work to supplement WRTR instruction?

[kindermommy]

We have decided to implement the WRTR in January - but I work two days per week and DH or MIL "school" the kids the other two days. They don't actually "teach" them, they just supervise or oversee/assist with work I have left for them. They've been doing random pages out of their BrainQuest workbooks and working on Headsprout on days they are with DH or MIL, but now that I will be doing WRTR, do you think this is still sufficient work for their "off" days? Or does anyone know of anything that would be easy for the kids to do and would reinforce (or at the least, not "mess up" ) my WRTR instruction?

 

Am I overthinking this? I am sure it will be more clear once I start actually teaching WRTR, and I may find it easy to make up/pull things that compliment WRTR, but just looking to see if others have ideas or have BTDT in regards to supplementing....

 

Thx

[z2_mom]

you could have the kids review their phonograms with the flashcards. This could be done on their own or with help. You could also have your dh or mil dictate the phonograms to the kids to write.

 

Depending on where you are at with the program and your child's age, you could have them write sentences to go with the words. You could also have them use one of the days as a review day, and use spelling tiles or homemade cards to work out the words.

 

Lynda

[Ellie]

Spalding geek here :-)

 

Perhaps on the two days you work, your dh or MIL could do phonogram practice with the dc. It's not difficult to learn how to do that.

 

I don't see anything objectionable (i.e., contrary to Spalding) in BrainQuest, but I would probably not do Headsprout.

 

ITA with Lynda: eventually, your dc will be asked to write sentences with their spelling words, and they could do that with dh or mil, although I'm fuzzy on using letter tiles, lol.

[PeterPan]

I wouldn't worry about so much writing, given their ages. I did SWR (like WRTR) with my dd to learn to read. We played games (Mother May I, etc.) to practice phonograms, spelling the words, etc. Some people get really fun with it, setting up obstacle courses, jumping steps (one step for each correct), etc. That's the sort of thing I would pursue. Britta of http://www.morningstarlearning.com had a list of active games she uses with her boys, not sure if it's at her site or in the files of the SWR yahoo group. Either way, you might enjoy joining the group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spelltowriteandread

 

Another thing I did at that age was to make little booklets with dd's words. Each page had a sentence using her words, so she could read it and illustrate. They starred her of course, so they were charming and fun. :)

 

You can write their words onto flashcards to practice reading.

 

You can do phonogram bingo that Britta sells. You can make a candyland style game using a file folder and use that to practice phonograms or words.

 

I would write less and play more with 4 and 5 year olds, just me. Same with the math, I would play simple math games to work on facts. Addition War, that sort of thing. Don't feel stressed that you're under-serving them by only teaching 3 days a week. You don't NEED to teach a 5 yo more than that, honest. Just do simple, fun things that reinforce the skills the other days, and you'll be fine! Remember, the formula is grade plus 1. A K5er is fine with an hour a day. So if you do 1 1/2-2 hours each day for 3 days, you've done plenty. Don't forget the value of read alouds and books on tape! Our library has fabulous books on tape/cd, chapter books. You can't do better than audio books for your dc when you're doing the SWR/WRTR approach, because the audio books are building their vocabulary, enabling them to RECOGNIZE the words they're about to learn to read. So the bigger their vocabulary, the more their reading can take off!! My dd listened to audio books by the HOUR at that age. She listened to them while she played, etc. and I definitely think it was part of what helped her reading take off. Charlotte's Web, Narnia, the Little House books, Uncle Remus, there are so many great vocab-building books on tape/cd at your local library.

 

Have fun! This is the best age! :)

[kindermommy]

OH ELIZABETH: Thanks for all the ideas and the booklets sound cute! I like SWR too and had a hard time deciding, but ulitmately, I actually find the WRTR manual more user friendly for *me*, at least for now. But I plan to implement some of the cool add-ons SWR offers :)

 

I should note that DD will be 6 in January, and learns very quickly when it comes to reading, etc. If I had had a solid phonics (or spelling based) program from day one, I think she would be several grade levels ahead by now. But we're in no hurry :) She's ready for writing too. So I think she'll do well with the full on WRTR.

 

DS, on the other hand, is defnitely *not* ready - so with him I will modify and slow down. His handwriting is actually pretty good, but he tires of it very quickly, and at 4 (5 in April) I am not going to push in any way :)

 

Yes, read alouds - we do that now and will continue. I'm looking forward to the book suggestions in WRTR, and plan to *maybe* get Beautiful Feet's teaching Character through Literature, or some other literature list/guide with discussion ideas/questions. I also have lots of books on tape - thanks for the reminder to use those more! :) I'll also check out the library for more.

 

We do RS Math (slowly) and I have a MBTP unit I plan to implement for SS and Sci for the rest of the year. That, along with Bible stories and a few art lessons and outdoor play/games, will finish the year for us.

 

ELLIE - we are TX neighbors I think :) I live NW of San Antonio - aren't you in the Hill Country too? It's funny you said that about Headsprout. I actually really liked it until I found WRTR and fell in love with it. I had a feeling HS wouldn't "go" with it any longer. I do feel like she's learned from it but I can see how it would confuse things. Darn it - that thing was $100!

 

LYNDA -thanks for the ideas!! I actually have AAS, so we have the tiles, I think DS will love those.

 

What about buying ETC or maybe MCP Plaid for additional phonics "workbook" (DD likes these on occasion) practice? Or do you think just the games/drills/flashcards, etc mentioned in the above posts are more than sufficient?

 

Printing all these posts out now :) :)

[Lovedtodeath]

I use ETC, pages from a Walmart phonics book and worksheets from How to Spell, along with my own that I make in Startwrite to supplement How to Teach Spelling.

 

We use the phonogram cards from WRTR. When I make my own worksheets, I put the rule or rules at the top for her to read, then she copies or traces the words or sentences. I do this on our geography days, so that I don't have to actively work on the phonograms with her.

[SonshineLearner]

Hi There,

 

I wouldn't necessarily want anyone teaching my son phonics without me.... But, I would explain to them what to say when my child points to "B"... you know..."I say "b" (the sound) softly." (You know how some teachers say "Buh"

 

I'm doing a hybrid program:-) of the SWR and WRTR. I'm using Cursive First, because I'm sold on the fact that it's better for children to do the strokes in cursive, and historically, that's how children were taught.

 

But, for school with your mom, there are so many extra great books that you could have her read, if she likes to read out loud. My son will read Sir Cumference and the .....(there are many books about him and his family..it's math oriented.) They are by Cindy Neuschwander. Also, we have Greg Tang's books and Paul Giganti. I just log into the library, order the books and pick them up.

My son know all the sounds, some of the two letter phonograms and can sound out a word in his head, and he's still not ready to write or read. He was 5 in July.

Anyway, at those ages, I'd just have lots of books that are really good books....and lots of art supplies. (I love some of the Waldorf supplies, like beeswax colors, they are so smooth and totally a different feel than the normal plastic crayons, and even beeswax to mold in your hand.

If money isn't an object, there are a ton of educational things you can purchase to help your child learn without worrying about them being "schooled" on those other days...

Just a thought:-)

Carrie:-)

[Ellie]

ELLIE - we are TX neighbors I think :) I live NW of San Antonio - aren't you in the Hill Country too?

Yes. We should get together one day and talk about Spalding :-)

 

It's funny you said that about Headsprout. I actually really liked it until I found WRTR and fell in love with it. I had a feeling HS wouldn't "go" with it any longer. I do feel like she's learned from it but I can see how it would confuse things. Darn it - that thing was $100!

$100??? Wow.

 

 

What about buying ETC or maybe MCP Plaid for additional phonics "workbook" (DD likes these on occasion) practice? Or do you think just the games/drills/flashcards, etc mentioned in the above posts are more than sufficient?

Not MCP. Once you're familiar with Spalding, you'll see that MCP is not nearly as pure phonics as you might have thought before. ETC...maybe. But really and truly, IMHO, you don't need to add *anything*...not games/worksheets/nada/zip once you're into Spalding. Really. You'll see the best results if you stick with the Method. And things will be simpler, too: just Spalding, without having to think about/plan other stuff. If your dd likes workbooks, give her workbooks in other subjects.

[Lovedtodeath]

I do still supplement with ETC, but it is very easy for my DD to get through the lessons without learning any phonics. Whole word works just fine for ETC, and it doesn't make her relearn anything. So I can see someone cautioning against it. Which is why I am not using it alone! She already learned how to read, though.

[Colleen in NS]

you don't need to add *anything*...not games/worksheets/nada/zip once you're into Spalding. Really. You'll see the best results if you stick with the Method. And things will be simpler, too: just Spalding, without having to think about/plan other stuff.

 

:iagree:

 

Just have them read to her when you're not there.

[Terabith]

I'm a huge Spalding fan. I actually taught it in a private elementary school for several years. That said, I didn't think my just turned five year old (then a four and a half yr old) was ready for the writing that it involves. So I decided that to start with, I wanted to separate reading and writing. Anna was ready to read, but she was much less ready to write. We did a lot of fine motor work, coloring, mazes, and large motor writing/ drawing, and then I informally taught her to print letters as she wanted to write. But her lack of readiness in the writing department left me floundering with what to use for reading. So, we started with Headsprout. And honestly, it was really good for us. Anna did Headsprout, and it was very motivating. She learned how to sound out from it, but the brilliance of Headsprout was the emphasis on fluency that it built. Anna left Headsprout a fairly fluent reader. After Headsprout I split reading into fluency and formal decoding work. We've moved into Dancing Bears and some Explode the Code (may switch to ABeCeDarian), although I have taught her the phonograms. That work, along with the phonograms, has enabled her to make steady progress in her ability to decode unfamiliar words. I have her read orally every day to continue her fluency and "reading." She has made major strides. I would like to keep both of my children together for Spalding, since they are 17 months apart, and it is a pretty teacher intensive program. I plan to wait until Anna is in first grade and Catherine is kindergarten age to start it. In the meantime, I will teach each of them their phonograms, and will have Anna work on her reading, decoding, and writing more or less separately. If Catherine is ready to learn to read prior to kindergarten age, I will probably use Headsprout for her also. It's a very motivating program, both in terms of the games, visual appeal, and quick progress. Since you have Headsprout, I think it's fairly silly NOT to use it, to be honest, especially since you have a younger child for whom the full Spalding program will not be ideal. I would teach both of your children the phonograms (although I might not make your son write them), and then I would have them finish Headsprout and read orally until the end of the year. I'd move your daughter at her own rate and maybe have her use a different phonics program, such as Explode the Code, Dancing Bears, or ABeCeDarian after she finishes Headsprout, so that she continues to make progress. Your kids are of ages that would be very nice AND EASY to keep together, but at this point, your son's fine motor skills make that more or less impossible given the nature of Spalding. In six or nine months, however, it will likely be a whole other story. I don't think you have to sacrifice your daughter's progress or push your son beyond what he is ready for, IF you wait on the Spalding. It's a GREAT program, and even teaching them the phonograms will place them heads and shoulders above most kids, and really does not interfere with Headsprout. (I taught my girls the various sounds for the phonograms when they started being introduced to the alphabet, around 18 months, using the bath tub letters and ABC books, because I was teaching it in my classroom. Headsprout often teaches the most COMMON sound for a letter to make, but there are quite a few phonograms where they teach all the possible sounds: oo comes to mind.)

 

My other concern, having used Spalding at a number of different grade levels, is that while it is the BEST curriculum for spelling and decoding/ analyzing words, it's not the best for beginning reading, unless you have a child with dyslexia. It is slow and fairly abstract. Yes, it will get kids reading in a few months. I certainly would never criticize anyone for using it to teach reading. It's very thorough. But, it doesn't emphasize the fluency that makes reading fairly easy and pleasant to children early on. I'm not talking about sight words, although I do think that it's advantageous to memorize a few words that are phonetically regular but advanced enough to not come early in phonetic decoding. Spalding will do a great job teaching your kids to spell and to understand language, but it is heavy on rules, and that makes it less user friendly for itty bitties as a primary reading curriculum. If you have a child with dyslexia, this may be the only way for them to learn to read without guessing. But a child who is not struggling with disabilities is able to internalize rules easily enough that even with just the primary sounds and without the rules, they can learn to decode most words and read quite fluently. Once you start Spalding, it will teach your kids to analyze any word they see and to be great spellers. But it's definitely not the easiest or fastest way to get them reading fluently.

 

I'm concerned that in your anxiety to make use of a WONDERFUL curriculum this year, you may be shooting yourself in the foot long term. Your daughter will likely make quick progress with Spalding, but she could make similarly quick progress (or even faster progress) in reading and spelling using a different, less teacher intensive program, and you can 1) keep your son from feeling frustrated by a fine motor heavy and somewhat abstract curriculum, and 2) keep them together long term, if you wait on using it for a few months.

 

Just my two cents.

Edited December 26, 2008 by Terabith