LoE, All About Reading, OPGTR, Hooked on Phonics, Pinwheels, etc. Help please!

[TinyMama]

My daughter is 5.5 and I'm looking for a phonics based reading curriculum. We started with TYCTR and we got to lesson 30 but every lesson ended up with her having a tantrum or crying. I'm an avid reader and I want her to love reading as well. We have taken a step back from a formal curriculum and just been focusing on CVC words. We've also been working on the silent 'e' rule. She is not the type of child to sit down and do a worksheet or do board work. She likes to move around, run, jump and play. That is what lead me to LoE. I also like that it explains all the sounds, but I worry it will confuse her since she's already reading basic words. I am a busy working mom so I would like something that is very open and go, minimal prep, all in one and fun for my daughter. I have heard that all about reading is open and go, but I have also heard that it is a lot of prep work. My daughter did not like TYCTR because she said it was boring. I am looking for something that has more color and is more play based. I am trying to narrow down a curriculum so I can ask for it for Christmas. Does anyone have any experience with any of these? Or any others? All the information I am finding makes it seem like it works best if there is no formal phonics education but my daughter does. She can read the level one Bob books (the red ones) and she can spell simple words like mom, dad, cat and dog. I just worry that when we start a new curriculum, she will get confused.  

[Rosie_0801]

Sometimes boring means hard. Sometimes their little brains are full and they need to coast along in maintenance mode for a while until there's room in there for more new info.

My daughter used to switch between learning new info in reading and in maths. We'd push forward on one until she hit a wall, then maintain there while we pushed ahead in the other, until she hit a wall, then switch back.

Reading is reading. If she gets confused, it won't be the curriculum, it'll be that she needs more time to digest.

[Clarita]

2 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Reading is reading. If she gets confused, it won't be the curriculum, it'll be that she needs more time to digest

Yes to this.

[Clarita]

2 hours ago, TinyMama said:

My daughter did not like TYCTR because she said it was boring. I am looking for something that has more color and is more play based.

I just want to address this "play-based" notion. Children learn a lot in free play, but they don't learn better because a curriculum involves "fun" or "play". I would think of it as looking for a curriculum that will engage your child. What do you think is going to motivate her to put in the hard work of learning to read?

For example, my eldest really wants to know information. So when reading first got hard, I actually gave him some non-fiction easy books to buddy read. I showed him reading gives him more information that mommy and daddy could possibly know. Then his reading instruction had some semblance to that as well where if he had to just read a list of words I'd ask him to search for a word I said or if they were sentences I'd ask him a question for him to find the sentence with the answer. My youngest was a storyteller so her engagement was writing. A lot of her reading instruction is actually writing and spelling words instead of just reading them. 

I actually use All About Reading for both children. In terms of your time for prep question the prep time depends on how much your child likes to cut. So for my eldest he didn't like to cut so it was a lot of cutting on my part and we didn't always do the "fun" activities. If the activity is just to make reading a list of words fun we'd just read the list of words without cutting out the cookies or whatever. My youngest loves cutting so I'd give her the sheet to cut and then she'd do all the "fun" activities and then afterwards she'd craft all the cut up paper into something. If I didn't already have AAR, I might have used a reading curriculum that does writing at the same time like LOE or Pinwheels for my youngest. 

All the reading curriculum you've listed are pretty well regarded and they can teach the majority of children how to read. Even if you switch between them partway it won't confuse your daughter. The sequence might be altered slightly between the curriculum you've chosen but really they all teach how to read in the same way. 

[LauraClark]

Agreeing with what's said above.

5 hours ago, TinyMama said:

All the information I am finding makes it seem like it works best if there is no formal phonics education but my daughter does.

It's fine if you have no curriculum. Curriculum is really just a guide for those of us that need one (🙋‍♀️). 

Also, don't give up hope that your daughter will love books some day. My oldest (13) is an avid reader but didn't really start wanting to read by himself until maybe age 9? It takes a long time not just to learn how to read, but to learn how to read in a way that it becomes enjoyable and not just work.

Which also brings me to: sometimes school is going to be boring. I tried so hard with my oldest to make everything fun, but nothing worked and then I started to realize that he was choosing to not enjoy it. I still try to make things interesting and spark his curiosity, but if he chooses to not enjoy it that is up to him-it's still schoolwork that needs to get done.

[8filltheheart]

I absolutely love Sing, Spell, Read, Write. It is everything you describe. Unfortunately, it is out of print. But, you can still access the songs on YT.  (I have saved mine for my kids to use with my grandkids! I'm so glad I did!!)

The Ferris Wheel song teaches cv blending.

 

If you search online, you can find all of the songs (long vowels, Mr GH, vowel clusters, etc.)

FWIW, 5.5 is young. I have 8 kids (3 dyslexic and 1 autistic). They all learned to read at different ages. Only 2 could read more than cvc at 5.5.  My most serious dyslexic didnt read on grade level until grade 5. All of them have been strong academic students. Dont stress about reading young. It should never be a source of frustration. It should be unlocking an adventure.

Another fwiw, I am a minimalist for grade k-2. Phonics, correct letter formation, very simple/short copywork, reading (very little and successful reading together time), and math.  My kids graduate from high school anywhere from advanced to extremely accelerated (with no tiger mom parenting.) 

IOW...take a deep breath. She is 5.5. There is zero rush needed.

[ScoutTN]

Agree with 8. Take a deep breath. Don’t stress. She’ll get there.
 

Maybe check if your library has Alphaphonics or Phonics Pathways? Solid, basic books. 5-10 mins a day on the couch.