Advice for dd5 (K) re: reading and writing

[TXMomof4]

I *know* what the answer to this will be, I think. I just need a little encouragement and maybe some new strategies to use with my little angel.

 

She is 5 - will be 6 in a few months. We've been using OPGTR and just practicing with Bob books, etc. She gets the sounding out each letter, and putting that together to make a word. BUT, she has to sound out each word, every time. My other girls were reading well at this point - it just clicked for them about the middle of K. Not so much here and it has me worried. Also, her handwriting is horrible. We're also using ETC 1 and it is worse than pulling teeth to have her do the writing portion of that. We're using Singapore EBM 2A and she whizzes through that, except for writing.

 

So, do I back off and just read to her a little longer. I pull out our books and she starts whining immediately. We are lucky to make it through a lesson without one of us beating our heads against the wall. I can see the value in persistence, I also hear so many say just to wait and give them time. However, I can see her easily manipulating the situation to get out of work that's a little challenging - she's quite the little drama queen.

[Tabrett]

:lurk5:

 

Will be listening for answers. She sounds so much like my dd. She can sound out anything we have learned so far, but has NO desire to read anything on her own. Her handwriting is ok, but not as good as I think it should be. She can do better, but it is a fight everyday. She is so smart and it bothers me she doesn't want to try.

[Shannon C]

I was there about a year or so ago with my dd. It is finally clicking. She is starting to enjoy reading. I think for some kids, it just takes time to put it all together. We did put her reading away for a little break and it did make a difference. Every kid is different.

[ElizabethB]

Some children need a lot more repetition before it sinks in.

 

Here's some ways to sneak in practice:

 

Fun game: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

 

Read, Write, Type. (It is a bit expensive, try the demo to see if you think it's worth it.) http://www.talkingfingers.com/

 

Have her make and then sound out words on a magnetic white board or metal cookie sheet with magnetic letters. Give her 6-8 consonants she has learned so far and a vowel and have her see how many words she can make. Once she gets good at this, see how many words she can make in 1 minute.

 

And, you could try some spelling. After just doing work from books, I added in spelling when I switched to Webster's Speller in K. Doing spelling at the same time really cemented the sounds and words in her brain. You can do oral spelling and "written" spelling with magnetic letters since she's not yet writing fluently.

 

I also worked from a white board and let her pick the color of marker we used, that was very motivational, she liked it a lot better than books at age 5.

 

She'll get there! The phonics concentration game should help build up the repetitions it takes to get there. Her older siblings may actually enjoy playing, too, my older remedial students like it, and their siblings who read well like to play with them, too.

[springmama]

Just posting to tell you that you aren't alone. My dd turned 6 yesterday and for the past year has been slowly sounding out words, but hasn't moved past that phase. We are on lesson 45 of OPGTR and taking it very slowly. I do not do a lesson a day, because I would really like her to be fluent in reading basic CVC words before moving too far ahead of that. We do lots of Bob books, but go to our library about 3x a week and check out 5 or 6 other readers at a time. We are almost finished with ETC 1 and her handwriting is only neat when I'm standing there reminding her to write neatly. Frequently, I'm out of the room tending to the other kids while she does the pages and when she shows me, they are kind of sloppy. I dont' care much about that right now, we are going to start hwt next year and I know that eventually she'll get writing.

 

I just keep telling myself that eventually this will click.

[razorbackmama]

Just give it time and practice. 4 out of my 5 school-aged kids weren't even doing that at that age, so I'm actually quite impressed!:D

[Ellie]

I say back off. She's just little. She'll get better. :-)

[PeterPan]

She's just young. Her motor skills aren't there for the writing, and the reading just isn't ready to click. You already know this, having taught others. It happens when it happens! Give her 6 months and see what happens. Would the planet really blow up if you just plain didn't push anything for a few months and came back to it with a bit more more maturity on her? No. :)

 

Little kids are so willing to please. Don't assume it's just her trying to manipulate or get out of work. I've been thinking lately about the quandry, that our theology tells us kids are inherently bad and bent to do wrong (which they are), but they're so generally desirous to please and want us to think of them as doing right. So if we view them and communicate to them as they are, it actually hurts them. Guess we have to teach to their best selves. So maybe just have a conversation with her about how you can tell she hasn't been able to do her best lately, does she feel it's too hard, and how you'd like to wait a month or two before trying again to see if she's ready. Then really wait. (the hard part!) I don't know, that's just what I've been thinking about, that I'd like to be more positive, more believing, with this new dc, and less inclined to think he's always just being "bad" even when he is. :)

[Chris in VA]

I'd back off, as others have said. I'd also spend some time playing games and using manipulatives in a playful way to strengthen her fine motor skills, so that writing isn't such a chore.

 

Playdough--make a different kind every two weeks or even oftener. Have her help you make it extra stiff one week by adding cornmeal, make it smell good by adding Koolaid, make it taste good by making peanut butter playdough! lol Just tell her that's the only kind she can actually eat...Have her roll balls and make snakes, and use an older pair of scissors to cut those snakes into little pieces.

 

Tweezers--Get a pair from the teacher store (a big, easy pair) or use your own. Try getting small beads or confetti out of a small bin of sand. Get some sparkly, pretty puff balls from the craft store and sort them by color or size, using the tweezers to move them on to colored plates (make plates the same color as the balls by using paper plates and markers) or into a sectioned vegetable tray. "Feed the dog"--or cat--if you have one of those, put a small dish of food out for dd to transfer food to from a little bag, a piece at a time.

 

Try chopsticks.

 

Use very small crayons and stubby pencils, so the fist grip isn't an option. This forces the pincer grip to develop (HWT recommends this).

 

Paint with thin brushes.

 

Legos, blocks, doll clothes, fastening boards (those you practice zipping, buttoning, etc. with), dress up clothes that require buttoning, sweeping, pouring one's own juice, folding, cutting---these activities all strengthen the hand and make writing easier, and are really fun!

 

I believe that far more children would find writing less tiring, overwhelming and just plain hard if they had excellent control and strength, which can be developed all throughout preschool and K.

 

Oh, and also, when she's more comfy writing, give her reasons to write--if she builds a cool block building or sets up a neat play area for her dolls, have her make a sign out of a rectangular piece of blank paper (to encourage linear writing). You can hot glue a clothespin to a block to make a stand, and put it in a small basket with paper strips and a writing utensil--a "signs" basket for her to pull out when she wants to. Have her make money out of rectangles of paper on which she writes numbers (one dollar bills, 5 dollar bills, etc) and play store with her. Ask her to write down what kind of cereal/crackers/fruit she wants you to buy at the store.

 

See what I mean? Learn in the context of her play. Giving her reasons to write (and reasons to read--leave her messages she can decode!) make it more fun, and provide great motivation, and also give her some space to mature.

[PeterPan]

Those are such good ideas Chris, thanks! :)

[prairiegirl]

I would take a break from OPGTR and just concentrate on reading those words without sounding out. Don't do this by reading books, use games. I'm sure you could find ideas on the web. There is also Games for Reading by Peggy Kaye that I used with my ds. Make it fun for your dd to read these words. Keep going over these words via games.

 

My ds was exactly like your dd. It has been a very long, hard road(he is 8 but I think he dyslexic as well) but he actually is reading Frog and Toad books without sounding out the words. This was a huge, huge step. So be encouraged! It will happen, but it might take some time.

[Aurelia]

We just had lots of practice to get past this point. We did have to ditch ETC (got part way through book 1) because Ariel would either start whining, crying or running when the ETC book came out.

 

Maybe you could get her the Leapfrog videos, the talking letter and word factory ones, and see if that helps anything click. Otherwise, I'd just stick with OPGTR and get a separate handwriting program (maybe HWT).