amandajh Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I have posted something similar to this earlier but not all the details.... This is what has happened for first grade this year......Abeka 1st grade phonics/spelling/reading did not work well with my son. All the workbooks, and the vowel marking...well, all the "rules" of phonics freaked him out. OPGTR, FLL, and WWE were OK if I wrote it all on the marker board for him. We used a lot of Happy Phonics games, Leap Frog videos, and library books in the end. SWO A has not worked well, but if he writes his spelling words several times it helps. Now at the end of this year he can read, not fluently, but he can read:) Now what for next year? I am pretty sure I am gonna use CLE LA for my 3rd grade daughter, but I would have to go back to CLE100 for my son and it looks like it may be a lot like ABEKA. I know I may be driving some of you crazy (as well as myself :lol: ).....suggestions and help please!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I would use Explode the Code with him. You can easily modify the amount of writing or you can write for him. This would cover phonics/spelling. I would also do WWE with him for copywork/narration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 If he doesn't like workbooks, how about All About Spelling? It has short, fun, interactive lessons that can be used to teach spelling and reading. I also plan to start copywork and grammar a la Montessori when dd is ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I agree with Explode the Code! There's another series of books, though I'm not sure how far it goes up, by Hooked On Phonics. I am doing Day Care and K for a girl from church this year. We tried a couple of other things, but when I got the Hooked On Phonics K Super Workbook, it really clicked for her. It has a variety of activities, and when they complete a couple of pages they get to put a star on the page. They also have a chart that they put stars on as they make progress. She LOVES the star reward thing, and it has motivated her more than anything else has! Oh, we got these at Costco. It's been WELL worth the price of only $7.99! She's now slowly reading too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amandajh Posted May 5, 2009 Author Share Posted May 5, 2009 If he doesn't like workbooks, how about All About Spelling? It has short, fun, interactive lessons that can be used to teach spelling and reading. I also plan to start copywork and grammar a la Montessori when dd is ready. So at this point I should forget about grammar? I am having trouble (myself) letting go of the "this is what we do for this grade" mindset. How do you do grammar the Montessori way? And how do I know when to start what subjects? He can read things like Frog and Toad with out help. However, his spelling is horrible and writing is likewise horrible. I have been working with him on narration too. He has a really hard time paying attention and being still. Would AASpelling be enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 So at this point I should forget about grammar? I am having trouble (myself) letting go of the "this is what we do for this grade" mindset. How do you do grammar the Montessori way? And how do I know when to start what subjects? He can read things like Frog and Toad with out help. However, his spelling is horrible and writing is likewise horrible. I have been working with him on narration too. He has a really hard time paying attention and being still. Would AASpelling be enough? It looks like next year your ds will be in 2nd grade. At that age I would do AAS and WWE. He doesn't *need* grammar but it would be a nice add-on. FLL would be great if your ds liked it. My dd is very hands-on, which is why I plan to use Montessori materials. I'm still learning more about grammar Montessori-style, but some of the things it incudes are: colored cards with words printed on them (a different color for each part of speech) The cards can be used to describe objects, actions, etc. grammar boxes, used with the cards mentioned above to parse simple phrases grammar symbols (different shapes that are the same color as the cards mentioned above), which can be used to parse any pharse or sentence The book that I'm reading about it right now is Teaching Montessori in the Home: The School Years. My dd is only 4.5yo, which is why we aren't doing copywork or grammar yet. Once she can write all of her letters (which we are currently working on) we will start copywork. We will probably start grammar sometime next year (her K year) because the Montessori materials are so fun and gentle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtolgd Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Explode the Code is what has worked the best with my older 2 here also. They are workbooks, but my kids think they are fun. I adjust the amount of writing for them where I feel it is needed, and it is perfect for them. I consider it spelling also, and will not start a formal spelling book with them until they finish the ETC series of 8 books (my oldest will start Spelling Power sometime in the fall.) I would also recommend WWE for copywork and narrations. And if you want grammar, Growing with Grammar is a hit with my 8yo and my 6yo. For my 6yo, I mostly act as her scribe and we do it orally (she chooses to write sometimes, but I don't make her do all that writing.) It's quick and painless, especially at the 1st grade and 2nd grade levels. HTH. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza Q Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Another Explode the Code fan here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alana in Canada Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 My son was quite wiggly at that age. I let him do whatever he needed as long as it helped him concentrate and didn't detract from it. I've heard of boys bouncing balls, jumping, my favourite was playdough in his hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amandajh Posted May 5, 2009 Author Share Posted May 5, 2009 Ok, all of these are great suggestions! I am gonna look into these and see what I think would work best. I have an ETC book that I pulled out this morning and tried. He did not think it was fun, but I realize that is not always what is important. I was able to correct some things he missed in the workbook, and I think we will continue using it for the last few weeks we have left this year. Question about WWE.... Do any of you have problems with the copywork because of the fact that the sentence they are suppose to copy is not written on the lined paper? My son has trouble with the lowercase letters because of this. The narration questions are great, but he also get mad when we only read part of the story. He was upset that he did not get to hear what happened to the cat in SOCKS. Any suggestions about WWE probs? Is there something else that we could use for narration/copywork? I know that there are some exercises in FLL, but what about GWG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Ok, all of these are great suggestions! I am gonna look into these and see what I think would work best.I have an ETC book that I pulled out this morning and tried. He did not think it was fun, but I realize that is not always what is important. I was able to correct some things he missed in the workbook, and I think we will continue using it for the last few weeks we have left this year. Question about WWE.... Do any of you have problems with the copywork because of the fact that the sentence they are suppose to copy is not written on the lined paper? My son has trouble with the lowercase letters because of this. The narration questions are great, but he also get mad when we only read part of the story. He was upset that he did not get to hear what happened to the cat in SOCKS. Any suggestions about WWE probs? Is there something else that we could use for narration/copywork? I know that there are some exercises in FLL, but what about GWG? Another OPGTTR and FLL fan here! My 5-yr.-old is usually crawling around me on the couch, laying horizontally across my shoulders/the top of the couch, etc... when we do OPGTTR. It has been great for him. We use WWE and in the textbook (not workbook) I think SWB suggests for the parent to copy the copywork onto lined paper in your neatest writing, then have dc copy it. You could try that. As far as not hearing the rest of the stories, have you tried to explain that the WWE book just uses part of it to teach him something else, like how to find the main idea, etc.? If he understands that, then maybe he wouldn't get mad, but rather would want to get the books from the library. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Ok, all of these are great suggestions! I am gonna look into these and see what I think would work best.I have an ETC book that I pulled out this morning and tried. He did not think it was fun, but I realize that is not always what is important. I was able to correct some things he missed in the workbook, and I think we will continue using it for the last few weeks we have left this year. Question about WWE.... Do any of you have problems with the copywork because of the fact that the sentence they are suppose to copy is not written on the lined paper? My son has trouble with the lowercase letters because of this. The narration questions are great, but he also get mad when we only read part of the story. He was upset that he did not get to hear what happened to the cat in SOCKS. Any suggestions about WWE probs? Is there something else that we could use for narration/copywork? I know that there are some exercises in FLL, but what about GWG? I plan to use Start Write software to make my own copywork. This will (hopefully) be from whatever we are currently reading. So, to solve your first problem, you could either try Start Write or just let your ds use lined paper. The work doesn't have to be done on the workbook pages. If he wants to know what happens in the stories, maybe you could check the books out of the library and read them. Or you could make your own copywork and narration selections from the books that you are already reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckabella Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 You can have a copywork page done, or just have the sentence written out on paper that has the three lines (middle one dashed, top and bottom-solid). I think you can also do it without the dashed line in the middle. It's free. www.worksheetworks.com Did I mention is FREE??? It has writing, math, lots of things to make worksheets for and it's FREE. Hope that might help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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