independent phonics workbook??

[ktgrok]

DS7 is a natural reader, but I don't want to skip phonics and have gaps later that i regret. But he's also in the time of year that is hardest for him with PANDAS and one thing that works better for him during that time is independent worksheet stuff where he can feel successful, and importantly see what needs to be done and know when he is done. He's also a natural speller so far so I'm not too worried about adding in spelling with him right now. Especially since his brain is inflamed right now so it would be much harder than if we wait until after mold season here in Florida. 

The problem I'm finding is either things are way too simple, or they are designed to be done with the teacher, etc etc. 

I need to limit frustration, but he needs to do something. 

I am looking at explode the code as the only thing I could think of, but I'm afraid all the somewhat poorly drawn pictures will confuse him, and then if I have to tell him what the picture is he will say that is cheating. (BTDT with other stuff). 

He struggles with handwriting and we are remediating that, so less handwriting is better than more. So not Memoria Press which has their phonics and handwriting all in one. 

Or is there a website or app he could use for this - something like Khan Academy but with phonics? 

Right now I'm adapting TGTB but crossing out a lot as their spelling is terrible. And it has them practice sight word ladders every day but he knows those already. We are alternating days of that (worksheets) with CHC Little Stories for Little Folks, which most days goes well but he doesn't like rereading the same stories over and over, and if you don't we'll finish in a month, lol. 

Any thoughts? Non frustrating, preferably somewhat independent, I don't mind skipping pages, making copies, whatever. PDF is great for that, as I can print what I want, but workbook is fine, or online would be great. But not an online game he can cheat in some way, lol. I know in Teach Your Monster to Read he was randomly guessing at one point to try to level up - his sister tattled. 

[Elizabeth86]

Good question.  My son will be finishing abeka grade 1 phonics this year.  He already is reading very well. He will not need grade 2 phonics, but I'm afraid to completely abandon phonics.  I'm considering reading eggs.  I will be watching for other suggestions.  

 

Oops I saw you said no online game. Sorry.

Edited December 4, 2019 by Elizabeth86

[Lang Syne Boardie]

You need some vintage Spectrum workbooks. You can find the "Little Critter" version from 2003 on Amazon - don't be put off by the prices; look at the used for a couple of dollars.

https://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Phonics-Little-Critter-Workbooks/dp/0769680712/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=little+critter+phonics+grade+1&qid=1575481512&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Phonics-Little-Critter-Workbooks/dp/1577688228/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=little+critter+phonics&qid=1575481406&sr=8-6

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Oh, about handwriting being required...one of my children used alphabet stamps for awhile. Wouldn't be practical for anything but a phonics workbook, and not beyond 1st or 2nd grade, but worth mentioning. 

 

[hollyhock2]

ETC is good for independence because the pages are repetitive, so once they've done a few lessons, they know what to do for each page. But yes, we have had some trouble with some of the pictures. My kids have always had to ask about a few of them.

Another of my favourites is Spectrum phonics. I use the newest version. Take a look at the samples and see if that's something that would work for your son. I've used various levels with 3 kids now, and it's been good for all of them. With my current 6yo, reading and writing are her strengths so she's doing the 2nd grade book for 1st and it's been a good fit. You should be able to tell by the samples and table of contents about where to place him.

ETA: I also like that Spectrum is one book, whereas you have to buy about 3 per year with ETC.

Edited December 4, 2019 by hollyhock2

[ktgrok]

3 hours ago, Elizabeth86 said:

Good question.  My son will be finishing abeka grade 1 phonics this year.  He already is reading very well. He will not need grade 2 phonics, but I'm afraid to completely abandon phonics.  I'm considering reading eggs.  I will be watching for other suggestions.  

 

Oops I saw you said no online game. Sorry.

Games are fine as long as they are not easy to cheat, lol. 

 

[ktgrok]

So I was going through my old stuff as part of my decluttering and I think Memoria Press First Start Book D might work for him. I may copy pages as needed, rather than give him the whole book. 

I also have Abecedarian B1 for him, and I forget why I abandoned it - may look at it again. 

[hollyhock2]

6 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

So I was going through my old stuff as part of my decluttering and I think Memoria Press First Start Book D might work for him. I may copy pages as needed, rather than give him the whole book. 

I also have Abecedarian B1 for him, and I forget why I abandoned it - may look at it again. 

It's always nice to use something you have rather than buy more. I hope you find something that works for him. 🙂

[ktgrok]

45 minutes ago, hollyhock2 said:

It's always nice to use something you have rather than buy more. I hope you find something that works for him. 🙂

Yup - nice to "shop the shelves" as it were 🙂

I am getting rid of a ton of stuff but keeping Abecedarian because it rocks, and levels D and E of First Start Reading. He's past books B and C which I also have, but I'll sell those as otherwise I'd be holding on to them for a minimum of 3 years for DD2. And they really are not my favorite program, so I'd rather pass them on to someone that will use them now. 

[annegables]

I like the ETC workbooks except for the badly-drawn pictures. I have no idea why they look so terrible. I have found, however, that I need to be sitting next to my son and hear him read the words because he can still get the right answer while having read some of the words incorrectly. 

We hated, HATED, ETC online. It was like a timed version of the books that punished a child for a lack of computer skills. 

Have you looked at the book, "Why Johnny Can't Read"? The book itself is a manifesto on phonics, but the last 70 pages are lists of words broken into appropriate phonics categories. I found that going through a list a day and repeating it for as long as needed helped solidify phonics rules that he needed more practice with. 

[ktgrok]

9 hours ago, annegables said:

I like the ETC workbooks except for the badly-drawn pictures. I have no idea why they look so terrible. I have found, however, that I need to be sitting next to my son and hear him read the words because he can still get the right answer while having read some of the words incorrectly. 

We hated, HATED, ETC online. It was like a timed version of the books that punished a child for a lack of computer skills. 

Have you looked at the book, "Why Johnny Can't Read"? The book itself is a manifesto on phonics, but the last 70 pages are lists of words broken into appropriate phonics categories. I found that going through a list a day and repeating it for as long as needed helped solidify phonics rules that he needed more practice with. 

We have the book Classical Phonics which is just word lists like that. I may just do a page a day with him or something. But he's so quick - if I show him once that "kn" can represent /n/ he will remember and doesn't need a week's worth of lessons on it. 

The other thought is to pull out OPGTR if I still have it, but I remember him hating that. The lists in Classical Phonics might be better. 

[shinyhappypeople]

Plaid Phonics might work. https://www.christianbook.com/phonics-level-b-student-2012-edition/9781428430938/pd/430938?event=Homeschool|1004162

[ktgrok]

So, I found some fun phonics worksheets on Teachers Pay Teachers - and I can just print out what he needs to work on. Right now he's doing two pages a day on consonant digraphs. He likes it, and because the format is pretty similar from day to day is able to do it independently for the most part. 

[EKS]

My older son (who is dyslexic) was successful with the Primary Phonics books.  We used an older edition, but here is the link to the current one.

[Quercus]

BJU phonics review. It is excellent.

https://www.christianbook.com/bju-phonics-review-student-edition/9781591664666/pd/328296?event=ESRCG

[Hallyv]

Have you looked at Rod & Staff Phonics workbooks? We loved those

[SilverMoon]

On 12/6/2019 at 8:49 AM, shinyhappypeople said:

Plaid Phonics might work. https://www.christianbook.com/phonics-level-b-student-2012-edition/9781428430938/pd/430938?event=Homeschool|1004162

We loved Plaid Phonics! I used this one successfully umpteen years ago. My now U.S. Marine struggled with the shared text, snuggle-on-the-couch-with-Mom type phonics. Something about physically doing it with those typical workbook activities was exactly what she needed. It worked beautifully, in spite of my "we don't need no stinkin' workbooks" attitude. 😄

[kbutton]

My son used Plaid Phonics. For things where he had to sort words under the right sound, we would use color-coding with colored pencils vs. writing it out. 

[Arctic Bunny]

I’m going to throw Jolly Phonics out as a suggestion, just because of how well DS did with it.