100 Easy Lessons - scheduling question

[redsnapper]

I want to do the Learn to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with my 4yo.

 

Do the lessons have to be daily, back to back, or can we do two lessons per week? Or three per week?

 

Just trying to get a handle on how many days a week we need to be doing this to make it work.

 

Thanks!

Melissa

[garddwr]

With a 4 year old, I think it is more likely to stick if you do something almost every day. Not necessarily a new lesson every day--I would present a new lesson, then review that same lesson (at least the actual reading parts, I've never followed the detailed script) for the next couple of days before moving on. This may not be necessary with the first few lessons, you'll just have to gage how your child is doing and how much time they need on a particular lesson before moving on. Also, if the child stops making progress I suggest setting the reading lessons aside for a time and trying again a few weeks or months later. The last thing we want to do in teaching reading is to allow the experience to become frustrating for the child and have them develop an aversion to reading. Kids really are ready at different ages, and when we're teaching at home we are in a unique position to tailor our teaching to the readiness and needs of the child.

 

I've used 100 Lessons to teach my oldest two, though neither went all the way through the book. I've introduced the lessons with my current 4 year old but we're taking a break right now because it just didn't seem to be sticking. With the first we also did Reading Reflex, and with the second Happy Phonics. I started both of them around age 4, but didn't push things if they got stuck. Dd9 was reading fluently by the time she turned 6, ds7 took a little longer but is now reading fluently. I didn't read until I was 8, so I'm comfortable with giving a child some extra time if that is what they need.

 

HTH,

Sarah

[mom24cuties]

I think it is necessary to be consistant with the lessons. With my son who just turned 5 I was doing it everyday, trying to do one lesson a day but he became furstrated so I shelved for a month or so. I pulled it back out but I had to start all over again. So now what I do is work on it almost daily with him and just take it slow. Sometimes it takes us 4-5 days to get through one lesson, and sometimes he will do 2-3 lessons in a day. I am not rushing him through it because I want him to have a firm understanding of it.

[Brenda in FL]

I agree with the others - every day, weekends excluded. If the child is ready to read, you'll get through it! We put a sticker on the calendar at the end of each lesson. At the end of the book, the child got his own library card. it was a big deal for them!

 

Every child is different though. My middle child started, then we stopped, started up a few months later, got so far, and then switched to a McGuffey primer, and then finally finished 100EZ. The first time we stopped - she just wasn't ready, the second time - I think she just got tired of it! But nevertheless - we started when she was 4 - by the end of Kindergarten she was finished.

 

My older child finished before he was 5 and was reading Magic Tree House on his own by the end of Kindergarten.

[Nart]

I started with my son right after he turned 4. For us it was easier to do a short lesson every single day, weekends included. If we had more time and he was more attentive the lesson lasted longer. If he was tired or the lesson was challenging we did a shorter lesson. I did a lesson a day at the beginning then after the first 20 lessons, I started having him repeat lessons. So we did anywhere between 5 to 8 lessons and then I went back and repeated the lessons. This way he slightly struggled the first time through then by repeating the lessons his confidence soared and he would say, "reading is easy". The end of the book gets challenging so getting through the last 25 lessons was more difficult. I ended up breaking up fruit leather into tiny pieces and after every sentence he got a bite. So it took him 180 days to finish the book.

[JoLuRu]

We just started, but we're doing them daily. We go over yesterday's lesson, do today's lesson, and read a story together. She's not doing the writing portion. The whole thing takes about 15-20 minutes and DD loves it!

[redsnapper]

Thanks, all!

 

I've been doing it wrong. With the crazy summer schedule I just did it when I could. We've only gotten through 8 lessons, LOL! She seems to keep up just fine even with big breaks between lessons. So maybe I won't start over, but be more consistent moving forward from here on out.

 

Whew. What would a homeschool parent do without this forum! :grouphug:

 

Melissa

[RootAnn]

We didn't do the writing portions either. Definitely try to do SOMETHING everyday, even if it isn't a NEW lesson. Feel free to have her go back & just read a few words or point (& slide) to the sounds & have her say them (properly). Mine loved to reread the shorter (early) stories.

 

When we got further in (around half-wayish), all of mine (even my "best" reader) sometimes took two (or three) days for one lesson. It always takes us longer than 100 days.

 

Also, please remember what some of the rest of the posters in this thread have said -- not all of us go straight through. We've shelved it for a month (or more) & come back later. We've quit this book without finishing it, moved onto something else, and sometimes (but not always) come back to finish it.

 

There are a LOT of threads about 100EZ. Not every kid (or mom) does well with it. Some don't need to finish it - they take off reading on their own before the end of it. There are a lot of other programs out there, so don't despair.

 

However, if your kid is ready, BE CONSISTENT. Every day (barring weekends), work on some sort of phonics (or very short reading (sounding out) of words they've already seen). It pays dividends!

[TracyR]

I've used it to varying degrees with my 4 girls and the key to it is consistency. There is no need to redo a lesson because it continues to review words they are learning.

I never did the writing in the book either.

The only child it didn't really work very well with was my oldest daughter. But it was great for my other three.

[Erica in OR]

I agree, be consistent with lessons throughout the week, but don't be afraid to break up lessons to fit them to the time your child is willing and ready to focus for a particular day. When we did the writing, we used a Magna Doodle board so it was more free form and easily erasable if we wanted.

 

Erica in OR