jewel7123 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 And it didn't go so well, lol! I bought the teacher's guide that goes with it, and went through the exercises it suggested with my 3 1/2 year old dd. She did not comprehend much of what we discussed, which left me frustrated. For example, the first letter you learn is f, and I went through a list of words such as fox, feather, mud, fast, shoe, etc. With every one I asked her if the sound at the beginning of the word was the same as the f sound in fish. Every single one she said yes it was the same, even mud and shoe, lol. Also the very first page in the Get Ready book is which one is different. For example, a line of mad faces and one happy face. I asked her to point out which one is different, and she couldn't. Maybe she doesn't understand what different means....how can I better explain it so she does? Is this normal and should I just keep going because eventually she will catch on or do I need to put this away and try again later? Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Put it away - there's no need for a 3 1/2 year old to do a workbook that she doesn't understand. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Put it away. She's awfully young and she's not ready. She has TONS of time--it's better not to push. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I agree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asma_08 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I think that it would work better with a closer to 5 year old. I tried it with my 4 year old and it had too much writing. Basically it just ended up being a coloring book. The best thing that worked for us was reading alphabet books and playing with letter magnets and blocks. I am still new at this but I started at 3.5 with my oldest and realized its not worth it. He still did not read well until he was six and then he just took off. I say take it slow and just let them play and read lots of books. I am still amazed at how much they have learned just from read alouds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Try something like Letter of the Week instead. It will be much more age appropriate than the ETC primers. http://www.letteroftheweek.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honey Bee Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I agree. Try again in 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewel7123 Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Ok, thanks! I guess I saw so many people were using these for preschool I thought I should give them a try. This is my first time homeschooling and I am determined to teach my daughter to read in the next year and a half so my husband will see that I can actually teach her and not put her in public school! I figure starting early was my best shot as I have a year and a half before she would be in kindergarten. By the way, we are doing Little Hands to Heaven, which is working wonderfully! I just was trying to add some stuff to it, beef it up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineMom Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 making letters in pudding or with playdough. She may not be interested in letters right now. However you could introduce her to letters with her name....introduce all the letters one at a time(one a day), then put them together for her to "read." My litttle one started liking letters because of her name. She soon memorized the order of the letters and then tried writing them which she did on her own and said "Mom, look I can write my name!" She was 2 1/2 yrs old. I never taught her to do this...I finally figured out that everyday she saw her name which was printed on a towel in the bathroom. She just keep seeing this day in and day out. Read, read, read to your child. I remember her asking me when she was really young, "Mom what are you doing?" I was reading a book to myself. I said "reading" for which she said "but you are not saying the words." I explained silent reading thus reading in general. No use in forcing your child to read. She will learn soon enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 My son started learning his letters at 3 and a half. He was not ready, by any means, to pick out which words started with that letter. Does your dd know her letters? I would use the leap frog DVD "Talking Letter Factory." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Ok, thanks! I guess I saw so many people were using these for preschool I thought I should give them a try. This is my first time homeschooling and I am determined to teach my daughter to read in the next year and a half so my husband will see that I can actually teach her and not put her in public school! I figure starting early was my best shot as I have a year and a half before she would be in kindergarten. By the way, we are doing Little Hands to Heaven, which is working wonderfully! I just was trying to add some stuff to it, beef it up a bit. yes, put it away for now. My ds is almost 5 and I do it with him....except the writing. I also just wanted to say to be careful about expectations. I fully expected to have my ds reading at age 5. That did not happen. Many tears have been shed, and I've gotten a few gray hairs. He just wasn't ready and I had to learn to give him the time he needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momsquared Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I agree with all of the above. My DD uses that first primer workbook and she is 4.5yo. She is really not ready to learn to read yet, but these books are about right where she is developmentally. A year ago it would have been impossible. No need to do workbooks now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Try looking at the http://www.starfall.com website with her if you would like to introduce her to letter sounds. Once she has them all down, maybe you could go back the the workbook and try again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktyler Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 It sounds like it's not the learning letters part that was the problem but the part where she was expected to distinguish sounds without looking at letters. This is called "phonemic awareness." These kind of activities are all the rage, but the research indicates that they are unnecessary. As you teach sounds for letters, phonemic awareness will develop on its own. To begin teaching your daughter to read, you need to teach the basics: 1. Sound-Spelling Correspondences. You can start with the alphabet. I like to present a few sounds and then practice with a few games such as memory, sound bingo, or a game (modified from Phonics Pathways) I call "Honk." Have several cards for each of 3-4 letters and a few silly pictures. Shuffle, turn cards over one at a time, say the sound (not the name!) for the letter. When the silly picture comes up do a silly action or sound. Also, you can make pages with grayscale letters for her to trace, having her say the sound as she writes, to help with memory. 2. Left to right tracking. I like put the letters on a page as such: n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n Help her track the letters with her finger from left to right and back to the left again. After she knows a couple of sounds mix it up: c a n c a a n c a n n a c a n 3. Blending sounds all through the word. Start with two sounds and build as her proficiency increases. You can use a whiteboard and write something like this: a n an a n an n a na n a na Demonstrate blending and have her practice. Some kids get this immediately and some take months to be able to independently blend, so don't stress just keep practicing. These are the quick and easy (and cheap) ways to begin. You could also try a number of good beginner programs: BRI at iseesam.com or roadstoeverywhere.com (book-based), Abecedarian at abcdrp.com, or Dancing Bears at prometheantrust.org. You could also do the above work and when she seems comfortable with the consonants and vowels, begin Explode the Code 1. Melissa Minnesota Reading Program Junkie dd(10) dd(6) ds(4) ds(1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 My son started learning his letters at 3 and a half. He was not ready, by any means, to pick out which words started with that letter. Does your dd know her letters? I would use the leap frog DVD "Talking Letter Factory." :iagree: Ditto to this. My DD was almost exactly the same. The Letter Factory DVD really helped her to solidify the names and sounds of each letter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmomof2boys Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Both of my sons used the Get Ready for the Code books when they were in Kindergarten. They loved them at that age! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Wow, 3 1/2 ! I tried the same book last year with ds--age 7 and he hated it. I don't know if I would say he wasn't ready for it or just wasn't ready in general. He did it this year and whizzed through, which was a great confidence builder. Yes, he's a bit behind others in learning to read, but I think it's okay. The ETC books are clearly written for a younger group, but I think the fact that it is easy is good for him and he is learning from it. I can't imagine having tried with him at 3 1/2, lol. I'm sure your dd will be ready soon enough, though. For now, maybe just do a letter of the week connected to a baking project and story. Fun and yummy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewel7123 Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 It sounds like it's not the learning letters part that was the problem but the part where she was expected to distinguish sounds without looking at letters. This is called "phonemic awareness." These kind of activities are all the rage, but the research indicates that they are unnecessary. As you teach sounds for letters, phonemic awareness will develop on its own. That is exactly what the teacher guide called it...phonemic awareness. I will definitely be putting these away for now. She does already know all of her letters by sight and by sound, so I thought she might be ready for something more. Although I tested her today and instead of asking her what sound the letter b makes, as she always gets them all right, I asked her what letter makes the sound "buh", and that was a bit harder for her. She got some of them, but not all, so I guess I need to work on that. Thanks for the reminder about expectations. I think right now I just feel like the pressure is on because my husband's family (his Mom especially) is definitely going to have negative things to say about us homeschooling, and I wanted to be able to silence them with how much I have taught her already when the time comes for kindergarten. I come from a homeschooling family, but my dh does not, and it's taken a bit of work just to get him to even consider the idea. He's pretty much figured out that I am stubborn and is giving me my way, lol, just as he has about a lot of things. (My being a SAHM, using a midwife and birthing center for our current pregnancy versus hospital birth, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I started these at 4 and thought I was pushing it. Before that, try being a bit silly with some sounds. E.g. ssssssssssssssnake! or ffffffffffffffffffffish I put magnets up on the fridge and sometimes pointed at the f when I said fffffffffffish. I also encouraged him to get silly with words. Just now and then, just to make him aware we have repeating sounds in our lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Be careful not to put the burden to prove HSing on your dd's shoulders. Grow some tough skin and sheild her from all that as much as possible, esp that young. It really doesn't matter what dh's parents think - it does matter what dh thinks. She sounds like she's doing very well, knowing letter sounds already. Grow from there, and do it naturally. I tried the ETC primers with my ds5 and they didn't last. Leapfrog Dvds - seriously! www.starfall.com Playing games like "I spy" a letter that says "buh" - we do this after reading a story, waiting in line at the grocery store, wherever. We "glue" and "unglue" words. Guess the word I'm thinking and say the sounds very seperated - /c/ /a/ /t/ Give her time to think and say cat. Do this orally at first, and then maybe add magnet letters. When she's good at the game, let her give you a word to "glue". This one helped my ds5 tons. He is reading 3 and 4 letter words at 5yo, but he wasn't before his official kindy start date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewel7123 Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 We do have the Leapfrog DVDs.......for a couple of months now. I think they definitely have helped her tremendously in the area of letter sounds, but she gets tired of watching them over and over. Are there any other DVDs out there similar to these I could get for variety? The glue/unglue game sounds fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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