Reading for ds7

[GypsyHomesteader]

There aren't any conventions near me at the moment so I can't go look at anything. Not cool but I digress. :)

 

My youngest is 7. He can't read. He just hasn't shown any interest. It isn't his eye sight. He can see perfectly fine (that was another thread). He just doesn't want to learn.

 

I have tried Reading Eggs. That was abysmal. He hated it. He doesn't like the singing and dancing etc.

I tried Pre-Reading from AAR and neither one of us liked it. He didn't like the zebra and I didn't like the alphabet papers. Maybe it has changed but I felt like I spent a lot of money for just a book with big ole letters in it. I can make those on my own.

We tried OPGTR. He was bored with it.

We tried 100EZ lessons. Again, bored. It was like extracting multiple teeth to get a lesson done.

We tried Saxon Phonics. It was painfully slow. I like Saxon and Saxon phonics worked great for my older son but my younger? Not so much.

 

What else is out there? No singing or silliness really but not so boring as OPGTR or 100EZ. Something meaty but not hard to chew. Something that will hold attention.

 

What else is out there that will teach good reading skills? I know of ETC but I always used that as supplemental with older ds not as the main books. How is AAR Level 1? Ummm... Reading Pathways? Or is it Phonic Pathways? I am going from memory. I also need something that won't break the bank. We are very, very limited on funds at the moment.

 

You'd think I hadn't homeschooled two other kids. Sigh.

 

Any insight?

[73349]

Phonics Pathways is a lot like OPGTR, very slightly more fun.

 

I'd recommend looking to see if you can get at least the teacher book for Logic of English Foundations used if possible--ask around. You can do without the phonogram cards (making your own with index cards), but you need the student book (for sale in print or as a PDF) and the teacher book.

[Ellie]

There aren't any conventions near me at the moment so I can't go look at anything. Not cool but I digress. :)

 

My youngest is 7. He can't read. He just hasn't shown any interest. It isn't his eye sight. He can see perfectly fine (that was another thread). He just doesn't want to learn.

 

I have tried Reading Eggs. That was abysmal. He hated it. He doesn't like the singing and dancing etc.

I tried Pre-Reading from AAR and neither one of us liked it. He didn't like the zebra and I didn't like the alphabet papers. Maybe it has changed but I felt like I spent a lot of money for just a book with big ole letters in it. I can make those on my own.

We tried OPGTR. He was bored with it.

We tried 100EZ lessons. Again, bored. It was like extracting multiple teeth to get a lesson done.

We tried Saxon Phonics. It was painfully slow. I like Saxon and Saxon phonics worked great for my older son but my younger? Not so much.

 

What else is out there? No singing or silliness really but not so boring as OPGTR or 100EZ. Something meaty but not hard to chew. Something that will hold attention.

 

What else is out there that will teach good reading skills? I know of ETC but I always used that as supplemental with older ds not as the main books. How is AAR Level 1? Ummm... Reading Pathways? Or is it Phonic Pathways? I am going from memory. I also need something that won't break the bank. We are very, very limited on funds at the moment.

 

You'd think I hadn't homeschooled two other kids. Sigh.

 

Any insight?

 

 

Well, your ds is just 7, and you've used five different methods with him. It's possible that you didn't stick with one long enough for things to really click with him, and I suspect there was some confusion on his part because all of those teach phonics, but differently.

 

I usually recommend Spalding--one manual, one set of phonogram cards, and you have everything you need to teach reading, spelling, penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, and simple writing.

 

Phonics Pathways (you don't do Reading Pathways until you've worked through Phonics Pathways) is good. So is OPGTR. Saxon phonics...it's probably good, but it has too many moving parts for me. :-) I wouldn't do AAR (although aren't you supposed to start with AAS?), because if I were going in that direction, I'd do Spalding.

 

[MerryAtHope]

 

What else is out there that will teach good reading skills? I know of ETC but I always used that as supplemental with older ds not as the main books. How is AAR Level 1? Ummm... Reading Pathways? Or is it Phonic Pathways? I am going from memory. I also need something that won't break the bank. We are very, very limited on funds at the moment.

 

AAR levels 1-4 are different from the Pre-reading program, so it's possible you'd like that better. You can look at the samples of the Teacher's Guide, readers, and activity book online. They have a 1-year guarantee too.

[blondeviolin]

LOE Foundations isn't babyish at all. There are lots of fun activities that move and the like, but not little kid-ish. My 7yo tolerated it really well. The pieces are bite-sized, but thorough.

[nature girl]

We never did a formal phonics program, since they all seemed either really expensive or really boring to me. :/ They just seemed like work, when all my DD wanted was to dig into stories. So we went with Progressive Phonics and I See Sam, both of which are wonderful (and free!) really make kids feel like they're reading real stories, and he'd be able to start on them immediately as long as he knows all his letter sounds and how to blend. (If he doesn't, I'd recommend Leapfrog videos to start.) The stories and illustrations are fun and quirky, and since they're free, it's worth a shot!

 

I'd also recommend doing as many read alouds as he'll sit through, so he continues to develop a love of books and understand the importance (and fun) of reading, which should help to motivate him through the process.

[eternallytired]

When my kids started learning to read, I didn't want to shell out for a phonics program.  I stumbled across Reading Reflex at my library, and I ended up using their sequence and some of their activities plus a smattering of Progressive Phonics readers (my kids thought the Alphabetti ones where they only read a few words per page were fun and silly, but they despised the actual leveled readers, which seemed less interesting and more stilted because they had to be made entirely of words the kids could read).  Once they knew all the basic letter sounds, we played games like word bingo (with similar words like pin, pen, pet, net, ten, tan so they'd have to look carefully to cover the right one), did some word puzzles (write a word on an index card with a picture and cut each letter apart so kid has to sound it out and build word), and I'd tell stories and stop every sentence or two to make a word from blocks for them to sound out to continue the story.  They also loved treasure hunts, where I'd leave simple clues like "on the desk" or "in a pan" for them to follow around the house and find their snack at the end.

 

Not sure if that helps at all, but if you're looking for some fun for motivating him, perhaps one of the above ideas would appeal.

[FO4UR]

http://joyfulshepherdess.blogspot.com/2013/03/all-my-charlotte-mason-reading-posts-in.html

[HS Mom in NC]

Children vary dramatically in their readiness for reading. My oldest could read like an adult by her 5th birthday. She started phonics when she was 4. She started college at 17. My middle daughter wasn't ready to start learning to read until she was almost 8.  She could read like an adult by age 11. She started college at 15. My youngest started learning to read at almost 6.  She's about to turn 10 and doesn't quite read like an adult yet.

 

With the kids we got phonics out at 5, worked at it for 5-10 minutes twice day for a couple of weeks.  If it didn't stick we put it away for about 3 months.  Then we got it out and repeated the process and they were off and running-not limping along.  Limping along means put it away. Many children don't make steady progress.  They peak a bit then plateau for quite a while then later they peak a bit more then plateau for a long time.  That's normal. Let their brains develop more before you get back to it. There's so much peer pressure in the homeschooling community and out to get started early and hammer away at it for years if need be.  Or you can wait until their brains are more developed and accomplish the same thing in far less time with far less frustration. Just keep reading aloud to them, let them listen to audio books and get it out every few months.

[PeterPan]

SWR or WRTR would give you the meaty you're wanting.  Sometimes kids don't want to slog because they want to get somewhere with it.  SWR and WRTR both allow you to get there more quickly.  WRTR may be available through your library for free and SWR can be found used.  Both are one system for many years, a good value, and WRTR is only $17 new.

[Tanikit]

You say your child is bored - what type of response would you like and what type of response are you getting that shows you he is bored? Is it only with reading or is it with anything you request of him? What interests him? Could you perhaps teach reading by getting him to read instructions for building something he is excited about? Make a menu that he has to read to be able to order food at meal times. Make reading useful for him - it seems he just isn't interested yet. Teach him the phonics as you go with the words that mean something to him.

 

Finally go back to phonics programme (maybe one of the ones you have already chosen), pick a time limit that you will work on it per day (even if you do not finish the lesson) and tell your child that is what you are doing and that even if he is bored it will come to an end. Pick this amount of time carefully and if you plan on extending it at some point then let him know that at the beginning too.

 

You can also tell him he must learn to read, and does he have any ideas how it could be more interesting? Maybe he is the type of child who wants to feel in control and to have choices. Sometimes it works to say: we have to do phonics today - here are two curricula you can choose from - Which would you like to do today? (again with the time limit). By 7 this doesn't always work with only 2 choices, but it is worth trying. I do not think this is a curriculum problem - all the curricula you have used and any we suggest now will work if they are applied correctly for your own child.