MFW users please help...1st phonics instruction

[joyfulhomeschooler]

My daughter has been doing just the LA and math portion (sometimes Bible) of MFW 1st and she is loving it. All the fun hands on projects and making her own "books" She is doing fine with the phonics instruction, but I just feel it is lacking. It seems that it doesn't give the child time to fully master one sound before moving to the next. I am really tempted to stop using it and just use OPGTR because that is what we used with our oldest and it worked great... I just know that this child enjoys more hands on and she thinks MFW 1st is really fun and is enjoying it. Like I said she is doing fine with it too, but I want her to be more confident and have more time to let each sound or rule sink in.

 

Did anyone else find this when using this grade with MFW? How did you handle it? I have thought about stretching it out and supplementing with OPGTR... but then that makes my job harder :-) Trying to keep it simple and make it fun for her at the same time.

[....]

If you don't feel like it's enough, I would just add...Bob books, McGuffey Reader, HOP, Sonlight Readers... In ps 1st grade, all they do is read, read, read. They should have all kinds of little books at their disposal. That's just been my experience.

[joyfulhomeschooler]

I just bought the SL readers yesterday :) I am hoping that might help. What is HOP? How far into MFW 1st is your dc?

[cbollin]

Are you also doing the reading games in the appendix? remember to do those.

 

and reading out loud to the child for 15 minutes? That's one of the suggestions early in the manual. Suggest using Honey for a Child's Heart as a resource for that. or you can use any children's book that you want.

 

we enjoyed playing on starfall.com

 

Feel free to repeat a lesson later in the day for a few minutes and practice it again.

 

here's a classic thread in mfw archives about this topic with helps and hints from the author's experience

http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3313

 

mfw 1st is an advanced phonics pace program. In the manual around day 126 or something like that, there is "permission" to review as needed after all phonics rules are taught and finish up the NT part in 2nd grade if needed.

 

On Exploration Day, you can review if needed instead of it being just "light and independent day". Add in the Art appreciation book on that day.

 

any of those ideas helpful? also from reading your siggy line.... is the daughter still only 5? that could explain the need to slow the pace down more.

 

-crystal

[....]

I just bought the SL readers yesterday :) I am hoping that might help. What is HOP? How far into MFW 1st is your dc?

 

We're moving in about a week, so we're going to start MFW 1st in a couple of weeks... She's already worked through 1/4 of HOP 1st grade (Hooked on Phonics) and I have the sonlight core 1 readers sitting here, waiting for her. ;) She finished MFW K in March or February ? and she's reading CVC words, some sight words, some long vowel and blends...sh, ch, th, etc. She's a little beyond the MFW K reading, but we still had a great time with that program. Oh, we school year-round...so our timing seems weird. We never line up with the traditional school year. :tongue_smilie:

 

I really think 1st grade is reading and more reading and more reading...:D The sonlight readers are awesome.

 

Anyway, good luck with 1st grade! :001_smile: Also, I think your idea of supplementing with OPGTR is fine and probably wouldn't add that much to your day. OPGTR is supposed to be a good program!

[joyfulhomeschooler]

Are you also doing the reading games in the appendix? remember to do those.

 

and reading out loud to the child for 15 minutes? That's one of the suggestions early in the manual. Suggest using Honey for a Child's Heart as a resource for that. or you can use any children's book that you want.

 

we enjoyed playing on starfall.com

 

Feel free to repeat a lesson later in the day for a few minutes and practice it again.

 

here's a classic thread in mfw archives about this topic with helps and hints from the author's experience

http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3313

 

mfw 1st is an advanced phonics pace program. In the manual around day 126 or something like that, there is "permission" to review as needed after all phonics rules are taught and finish up the NT part in 2nd grade if needed.

 

On Exploration Day, you can review if needed instead of it being just "light and independent day". Add in the Art appreciation book on that day.

 

any of those ideas helpful? also from reading your siggy line.... is the daughter still only 5? that could explain the need to slow the pace down more.

 

-crystal

Thanks Crystal! We have been doing the games but not daily. I think practicing more throughout the day will do the trick as she seems to be getting it. It is just my concern that it is moving too fast for her since, like you said she is only five. I think I will slow it down to do a day of review here and there so that we don't end up with gaps. I knew when we started that we would most likely need to slow down at some point being as she is only five.

[ElizabethB]

While the basic phonics in MFW is good, it does move at too fast of a pace for some students. I've had several remedial students from MFW phonics, they started guessing at words from being moved along too fast and being able to figure out the words in the stories that were discussed before reading the stories.

 

I would use another phonics program or just slow down the MFW phonics and teach it to mastery.

[joyfulhomeschooler]

While the basic phonics in MFW is good, it does move at too fast of a pace for some students. I've had several remedial students from MFW phonics, they started guessing at words from being moved along too fast and being able to figure out the words in the stories that were discussed before reading the stories.

 

I would use another phonics program or just slow down the MFW phonics and teach it to mastery.

Hmm something to ponder. I really like the way it is fun, but I can see where that could happen.

[Donna A.]

I would slow it down and strive for mastery. Five is pretty young to be doing MFW 1st at an "as written" pace. I wouldn't drop it altogether, though, since you said she's loving it and there's much about the program that she can learn (and is learning) from. I would just slow down and add other stuff in between each new concept, or wherever she's struggling.

 

My dd who's 8 but is a delayed reader due to a speech disorder has loved Explode the Code and the Pathway readers. (The reading specialist she had at the speech clinic also recommended Explode the Code.) Dr. Seuss is good for building confidence and just plain ol' practice at sounding out words and hearing the "rhythm".

 

You could also supplement with a reading program that's a stand-alone book and doesn't need a lot of extra time (or expense). Something like Reading Made Easy or Phonics Pathways.

 

We aren't using ETC anymore, but it was a BIG help to her a while back. We just recently started using the Pathway readers and she's really taken off with them.

 

Children's picture books (good ones, not twaddle) are a great addition, too. Did you use MFW K? If not, maybe you could get the Literature pack that they sell now to be used with the K program. Just the books, not the whole curriculum. And then there's Five in a Row, too.

 

Read, read, read! :001_smile:

[joyfulhomeschooler]

I think slowing it down is key. She is fine with the pace, but being her mom and already teaching one child to read I can see it causing problems to go this fast in the future. Especially for her age. She IS almost six though... her birthday is in June.. but still. She is having to guess at whether a word has one sound or another such as pool and book. She has to try both before deciding what sound to use. We used ETC with our older one and I really like the way it teaches. So I think I will get her a workbook or two and add in the extra practice. We've gone through FIAR volumes 1-3. I bet she would benefit from going through some again though. That could be fun for this summer. We do read aloud everyday. For about 30min for bookbasket time I read to them and then we are reading On the Banks of Plum Creek right now... plus my husband has been reading them the Encyclopedia Brown books at night. So I think we are good in the read aloud area.

 

Thanks for your advice ladies! I appreciate it... sometimes I think I try to push her too hard because she is a fast learner and I tend to forget her age.