Phonics for DS already reading

[HSMom]

So, I've been immersing myself in the forums, reading through everything before I place my first order for my 5 year old ds. After asking here, I have decided to put her in LHFHG though according to the placement chart she is ready for Beyond. We will do the emergent readers program & Math 1A/1B. The math is based on where she placed in the SM placement test (60% on the 1A post test). She is a advanced reader - I gave her two different reading level tests and the first one (reading through a list of words till she couldn't read the words anymore) she was at a 4.6 reading level (2/3 through 4th grade). The second test I gave her had sentences with blanks in them and she had to pick the correct word or words that fit. She placed as a pre-intermediate reader (whatever that means) but it suggested titles like Call of the Wild and some Jane Austen books.

All of that to say that she is reading very well. She has taught herself to read and has never had any formal phonics instruction except the basic sounds each letter makes. She does a good job of figuring out words that she's familiar with already and knows the sounds each letter makes but does not know any phonics rules. As I was reading through Carrie's responses on one of the threads in the sticky The Reasons Behind HOD Choices, I realized that not giving my ds formal phonics training and teaching her the rules could end up holding her back in reading eventually. I don't want to do just phonics during LHFHG as I think this will frustrate her as she is so excited to read. I don't want to hold her back now or set her up for failure later!

So should I go ahead with the emergent reader program as planned and incorporate a phonics program to slowly teach her the phonics rules? This is what makes the most sense to me, but I wanted to hear what you wonderful ladies had to say! Also if we go this route, is there one of the phonics program that will work better for this approach?

Thanks!

[Carrie]

Christina,

Welcome to the HOD Board! We're glad to have you here.

I just have a couple of clarifying questions, which may help us advise you better. First, I am wondering when your child will turn 6? If your daughter is near to being 6, she could begin Beyond instead. She would also need to be good at sitting and listening to longer chapter-style books without pictures.

Next, I am thinking that a run through Sound Bytes phonics would be a good way to go for her phonics instruction. You can view it here, but you will need to scroll to the bottom: http://www.heartofdakota.com/phonics.php

Sound Bytes works well for kiddos who are already reading, because it move quickly and takes only a few months to complete the entire phonics sequence. The stories go from short and easy to harder as the kiddos move through the program. It hits all the needed phonics rules and makes sure kiddos have had exposure to them. It also addresses the rules as spelling helpers.

After your daughter moves through Sound Bytes, she could begin the Emerging Reader's Set. Or, you could alternate between Sound Bytes and the Emerging Reader's Set instead. I would begin with the Beginner's Bible in the Emerging Reader's (as the Early Reader's Bible will be too easy for her). You have a choice of Bible in the Emerging Reader's Set.

If you do go the Little Hearts route, be sure to get the Beyond guide for the needed daily schedule and questions for the Emerging Reader's Set. You will also want the Beyond guide for the daily math lessons that go with 1A/1B and most likely for the daily spelling lists as well. If your daughter is reading well, she will be ready to do the spelling portion of Beyond too.

If you do get the Beyond guide, then the next year when you need the rest of the Economy Package that goes with Beyond, simply email us to let us know you bought the Beyond guide early to for the Emerging Reader's Set and you will still receive the Beyond package discount with your purchase.

Blessings,
Carrie

[HSMom]

Hi Carrie!

I feel honored that you have responded to my question!! As I said, I have been reading through all of the stickys with all the philosophy (and million other) questions you've answered. I'm blown away by your interaction and willingness to take so much time to answer questions while you are still homeschooling your own dc and writing curriculum! So, thank you for all that you do. I feel so blessed to have found HOD so early in our HS journey. I am so very excited to start using it!

Okay, and I just realized I'm a goof and put DS instead of DD. It is my daughter not my son. LOL!

Thank you as well for the phonics suggestion. I will definitely look into that for my daughter. Her birthday is in October, and for a variety of reasons I plan to school year round and start in May/June with her, so she will be around 5 1/2. As I started looking forward, I realized that this would put her in Preparing a little too early. In weighing the options of starting Beyond and stretching it out or going with LHFHG, one of the factors that swayed me was that I really want her to get the history in LHFHG.

We are doing Weaver's Interlock right now and I'm not a big fan. I am skipping over large chunks of it because it is not engaging to her and it's a little too loosy goosy for me. She hasn't had any formal kindergarden (we've made it about 5 weeks into Interlock - skipping some days entirely). We do a lot of informal learning - she asks a million questions a day and both my husband and I try to take every day stuff and use it to teach her. For example, she's already starting to think about multiplication by talking about what 8 three times is, or asking what 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 is - then telling me it is 10. She knows her Bible very well, is reading well, and eager to learn, but we have not covered a lot in formal science or any history. She has done some formal handwriting training and I was debating between ARFH and Italics and leaning towards Italics. But she's already started with the ball and stick method (our Mother's Day Out program actually teaches using the treehouse). Additionally my 2 yo DS is left handed and I don't want to make things harder for him to go back and forth between the two methods (he'll learn ball and stick at MDO as well). So I'm going with ARFH. I know I definitely want to do CC for cursive down the road.

I currently have a cart loaded up with all decisions made and everything I will need for LHFHG 1st grade, including the Beyond guide. I did choose the Beginner's Bible and also selected the 101 Bible Stories for the Emerging Readers set. That said, if you feel it is better to place my daughter in Beyond, we can definitely go that route as I was intially planning on doing that based on the placement chart.

Sorry for all the details! Thanks in advance!!

[HSMom]

I just realized I left off a detail you asked about. She will sit and listen to someone read a book without pictures for a long time and comprehend it. She also has a few chapter books with no pictures that she enjoys reading on her own and again has good retention and comprehension of what she's read.

[Tooactiveboys]

Hi there,
I too have a ds who taught himself how to read and is an advanced reader with good comprehension. He is now 8. I will be backtracking on some phonics instruction for the benefit of spelling. He has been doing the studied dictations in Bigger this year and has had very slow progress. A big part is his maturity level. Just because he can academically excel doesn't mean he acts like an 8 yo. I did not feel that he would pay attention or retain the phonics instructions until recently. So I just let him enjoy reading and I figured we would tackle spelling rules/phonics when he was ready. Sounds like your daughter may be more mature (girls usually are) and able to move ahead. I appreciate Carrie's suggestion above and will investigate that for my ds.

Thanks for your great question, and Thanks Carrie for your answer. It has helped me too.
Becky

[Nealewill]

I definitely think using Sound Bytes is a great idea but I can also say that my youngest dd taught herself to read when she was 2-3. She reads extremely well now. Basically, I just have her read out loud to me periodically but semi-frequent to make sure that she knows what she is reading and that she can sound things out correctly. She does very well. When she was learning to read, a lot of times I would tell her what sounds some letter groups made and I would also let her listen in on her brother's phonics lessons. I can't say that we had "formal" phonics lessons but I also feel like she got enough from listening in on him.

One other item HOD used to recommend prior to Sound Bytes being available was explode the code. This is more of a workbook type of program. But I am not big on workbooks myself. That is the only reason I never used it or tried it. If Sound Bytes had been available when my dd was younger, I probably would have tried it out for her. And I would do it at the same time as doing the emerging readers, especially if your dd loves to read. The Beyond Guide also has a list of alternative books in the book that your dd can read along with the emerging readers. My youngest dd (and my ds) read most of those as well.

[Carrie]

Christina,

Thanks for your response! It sounds like you have a great plan. I agree with all of your reasons for using LHFHG as your main program and supplementing with Beyond for math, spelling, and the Emerging Reader's Set. Based on what you shared about what your daughter has had thus far for more formal schooling, I would do the same.

I pray you have a wonderful year! Those young guides are so much fun. We made memories that we still treasure with our own sons as we did LHFHG!

Blessings,
Carrie

[HSMom]

Thank you! I just placed my order and cannot wait to get everything!