Suggestions for LA for a visual, hands on learner...

[Cornerstone Classical]

I have been using the WTM LA line up (SWO, FLL, OPGTR,) for my ds who is an auditory learner. He has done WONDERFULLY with this curriculum.

 

BUT, my daughter is a visual, hands on learner. She does not "hear" anything. Cute and bright colored things motivate her. We have been using OPGTR since she was 4.5 yrs old, and it has been slow going. She is still reading CVC words. I don't know if she is just "not getting it yet" or if it is the curriculum. She will be 6 in Dec. and technically would be in K this year, due to a late birthday. She is doing fine in Saxon Math 1. She loves to write even though her writing is not quite good due to "hand" motor skill issues. She can spell a word better than she can read a word, if that makes sense....

 

I would love to know what programs/curriculum would be a good fit for her. I need phonics/reading, and spelling/grammar(for later when she is ready) suggestions. I would like to stick with a program that fits nicely in with our classical/charlotte mason philosophy of education.

TIA for any suggestions!:)

[Arch at Home]

You might look at Explode the Code. The pictures are fun and she could color them.

 

If for some reason Saxon stops working for her, I would suggest trying Singapore. Singapore often works for visual learners.

[King Alfred Academy]

My ds5 is the same way as your dd. I had to totally go a different route with him than my oldest.

 

Here is what I have found to work for us so far...

 

I used the Get Ready for the Code books this past year and paired them with Happy Phonics. He likes the layout of the workbooks and LOVES playing the HP games. He is catching on.

 

This year, I plan to continue with the ETC books and Happy Phonics. I have also let him work a little at starfall.com. I am not too big on them being on the computer at this age, but it is a treat for him sometimes and the change is good.

 

As far as spelling...when he is older, I am going to use All About Spelling. I am using it with DS7 and love the tactile, hands on approach.

 

Hope you will find what works for her!

[Mandy in TN]

When she is ready for grammar, Winston Grammar!

Mandy

[Mandy in TN]

IBUT, my daughter is a visual, hands on learner. She does not "hear" anything. Cute and bright colored things motivate her. We have been using OPGTR since she was 4.5 yrs old, and it has been slow going. She is still reading CVC words. I don't know if she is just "not getting it yet" or if it is the curriculum. She will be 6 in Dec. and technically would be in K this year, due to a late birthday. She is doing fine in Saxon Math 1. She loves to write even though her writing is not quite good due to "hand" motor skill issues. She can spell a word better than she can read a word, if that makes sense....

 

I would love to know what programs/curriculum would be a good fit for her. I need phonics/reading, and spelling/grammar(for later when she is ready) suggestions. I would like to stick with a program that fits nicely in with our classical/charlotte mason philosophy of education.

TIA for any suggestions!:)

 

My 5yo ds will be 6 in Oct and what finally moved him past CVC words was CLE LTR. However, you may would need to break it up throughout the day to make it CM. Also, except for the phonogram cards, it is not colorful. It does however utilize cards (phonogram, word, and phrase), workbook activities, a reading primer, and sliders (but we didn't get these). The program is laid out to move a child toward independently reading to learn. To this end it is more visual and hands-on and less auditory than many learning to read programs.

 

In the middle of May we began with Christian Light Education Learning to Read Light Unit 5. This is where the CLE LA1 begins and is also the end of CVC words.

 

We bought the flash cards and this has really helped. We used the cards to learn the sight words that had been taught prior to LU5. We spent about a week learning these words and reading the primer stories up to LU5.

 

We have modified some of the work to better suit our needs and we haven't been aggressively working through the program over the summer, but DS is finishing up LU7 and he is reading much more fluently than my other boys did when learning to read.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[Trivium Academy]

I agree with Brittney, but I would hold off on spelling until Get Ready for the Code/ Explode the Code is completed. Sometimes seeing something 'visually' just means you have to write it on a dry erase board, talk about it and show it. I would hold off on any LA outside phonics and handwriting until those skills have become better. There's no rush, it's better to spend time now solidifying these than later and having to backtrack.

 

I would simplify and focus on the key areas at this point. As for curricula, don't forget to look for something that is user-friendly to you as well. We used OPG and it worked well, dd came out of it with a 2nd grade reading level and we used the flashcards. I wrote on the dry erase board every day though instead of just using the book, the only time we just used the book was for her to read from the book.

 

I hope you find what you're looking for!

[Closeacademy]

Spell to Write and Read has worked for us but I have had to tweak it for the learning to read stage.

 

The Waldorf and Montessori methods influenced how I changed things. What has worked best is to make colorful pictures of objects to correspond to the phonograms. So for C, I drew a picture of a cat curled up. For B you can have a bear or a butterfly.

 

I just kept introducing and working through the phonograms and their sounds. I also used cut and past worksheets and I think that a lot of the alphabet lapbooks would have been wonderful.

 

I started spelling with 3rd grade and we are working from the SWR spelling lists but I typed up charts and all the grammar enrichments so that we could focus on a list each week and really study the words. We will be starting list E next week and it has gone very well so far.

 

Some other ideas that have worked for us:

 

The Word Window--I use window markers to write words that she would like to see.

 

Magnet letters and words

 

Computer useage--especially games where they have to learn to type specifically Webkinz has been wonderful in helping her learn to read well.

 

Playdough

 

File-folder games can be a lot of fun.

 

I would look for sight reading or Dolch word list activities as well as phonics to hit her from both sides.

 

Hooked on phonics had nice books that she liked to read.

 

Basically, you have to help her be made aware of the sounds of the words and that takes time and sometimes creativity.:001_smile:

[Merry]

but I had found that the to the point approach worked best with him. That includes textbooks and uncluttered workbook pages. And chatty books like the Apologia textbooks didn't work for him. Neither did programs like Sonlight. Grammar was very difficult for him and all I could do was just to keep at it with him year after year until he finally mastered it somewhat in his senior year. BJUP grammar seemed to work pretty well for him. He didn't need a complicated phonics program with too many rules because being visual, he picked up reading quickly and just needed basic phonics to keep going. But he needed a lot of help with reading comprehension. I wish I had used a reading comprehension workbook with him each year. If you want an all in one curriculum, I would strongly recommend BJUP. It is colorful and appeals to the visual learner and kinesthetic learner. And while it's a bit cluttered in the teacher's manuals, the workbook pages are clean looking and have just enough work for the writer with little strain to the muscles of the hand. And it's easy to add to if you want the classical/Charlotte Mason philosophy through read alouds, art and music lessons, and Latin and logic.

[siloam]

I would suggest All About Spelling (AAS). It has color coded spelling tiles, which I think would be a great fit for your visual, hands on dd. This covers both phonics for reading and spelling. While I don't use it I use a sister program based on the same philosophy, SWR. I have found there are a hand full of SWR users, like me, who are buying the AAS tiles for their visual learners.

 

For hands on grammar I would recommend Grammar Punk, though again I haven't tried it, YET. (If only I had a bigger budget!)

 

Heather

[CactusPair]

Take a look at McRuffy Press Phonics and Reading. It includes phonics, reading, reading comprehension, spelling, handwriting (through copying relevant sentences) and if you choose to do them (we did) drama and creative writing. It also has games to play.

 

If you want the color version, you have to order through the publisher's web page or phone. mcruffypress.com. The author answers the phone and is helpful with suggestions.

 

BTW, my ds could spell way better than he could read at that age, too.

 

That's my 2 cents.

[TwinMominTX]

It is very hands on - and the cards and letter tiles are very colorful. She'll also get some phonics reinforcement from learning the rules. My twins like it a lot.

[cabdriver]

I would like to second Winston Grammar. It is very hands on and would be good for a kinesthetic learner.

[Cornerstone Classical]

Thanks to all who responded. I now have several choices to research!:001_smile:

Hope everyone will have a wonderful weekend!

[Trivium Academy]

I just wanted to add one thing, with my youngest I plan on using Sing, Spell, Read and Write K/1 for phonics but with OPG on standby if we need it. Topaz might be past the stage of using this, I'm not sure, but Emerald might like it. Momof7 highly recommends it and I think it'll be great for my ever increasingly active son but time will tell. I hope you've found the help you were looking for. :)