I’m not sure if any of you have been keeping up with my updates on the Phonics thread, but here is my latest update and some questions to follow.
My daughter just turned 24 months. We, like many of you, read regularly. She asks me to read anywhere between 5-10 books to her per day, usually several times each time, and she tries to read along when she knows a word. Usually, I’ll pause at a word I know she knows so that she can read it herself. She learned all of the words from the Preschool Prep Sight Words Several months ago and can read them on flashcards, written on paper, in books, etc. She also learned all of the blends and digraphs from PP. She’s not quite decoding new words yet, but she can read several CVC words, such as cat, hat, bat, mat, car, can, cab, etc. I feel like she’s on the cusp of really taking off with reading, but I am trying to decide the best way to help and encourage her.
We just started doing Reading Bear regularly this week (my computer was out of commission for awhile), and she’s loving it! We went through all of the vowels, c and k, and are finishing ck now.
My questions are as follows:
Would it be beneficial to get Little Reader at this point? Or should I just continue with phonics instruction through Reading Bear, Starfall, or do you have other suggestions?
Do you think something like Hooked on Phonics or another similar program would be money well spent or should I stick with LR?
Maybe I should make/print flashcards with the words she’s learning on Reading Bear…
I would stick with RB as she seems to be a phonics reader. Take a look at Hooked on Phonics app but it may be worth waiting until it goes on special (I got it free last year).
Hi seastar,
Thanks so much for the suggestion and the tip about the HOP app! I will wait to see if it goes on sale or better yet free like you mentioned!
I have yet to figure out if she’s a phonics or a whole word reader. She learned all of the preschool prep sight words very quickly…same with the blends and digraphs. We were not consistent with YBCR, but she did learn many of those words as well.
When we do Reading Bear, she doesn’t exactly “sound it out” even though I show it on “sound it out slowly”. She usually just looks at and says the word. She doesn’t seem to have any trouble blending. As I type this I’m realizing I should probably change the setting to “sound it out quickly” when I show her the presentations.
Do you have any other ideas or suggestions?
Thanks!
Hi,
just putting in my 2 cents here. I personally wouldn’t be so concerned about what kind of reader she is as all kids are both at some time or another.
Feeling that she is becoming an independent reader is exciting, your reward is coming up! But don’t let the excitement rush you. Keep at what you are doing.
You can make up stories from the words she knows, look for the sounds from RB in the old words.
Maybe another thing you can do too is to make home made books from the words she already knows, but add on each page one she doesn’t yet. See what happens - does she decipher it, or simply reads it, or asks you to read it.
It will be your sign how far she is from being absolutely independent.
Hi Orsi26,
Thanks for the input! Yes; I agree that homemade books will be quite helpful. Because I can personalize them, I think it will make all the difference. And most definitely, she will show me what she knows when she’s ready, and she will read independently when she’s ready too Just like she has done with math…
It is obvious she knows much more than she usually shares. Today, she was asking for me to write certain words on the chalkboard because she wanted to “see” them. Between her requests, I wrote the word “mess” on the board. She looked at it for a brief moment, so I began to sound out just the letter “m”, and she followed by saying “mess” by herself. No sounding out or anything. This is a word from Reading Bear that we already covered last week.
Today, I began showing the RB presentations with the “sound it out quickly” setting, and she was able to do it without a hitch. This seems to be good progress!
I keep a stack of library books on my night stand, because in the morning, the first thing she wants to do when she wakes up is read. Actually I keep books laying out in almost every room for her. She enjoys looking at books throughout the day, before naptime and before bed too. She picks out several of her own books at the library and is quite particular about the books she wants to read. I’m excited for her
