What does reading/English instruction look like for K?

[madteaparty]

DD goes to a lovely Montessori school, and we are keeping her there next year for K even though, while she is the youngest in class now, she will be among the oldest next year when some of her friends move to 1st grade. This is ok because we believe in the Montessori method for very young kids.

I know what after schooling math looks like, but I don't know how to teach her to read. She seems close. English is not my first language, I did not teach my son and frankly I think it is the school's job. But I want to do something for the summer...I bought that "reading lessons through literature" book and frankly have no idea what I'm to do...is there a pared down approach for the slacker parent? Thanks!

[barnwife]

Well, all I can tell you is what we are doing. We are using Webster's Speller. I write a few syllables or words on the whiteboard or a piece of scrap paper. DS reads them. That's it.

This takes no more than 5 minutes. At some point I will try and stretch that out longer, but I am not there yet.

Prior to this, he could name all letters and their most common sounds (short vowel sound for vowels). He could orally blend 2 sounds that I'd give him. He could identify the first/last sound in words. Part of my philosophy for teaching my kids to read is that I want it to be easy. That is, when I tell them something, I want their brains to say "oh yeah...I've noticed that during RA time and just never put it into words." 

Now, if I wanted more handholding than Webster's Speller gives, I'd probably go with Phonics Pathways. First, because it's available through my library. And also because it's cheap and seems thorough.

Soon I will pick up some phonics readers and take DS through them. We also use Progressive Phonics (free online) whenever he wants.

[madteaparty]

What you are currently doing is more my speed. Thanks!

[Peaceful Isle]

Next year, we plan on doing a few things for my k-er.

 

For Math and Phonics/reading, we are using Calvert k. 

 

We are using mothergoose time and ivy kids for  extra activities and crafts. 

 

 

 

 

[Jackie]

After DD learned the letter sounds and was able to blend, I pretty much just handed her the Bob Books. We would curl up on the couch together and she would read to me, carefully sounding out each word, with my assistance when she hit something she didn't know yet. Some days were just a few words, some were an entire book. They don't teach how to blend, though, so that skill has to be in place first.

[madteaparty]

After DD learned the letter sounds and was able to blend, I pretty much just handed her the Bob Books. We would curl up on the couch together and she would read to me, carefully sounding out each word, with my assistance when she hit something she didn't know yet. Some days were just a few words, some were an entire book. They don't teach how to blend, though, so that skill has to be in place first.

She knows the letters but doesn't blend. She guesses instead :) she's actually much better at writing words than sounding them out, is that weird?

[Jackie]

She knows the letters but doesn't blend. She guesses instead :) she's actually much better at writing words than sounding them out, is that weird?

I know of kids who learned spelling first, but it definitely wasn't my kid. Her spelling is very phonetic, but also very incorrect. We played the "say it slow, say it fast" game when we were bored, mostly in the car. I would say a word sssssslllllooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy and then she would repeat it back quickly (or at normal speed, though she liked seeing how fast she could say it). I was lucky and that putting together of the sounds was enough to get her to blending.

[lanalouwho]

I'm about to start kinder with my DS 5. He knows all his letters and sounds but can't seem to translate that into decoding words on a page. He's very interested in learning, though.

So far, my 'plan' is to just make lots of interesting books available and keep reading to him daily. He likes it when I point to the word as I read it, and every now and then I pretend like I'm stuck and we sound it out together.

 

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[Kiara.I]

Montessori is kindergarten. Since its whole premise is to have material available when the child is developmentally ready for it, she should be learning to read there. And if she isn't, it might well be because she's not developmentally ready yet, in which case trying to do it at home won't help anything either.

 

I guess I'm not sure why you'd try to afterschool for Montessori if you believe in its method.

 

If you just want something to do in the summer while she's not in school, just read to her. Lots.

 

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[Ellie]

DD goes to a lovely Montessori school, and we are keeping her there next year for K even though, while she is the youngest in class now, she will be among the oldest next year when some of her friends move to 1st grade. This is ok because we believe in the Montessori method for very young kids.

I know what after schooling math looks like, but I don't know how to teach her to read. She seems close. English is not my first language, I did not teach my son and frankly I think it is the school's job. But I want to do something for the summer...I bought that "reading lessons through literature" book and frankly have no idea what I'm to do...is there a pared down approach for the slacker parent? Thanks!

 

For a little person who is just 5, you could do Explode the Code. 

[OneStepAtATime]

Well, you might be able to use something from ElizabethB's stuff:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/index.html

 

She posts on WTM and could answer questions you might have.  Very nice and helpful person.

 

Also, I agree with up thread, read to her and with her.  A LOT.  Point out the words, decode them for her, talk about the story and the characters.  And cuddle each other and listen to audio books together.  See if there are any audio books at your library that would spark interest.  Look at picture books together and make up fun stories.  Focus on the great words and stories, not the drill and kill of basic reading skills.  She may need explicit instruction in phonics.  I'm not saying she doesn't.  I just think that parents sometimes flip the focus around too much. They want their child to want to read and be able to read independently so they push hard for the basic skills to be in place to create independent readers when the child is not ready or doesn't get enough exposure to the fun and excitement of reading.  Reading just ends up like drudgery and the initial desire to learn can die out.  Don't let that happen.

 

 

 

 

[tm919]

Montessori is kindergarten. Since its whole premise is to have material available when the child is developmentally ready for it, she should be learning to read there. And if she isn't, it might well be because she's not developmentally ready yet, in which case trying to do it at home won't help anything either.

 

I guess I'm not sure why you'd try to afterschool for Montessori if you believe in its method.

 

If you just want something to do in the summer while she's not in school, just read to her. Lots.

 

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Yes, they'll at least have word building, phonogram word building, and so on. The Montessori that my kids attend (same age range) uses primary phonics as well. So if it is just for summer, you might want to try the extra mac & tab books (set 2 for the appropriate level, if they don't use them in the school).

Edited May 27, 2016 by tm919

[hisforhomeschooling]

Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading has worked well for us.

[calihil]

My daughter is 5.5 and will be starting K this fall and we are doing AAR1. We are almost halfway through it and sometimes I treasure several days for one lesson but I like how it's set up. With my oldest I used several different things. Bob books, OPGTR, Starfall, etc.

[fralala]

I took Phonics Pathways out of the library when I was trying to figure out how to teach my daughter to read. At the same time, someone recommended Reading Eggs to me and I would let her do two lessons a day (because they are really brief). She learned to read from Reading Eggs before I could even begin to tackle Phonics Pathways with her (which looked straightforward and great). She loves to read now, and had no desire to continue with Reading Eggs once she figured out how to decode, so I am considering taking that easy way out with my second daughter, too!

[KarenNC]

My daughter enjoyed Explode the Code because it let her write. Once she was fluent in reading, it served as spelling. We included some sight word flash cards as a game, from a pack I got at Walmart, so that she could have access to more natural-sounding material earlier than they appeared in only phonics instruction (words like father, mother, said, etc---we still covered them in phonics when they came up in ETC). Other than that, Dick and Jane helped her confidence and fluency tremendously, along with leveled readers from the library. I also got a "magnetic" photo album and used it as an easily adapted personalized storybook, with short stories I wrote for her using her name, names of pets, family, and friends. In order to limit guessing based on illustrations, I would write the word or short sentence and let her illustrate them once she could read them.

[ReadingMama1214]

Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading has worked well for us.

This is what we use as well. We also do a lot of BOB books, Progressive Phonics, and early readers.

 

I also play a lot of review games.

 

We've had great success with Ordinary Parents Guide. And for the price, I can't justify trying another program when this one is working.