name though. I found they were simple and very good at keeping to the "sounds" that were the focus. We did have the older books, and we colored the pictures for each book.:lol: Let me see - that would be 15 years ago!:001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Is there really a phonics/spelling program more solid than Phonics Road? Seriously! You begin by learning 51 phonograms and all their sounds. Then you begin spelling using the Spalding method. The rules are taught through song, so they are easily learned and remembered. Later in level one you learn the rest of the sounds and begin using the readers that are included that the child illustrates. This is just level 1. The rest of the levels teach grammar, lit analysis, vocab., latin... anything else? It's a bit pricey, but well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kchara Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I SO want Phonics Road... but we can't afford it at the moment. We were using Funnix, and that is awesome (same concept and developers as 100 EZ Lessons, but on the computer). If my computer hadn't crashed, we'd still be using it. We're moving on to Rod and Staff though, because, well, I can afford it. ;) We also use Bob Books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Because I share the OP's problem, I want to ask you a question. Busy work - is it a straightforward approach? We are working on handwriting to some extent, which will increase during the summer. I believe that you mean without the finger puppets and glitter or glue pages. :glare: (I do not like those types of things.) Yes, it is straightforward and simple. The crafts and papers are what I meant by busywork. I never had a child who enjoyed those things, so it didn't make sense to invest in something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 You may want to look at IEW PAL Reading. By the end the child is moving to the "library" (using books you can find at your local library). They have some nice online samples and a full refund guarantee. My DS is set to go through it this summer before we start PR. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 We're using a combo of Webster's Speller and OPGTR with my 4 year old. He enjoys it. We use the white board, so I write everything on there. He usually copies my letters (because he wants to), makes his letters do silly things like dancing or falling in a hole :glare:, then he finally reads what I wrote. :D I really like Webster's for the syllable approach and doing the long sounds early on. I like the sentences in OPGTR. So I'm mixing the two. So far, so good. We're reading basic sentences... still sounding every word out, but it will come. He's not even 4.5 yet. Once we're able to read real books, we'll do that, but continue phonics in some manner (either via OPGTR or starting up AAS, which I'm using for big brother). My oldest taught himself to read with the help of starfall.com. My middle son plays that a lot too. Highly recommend that site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyofPA Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Adventures in Phonics - Christian Liberty Press It is solid, no frills, and cheap. :D I agree, we also used the readers from Christian Liberty Press, a set of 4 early readers. There are 3 levels of workbooks, A, B, and C for the Adventures in Phonics. I like the stories in the readers, there are a few comprehension questions as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I love Saxon Phonics! I bought it used from another homeschooler and I have used it with 3 children now successfully, and am in the beginning of Phonics K with my twins. I did not understand phonics before using this program with my second child (first one I taught to read). She has pretty severe dyslexia, but did manage to learn to read with this program. We first tried 100 EZ lessons, but it was a bomb for us between my lack of knowledge about phonics and her dyslexia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Researcher Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 We love OPGTR! In addition, we use ETC (because my DD likes workbooks), ETC online, and the All About Reading hardback readers. I also use AAS for my older child so the letter tiles are available for use. She sometimes likes to build words on the spelling board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin's Song Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 OPGTR or ETC or Abeka phonics ...depending on what mom will enjoy teaching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) 100 EZ Lessons is especially good for young dc as it requires little, if any, writing. For some dc, it is enough. What 100 EZ Lessons doesn't teach, they are able to pick up from just reading. Many dc do benefit from using a more comprehensive phonics when they're older, and they will need spelling, as 100 EZ Lessons doesn't teach any spelling, only phonics. My preference is Spalding. It covers everything: reading, spelling, penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, and simple writing. I don't recommend vocabulary-controlled basal readers. The library is full of books that children who are learning phonics are able to read, and they're ususally much more interesting than readers. Spalding doesn't recommend readers, either, although they do publish a short series of readers which are more purposeful than most readers and have a wider vocabulary (e.g., Spalding doesn't teach short-vowel words first with readers that contain only short-vowel words). Edited May 3, 2011 by Ellie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Get Ready for the Code, ETC and AlphaPhonics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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