deleted...i figured out what i needed to know! :)

[mommyofgirls]

deleted...i figured it out! thanks for the help ladies...i think i can find some past threads on the RME vs. TRL issue and go from there. thanks again!

[water2wine]

We found The Reading Lesson was perfect preparation for the emerging readers. One idea is to look at the table of contents and see if you have covered all the phonograms covered in TRL http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Lesson-Mi ... 0913063002 If you should want to jump ship on the more tedious phonics TRL is very easy to use and very economical. Maybe looking at the table of contents will give you some idea of if that might be worth it to you. Short of that I guess is just giving it a try and seeing if your child can read aloud the first book in the emerging readers. HTH

[mommyofgirls]

okay, i looked at the link you sent and i have to ask...DOES IT REALLY WORK? Could it really be that easy?? Can a child really learn to read after only learning those sounds? While I was at it, I glanced at Reading Made Easy and their sample pages. This seems a little more involved, but definitely less than I am doing now. I am skeptical. Can you really teach a child to read using these methods? Of course the answer is yes, because many of you have done it...but I just can't believe it could be that easy!!

One more question: Do these two curriculums teach the phonics rules? (i.e., C will say the "s" sound when followed by y, i, or e). When would these rules be learned? Or is just simply a different philosophy in that these programs do not think learning these rules are necessary?

[krismoose]

We are halfway through TRL with my 5yo ds, and so far it's fantastic, especially considering how simple the lessons are. My ds has just realized that he can now read some of the "real books" we have around, like Hop on Pop and Bears on Wheels, and it has been an incredible confidence booster for him. He's been able to read BOB books for awhile, but he doesn't think they're "real books." TRL teaches very few rules, which hasn't been a problem. I've supplemented MY need to learn some rules with the book The ABCs and All Their Tricks, which I find to be a very handy resource. Carrie mentioned in another post that *most* kids don't need to learn ALL the rules to learn to read well (sorry I can't remember the title of the post HTH

[mommyofgirls]

i looked at the emerging readers titles and we have a few of these. something i've noticed about them is that she is perfectly capable of reading the words in the books, but it would take her a very long time and she would be very frustrated after the first page or two. So, what does this mean? just that we need more practice with lower level books?

[my3sons]

i looked at the emerging readers titles and we have a few of these. something i've noticed about them is that she is perfectly capable of reading the words in the books, but it would take her a very long time and she would be very frustrated after the first page or two. So, what does this mean? just that we need more practice with lower level books?

I would say yes, that it would be beneficial for her to either have additional phonics or to have more practice with lower level reading books. Once a child can read about 3-5 pages of the first Emerging Reader's Set books with only a few mistakes, and can read it quite fluently, he/she is ready for the set.

Many, many moms use The Reading Lesson and have had great success with it. They seem to say the same think you are - who knew it could be that easy? Likewise, many moms love Reading Made Easy (my oldest sister has taught almost all of her 7 dc to read using this). Valerie Bendt (author of Reading Made Easy) is a well respected author, and Reading Made Easy received the honor of being chosen for Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Picks (DITHOR by HOD was chosen as well). Anyway, either program is good. It just depends on your personal preference.

In Christ,
Julie

[mommyofgirls]

i looked at the emerging readers titles and we have a few of these. something i've noticed about them is that she is perfectly capable of reading the words in the books, but it would take her a very long time and she would be very frustrated after the first page or two. So, what does this mean? just that we need more practice with lower level books?

I would say yes, that it would be beneficial for her to either have additional phonics or to have more practice with lower level reading books. Once a child can read about 3-5 pages of the first Emerging Reader's Set books with only a few mistakes, and can read it quite fluently, he/she is ready for the set.

Many, many moms use The Reading Lesson and have had great success with it. They seem to say the same think you are - who knew it could be that easy? Likewise, many moms love Reading Made Easy (my oldest sister has taught almost all of her 7 dc to read using this). Valerie Bendt (author of Reading Made Easy) is a well respected author, and Reading Made Easy received the honor of being chosen for Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Picks (DITHOR by HOD was chosen as well). Anyway, either program is good. It just depends on your personal preference.

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks! i deleted the post as not to clog up the board because i decided what i needed to do. thanks again! i have cathy duffy's book...i'll take a look at her review!