Can I just say...

[RestInHim]

...how much I love The Reading Lesson?

Thank you, Carrie, for working so hard to choose these great resources for us!

My son (4) is in the middle of Lesson 2 and he is already easily sounding out CVC words! I am blown away. He was close to reading anyway when I started, but the speed with which this program works is amazing. It is also painless! No complaining, no whining, just looking forward to the little stories in the lessons every day You can't beat that.

On a side note: when my daughter was learning phonics, I didn't know The Reading Lesson existed. We used Adventures In Phonics, which actually worked very well...but it was torturous at best. I am so blessed by HOD!

[Gwenny]

It's funny the differences. My son is doing the Reading Lesson and he is not getting it. He is in Lesson 2, knows all of the sounds they have done so far (plus others) but he doesn't get the blending them together. He struggles with that, says all of the sounds separately and then guesses a different word. I'm working with him on holding the sound and connecting it to the next one, but it's things I've learned to do in my million times through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. (okay, not a million, but it seems like it, only 6) I've been wondering if I should go back to the 100 Easy Lessons. I was doing The Reading Lesson since Carrie recommended it and I'm tired of the other.

[nena3927]

I also love The Reading Lesson! My 5 yr old ds and almost 4 yr old dd are on lesson 4 right now and they are doing so well! I ordered it a couple months ago so we could move slow and be ahead of schedule when we started LHTH and LHFHG this month. My 4 yr old dd sounds out the words perfectly but does sometimes have a problem with blending them together at first but we are going slow doing 1 or 2 pages a day and repeating the same pages until they can read them quickly without too much hesitation. I rented Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons from our library but it did not go over well at all. My son would literally cry when I pulled it out after about the second week. Each child is different though but I am so glad to have had Carrie's recommendation for The Reading Lesson as so far it has proven successful in our home. My biggest fear with homeschooling was the "reading" aspect and I am beyond THRILLED that my dc are not only reading but ENJOYING it

[bethelmommy]

We're big fans of TRL too!

[RestInHim]

My biggest fear with homeschooling was the "reading" aspect and I am beyond THRILLED that my dc are not only reading but ENJOYING it

This! My niece and nephew were homeschooled K-12 with a boxed curriculum, and it really killed their love of reading. I just felt that was so sad! I love reading and I want my kids to love it as well.

Which is why we're using HOD...

[Mwisnasky]

It's funny I just posted a message about my concerns with The Reading Lesson. We haven't started yet though. My 5yo is already reading CVC words and a few more complex ones from doing a year of Sonlight language arts so we will be skipping around until we find where she is at in this book. I don't like all the symbols around the words. I think it makes the student depend on the symbols to read, and I wonder how kids do when the symbols are removed. I didn't want to do 100 Easy Lessons because of that so I wouldn't have bought this curriculum if I had known they used the same method.

I have an open mind about it though so please read through my topic (Concerns with the Reading Lesson) and let me know how it worked for your child.

[bethelmommy]

It's funny I just posted a message about my concerns with The Reading Lesson. We haven't started yet though. My 5yo is already reading CVC words and a few more complex ones from doing a year of Sonlight language arts so we will be skipping around until we find where she is at in this book. I don't like all the symbols around the words. I think it makes the student depend on the symbols to read, and I wonder how kids do when the symbols are removed. I didn't want to do 100 Easy Lessons because of that so I wouldn't have bought this curriculum if I had known they used the same method.

I have an open mind about it though so please read through my topic (Concerns with the Reading Lesson) and let me know how it worked for your child.

I replied to your other thread, but wanted to point out that at the end of each lesson is a list of words that should be mastered. You can have your child read through those to help decide where to start.

[Carrie]

I'm so glad! My last little guy is in the final pages of The Reading Lesson, and we've really enjoyed it too. We took our time going through it, and he really loved the Giggle Bunny CD.

It's so exciting to teach kiddos to read, and The Reading Lesson is a cuddle on the couch, easy to pick up and teach program that gets kids reading! I'll also share that the symbols do fade away until the child is not using any, so they serve a good purpose at first but don't ever become a crutch.

Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm!

Blessings,
Carrie

[mom23]

It's funny the differences. My son is doing the Reading Lesson and he is not getting it. He is in Lesson 2, knows all of the sounds they have done so far (plus others) but he doesn't get the blending them together. He struggles with that, says all of the sounds separately and then guesses a different word. I'm working with him on holding the sound and connecting it to the next one, but it's things I've learned to do in my million times through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. (okay, not a million, but it seems like it, only 6) I've been wondering if I should go back to the 100 Easy Lessons. I was doing The Reading Lesson since Carrie recommended it and I'm tired of the other.

Hang in there...my current one in The Reading Lesson had troubles with that at the beginning of the book, as well. I was really frustrated and concerned that he wasn't getting it, and this wasn't going to work for him, but eventually things clicked and he's doing much better with it. I just had him do the sounds the way he was, and then modeled how they blend together, and then we began to work on him doing it-if I told him to "sound it out slowly" for some reason that helped him drag one sound into the next. Then we'd stop at the end of the word and I'd ask him what word that sounded like? Baby steps, but we got there!

[my3sons]

HOORAY, RestInHim - thanks for sharing! It is exciting to see dc beginning to read, isn't it?!? I have found that - for me - the biggest thing I can do to successfully teach phonics is to focus on being patient and encouraging, while also being very consistent in teaching it. It is surprising how difficult this can be sometimes when teaching phonics! I can tell from your post here, that you are doing exactly that - being patient and encouraging - and consistently teaching it! Way to go, Mom! For those of you not seeing phonics results as fast as you wish you would, or for those feeling frustrated, I would encourage you to stick with it and try to keep moving ahead slowly but surely a little each day. Bumps in the phonics road are common and to be expected. We often end up doing several years of phonics here, and then we add Explode the Code Workbooks 1-2 after that to keep phonics in the loop for a bit longer. If you view phonics as something that may be a gradual thing to teach over multiple years going into it, it takes the pressure off for the the first year to be 'all that.' At least that's been my experience 3 times over. I also can say that phonics is the one thing we don't take a break in the middle of - we have to keep that momentum going, it seems to me with my kiddos at least - or we lose it. So, we are continuing to work on phonics and early reading through the summer with Emmett right now -just 15 minutes a day, but it is keeping him moving forward. I'm so glad you shared this encouragement here, RestInHim! Your posts are a joy to read and an encouragement to others. Thanks!

In Christ,
Julie