My son hates All About Reading - any other suggestions?

[KariLynn]

Hello!  My son HATES All About Reading - he gets overwhelmed by it I think.  He is 6 and knows all his letters names and sounds, differences between upper and lowercase, and vowels and consonants and can blend 3 letter words, but when I pull out AAR he immediately shuts down.  We only do it for 10-20 minutes because he gets so upset.  We splits lessons over multiple days.  I think he is just overwhelmed by the amount of "stuff". We've tried TGATB Kindergarten but he was overwhelmed with the amount of stuff on the pages and it bounced around too much for my liking.  Any suggestions on where to go next?  I have The Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading but haven't used it yet as it seems dry (but maybe he needs quick and dry)? If I sit him down with CVC BOB books he can read them (slowly but can read them) but I am afraid he is going to miss phonics or SOR skills.  Thank you!

[HomeAgain]

I would back up and get him Explode The Code.  The pages are very clean.  Have him do that for phonics and writing practice.  Do a page each day.  Get a set of phonic readers (or just use the AAR books you have).  Have him read a few minutes each day.  That's it.  Just step back, let him get these two things down, and then when you are more in this routine, add back in elements of AAR.  Like, extend the page he's doing in EtC with the letter tiles, having him switch out sounds but starting with the words on the page.  Or add in a game from AAR's website.  But I'd honestly scale back to a very simple, git-er-dun approach for a while that keeps your reading time on target but is a very finite routine that he can predict and know exactly when the lesson will be over.  That's one of the things I've found with programs that have a lot of moving parts.  The teacher has the list of what will happen, but the student does not.  To the student, it's a never ending cycle of things until they protest loud enough for it to stop.  In their minds, the correlation between their protest and the end is also causation.  Unless the student has in front of them a list of what to expect, they're going to assume it just goes on.  Keeping it simple for a 6yo is right on target for their natural development and lets them predict better, which can lead to more patience.

[amiesmom]

I would try OPGTR. My DS hated AAR because of the games and activities. OPGTR was short and sweet and to the point. Just skip past the lessons teach letter sounds if he already knows them.

[Lovinglife234]

I wouldn’t switch.  Which lesson are you on?  I would put away bob books, they reinforce sight reading and guessing which you don’t want.  I would first of all download the letter tile app if you haven’t already.  I haven’t had success with physical tiles.  It’s a LOT more work for the child.  I would propose working on reading for a mutually decided upon time with a timer (preferably a visual timer he can understand) and having a treat afterwards (play a real game with him or have a special snack- homemade chocolate chip muffins work here).  All about reading is work and I think that’s why he hates it.  If he’s slowly sounding out bob books at 6 years old he might need what all about reading is trying to teach.  I would also have him try spelling some of the simple cvc words with the letter tile app.  By putting together the words by sounds it will help connect those pathways.  I wouldn’t try to complete lessons until he is solid on reading and spelling the words in those first few lessons that are introduced.  I would also just say to him and to yourself that you are working on beginning reading skills and not think of it as doing a program.  Feel free to pull out lessons from OPGTR that correspond to AAR for a change of pace.

Once he’s really comfortable with reading he’s not going to care what materials you use.  Again, use a timer and don’t do too much a day.  I completely agree with @HomeAgain in regards to children needing to know when something will end.  Start small- 10 minutes is enough followed by a snack or game.  It will truly help him associate school with something positive instead of frustration.  I personally would not try doing the good and the beautiful again for reading.  For those it works for, that’s great, but they probably would have learned to read with anything.  All about reading works for most children and does not leave a large percentage of children behind.  That said, if there are pages that correlate with all about reading, by all means use those for a change of pace.  I have TGTB K on my tablet and use a page here and there so I can zoom in and let him read that way.

Edited Wednesday at 04:49 PM by Lovinglife234

[Lovinglife234]

Also, if he’s truly mastered some of the concepts and it’s not going fast enough it’s okay to pare it down.  It doesn’t sound like that is where he is at though.  
 

for my daughter we are finishing up AAR 3 very quickly.  I have her follow along in the teachers manual while I read and point to what they are teaching.  She is very fluent and doesn’t really need the lessons *anymore*  but I’m finishing them just in case we missed anything.  She doesn’t do all the fluency pages.  I have her read a paragraph from the reader aloud to me.  We are doing 4 lessons per day like this to finish up.  Think of these materials as resources that are there if you need them.  There was a time when I needed all the cards, letter tile app, and fluency pages.   I’ve never used the activity pages (I might with my youngest because he likes that stuff).  The games are optional.  My youngest is my third one going through this program (fifth child teaching to read).  I’ve tried all the programs out there.  This can be as simple or as involved as you want to make it.

Edited Wednesday at 04:20 PM by Lovinglife234

[Clarita]

At some points in reading some students need a lot more fluency practice. Just practicing the skills he knows. Both my children at some point needed a break from AAR for a bit. Conceptually they could move forward in their lessons but they need to catch up on fluency/stamina. 

We buddy read books. We looked for super easy twaddley books from the library. I pointed out real life things they could read, even when phonetically they couldn't I would hand them a menu and asked what they wanted (I'd help when asked at my leisure). 

After a while the AAR lessons isn't overwhelming. 

[caffeineandbooks]

Seconding Explode the Code.  Not every kid needs the full drill of AAR.  2 pages a day of ETC should take less than 10 minutes, and you can skip the writing pages.  In my house, we did ETC only (no books) until the kids were somewhere around book 3 (long vowels), then we added in phonics based readers.  It helped to have the reading practice run slightly behind the phonics drill so that the skill of holding a string of words in their mind to sense of a whole story was separate from the new skill of "magic e", or whatever new phonics they were learning.

[Lovinglife234]

I would recommend explode the code if it was the first program you were trying.  I would not keep switching at this point (that would be 4 different phonics programs) until you know he doesn’t need the drill.  If he can breeze through the lessons without doing all of the fluency pages, then you should be able to determine that without buying another program.  I have seen explode the code completely fail multiple at risk children.

Edited Wednesday at 11:50 PM by Lovinglife234

[caffeineandbooks]

1 hour ago, Lovinglife234 said:

I would recommend explode the code if it was the first program you were trying.  I would not keep switching at this point (that would be 4 different phonics programs) until you know he doesn’t need the drill... <SNIP>  I have seen explode the code completely fail multiple at risk children.

This sounds a bit fear-monger-y.  Why would you recommend a program if you have seen it "completely fail multiple at risk children"?  I don't see the OP having tried 4 programs.  I took from her post that she has given AAR a good run, has chosen not to try OPGTR so far although it's on her shelf, and has briefly dabbled in TGTB.  She describes her child as "immediately shutting down" when AAR comes out, so I would be following SWB's advice: even if it's the "best" program in the world, if it makes your kid cry (or shut down in this case), throw it away and get a new program.

[Lovinglife234]

All about reading can be pared down to something very basic.  6 year olds cry about school- especially if it’s hard.  You’re recommending doing explode the code without the writing?  He might as well just do the same thing with the AAR manual/ fluency pages.   I don’t agree with dropping a program as soon as a kid cries.  Sometimes (most of the time) it’s not the program, it’s the presentation.  It’s the technique.  The way it’s delivered.  Instead of switching programs so often, why not see what is actually needed first by adjusting things like setting a timer, dropping parts, offering a snack after.  Simple things that make a huge difference instead of wasting time/money trying another program.  If she was using explode the code and having struggles- there’s ways to make that work too.  If she were using the good and the beautiful, I’d say switch because it is not a good systematic approach.  The newly revised versions are still not systematic like all about reading, OPGTR, and explode the code. 

Edited Thursday at 02:00 AM by Lovinglife234

[ClowPow]

We skip the fluency sheets and do everything else because that’s what works for us. As stated above, I would make sure you tell him what you’ll be doing that day. For example, “We’re going to review our flashcards, build with letter tiles, complete an activity, and we’ll be done for the day! I’m so proud of how hard you work every day!” AAR requires a lot from the child.

You could try OPGTR for a few days. If nothing else it will just build some fluency. He might appreciate the simple approach and I wouldn’t look at it as switching programs. You’ll probably go back to AAR with a fresh outlook and if you stick with OPGTR, that’s ok too! I also wouldn’t be worried about losing ground. If he’s fighting AAR, you’re probably not gaining much ground anyway. 

[Brooke]

After doing all about reading level 1 and 2 we finally switched. It went fine but I agree it’s too many moving parts. We switched to Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching reading. It’s the best decision we have ever made. Although it isn’t a lot of fun, it gets the job done and it’s a lot less overwhelming. I agree that explode the code is fantastic to add to that. 

Edited Thursday at 10:13 PM by Brooke

[Penderwink]

We have switched (or are on a long break) from AAR to Oxford Reading Tree. We read a book a day - the stories are good, and the element if choice in picking out a book from a selection helps.

[KariLynn]

Thank you all so much for your insights!  I think I'm going to give Ordinary Parents a try (with some Etc - which I have the first two books as well).  I didn't pull out AAR since this post and my son already perked up.