K Phonics Help!!

[2brown1red]

Hi everyone!! We are about 3 weeks in to Kindergarten, and everything is going pretty well except for phonics/reading. We are using OPGTR and she HATES it. Tears every single time we start to do it, and today ended in her just refusing to read and I had to send her to her room. Can anyone make any suggestions please!?!?! We just finished James and the Giant Peach, and started Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Is it okay for Kindergarten to just read, read, read? She loves to be read to, and she likes me to point to the words I am reading so she can "follow" along. She was 5 in May, and we are following our school district schedule.

 

I REALLY appreciate any input, I just don't want her to fall behind. I honestly do not feel like we are doing enough as it is...We are doing OPGTR(which obviously is not working) HWTK, MEP1, Co-Op 1X a week (geography, Japanese, and health) and then we do Leap Frog DVDs and Magic School Bus DVDs. I usually have her tell me a sentence about the MSB dvd that we watched that day, I will write it and then she will draw a picture to go along with it.

 

Thank you!!

 

ETA: We started OPGTR on Lesson 27 because she already knew all of her letters and letter sounds.

Edited September 24, 2012 by 2brown1red
missing info

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

You can teach OPG without showing them the book. Whiteboards were a breakthrough for my ds. Also letter tiles helped a LOT, because he's a kinetic learner. The Teaching My Baby to Read blog link in my signature has a lot of home-made projects for kids learning to blend that you can make cheap.

[pitterpatter]

We like Hooked on Phonics at a slow-ish pace. We divide most lessons into three days. DD likes flashy. We have been at it for about a year now. DD will start HOP 2nd Grade very soon. It's been good for her. Your DC would need to know letters and sounds before starting.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

Oh, in case you haven't heard, Starfall.com is AWESOME.

[Guest kimofrog]

We are using "The Reading Lesson" with my DS, age 5 1/2. We started about 7 months ago at a slow pace (10-15 minutes a couple times a week), and we are now up to 4-5 times a week. We are halfway through the book, and he is reading about 1st grade level. It is very simple and all you need is the inexpensive book (from Amazon). It is consumable- my son writes directly in it on the pages that have him connect the word to the picture. There is no writing, only phonics and reading. My friend was using Hooked on Phonics with her son, but it wasn't working so she has switched to Reading Lesson and is much happier already after 2 weeks. Best of luck!!

[Mergath]

We just started Jolly Phonics, and dd adores it. It's pricey if you can't find it used, but worth it. It's easy to implement, and lots of fun for dd. She was bored out of her mind with Phonics Pathways and HoP, but this she loves.

[BrookValley.]

My son has the same reaction to OPGTR, but only to the book, not to the actual work. I agree--try a whiteboard. It may make all the difference! Also, we have a subscription to Reading Eggs (Starfall was great when my kiddo was about 3, but once he was older we needed something progressive--he can go wherever he wants on Starfall, but on Reading Eggs he has to do a lesson and progress to the next level). My son has actually learned a lot from that website, and he has a lot of fun doing it.

 

At five years old, I personally don't think there's anything wrong in putting aside the formal phonics for awhile--be that a week, a month, or more--and picking back up later, especially if you're doing lots of read-alouds. I've noticed that when I encounter unexpected resistance to something we're working on, scaling back or dropping it altogether and then trying again later is often the right choice. Something that is tear-inducing now might just click and be easy/fun two weeks from now.