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My dd is finishing up Kindergarten in ps this year. I am planning to start Beyond in the Fall with her- she is 6 yrs. old.
In looking at the Unit 1 PDF online, I didn't see any phonics instruction- maybe I missed it?
Should I supplement with one?
She has a solid phonics base from ps, and is a solid emerging reader, but more complex letter blends, were not covered in Kindergarten.
I was looking at the R&S Grade 1 Phonics program to add to Beyond, but being a 1st time homeschooler, I don't want to be adding things without more experience.
Any recommendations?
I should add, I did see the phonics book options offered, but wonder if that is too basic for my already emerging reader?
Thank you,
Pam

R&S grade 1 phonics is a fabulous phonics base. I had all of my kids go through it. My oldest did so as a reader, who had already had phonics, but needed the spelling help. If you look at the samples you can figure out if you need books 1 & 2. R&S doesn't do Kindergraten, so it starts with the letters in grade 1, and then moves quickly. R&S is very thorough in their approach. HOD uses their English starting in Bigger.

Since she is an emerging reader she would do the emerging literature in Beyond. The questions for them are in the appendix. I had my dd read them aloud to me with Beyond this year.

It is a personal decision how much phonics you decide to do. HOD does recommend less then I did, but that decision will vary between families of what they think is best. HOD, I believe, would recommend for you to be done with phonics and simply do the emerging readers with Beyond since she is reading.

If you add R&S phonics to Beyond it will add about 20 minutes to your day for the phonics only. It sounds like you wouldn't need the reading part of the program.

I hope that helps.

I had the same question when I started HOD so I called the Austins. Mike was very helpful. He asked if my dd5 had finished phonics and recommended that she finish phonics instruction if she had not. I knew that she was a competent reader but really had no idea what it meant to "finish" phonics. Fast forward a bit and add a lot of research and now I think I have a better understanding.

My daughter had just finished A Beka Language Arts K. I learned that the A Beka program has 132 special sounds and that only a portion of those sounds were covered in K. The phonics instruction is considered "complete" at the end of 1st grade (the end of the 132 special sounds). A Beka 2nd grade is basically a phonics reinforcement and review year.

Instead of switching programs in the middle, I decided to follow through with what I had started. I just did the A Beka 1st grade Language arts when I got to that box. Very easy.

My daughter followed with the emerging reader set (great books). Although she read them much faster than the schedule, they were very enjoyable and she liked answering the questions in the Beyond guide appendix. It also gave me the opportunity to educate myself on Bloom's taxonomy.

I would try to determine exactly what her phonics instruction covered and go from there. If she didn't finish phonics, I would probably pick a program to complete.

Just a note on the emerging readers. They are mostly 2nd grade level books and move into 3rd grade reading level at the end. They are a huge step up from Bob Books and even the Biscuit stories. My daughter had done Horizons Phonics K and was able to read the above books with some help, but we needed to work on fluency and stamina for a semester before starting the Emerging Readers. We did Horizons Phonics 1, but it didn't add many phonics rules, as the K level has most of them.

As for where phonics is in the guide, it is in the reading box with the three options (phonics, emerging readers, and DITHOR).

Thank you for all the great advice and input.

I do think she needs to finish up some more phonics, maybe not a full curriculum though. I will have her slowly start in on the Emerging Reader program also. She's tested at a middle of first grade to middle of second grade level at ps, so I think she could read most of the books with some help, and with some additional help from more complex letter blend instruction, I believe her reading would really take off.

Thank you for the review on R&S Phonics and the information on A Beka Language arts. That really helps.

Pam

You don't want to start her on the Emerging Readers until she can pretty well read them without help. It's more comprehension type instruction than actual reading instruction.

Pam,

From what you've shared about your daughter thus far, I would also encourage you to complete your daughter's phonics instruction first, and then move into the Emerging Reader's Set after that. You can complete her phonics in many ways, but I agree that it would be wise to keep going with phonics right now.

You could definitely do the Rod and Staff phonics program that you mentioned. Or, you could consider using The Reading Lesson to finish her phonics instruction. I only mention The Reading Lesson because it is easy to pick up and move through what your child knows more quickly, and then slow down when you get to the things that she does not know. It also does not add much time to the day as it is purely reading instruction, and does not include written work or spelling within it. Since Beyond provides written work and spelling, sometimes doing a phonics program that also include those things adds too much to a child's day (making parents want to drop things that seem to be doubling up).

Here is a link to The Reading Lesson (You will need to scroll down at the link to see The Reading Lesson): http://www.heartofdakota.com/phonics.php

Either program would work!

Blessings,
Carrie

Thank you Carrie and Lora Beth.
I will go ahead and complete her phonics instruction first, and will probably start that during the summer so we can finish up in the Fall and start on the Emerging Readers Set.

Pam