A couple of questions.....

[my3luvs]

*sigh*


We started The Reading Lessons about 2 weeks ago. We are on Lesson 3 [just started]. Ive noticed that Paige will sound out the letter [s-e-t] but is having a heck of a time putting it together to make a word. She is however memorizing the words by sight. UGH. Most of the words from lessons 1 & 2 she knows spot on and can even spell them for you [her faves Mom/Dad]. Is this normal. Should I just keep plugging along? OR should I stop. She get's frustrated ALOT b/c she can't figure out the word from sounding it out and will sometimes end up in tears. I usually only do 5-10min lessons a day [1-2 sheets per day] if she is solid in the words otherwise we do not move on. Suggestions?

And then there is DITHOR [for my oldest]

I was reading through DITHOR today and It overwhelms me. Someone tell me it's not so I feel better.


TIA
Karen

[Larissa]

I've never used TRL, so I really wish I could help you. I am planning to use it this fall with my 3rd son, however. So, I'll be following this thread to see what others say.

I used DITHOR off and on this year with my 3rd grader. I admit it. I was completely overwhelmed by it. I don't know if it was just that I had too much on my plate or if it really is an overwhelming addition to our day. It is my plan to tackle it this summer, however, and get over being overwhelmed. For me, I just have to decide not to let it overwhelm me. I tend to buckle under pressure unless I can get all the details of how it will work beforehand. I *think* that was my mistake last year. So, this year, tackling DITHOR is on my summer "to do" list. I also happen to have a son who is not a *thinker*. He prefers to memorize everything and regurgitate it. That was another source of frustration for me. My son was miserable doing it because of the way that one has to think to accomplish the assignments. I can already tell that my 2nd son will more than likely thrive with DITHOR. He is most definitely a thinker and enjoys it!

I know that I have not answered your questions, but I did want to let you know that you are not alone. I was also overwhelmed with it.

[rayjenl]

Hi Karen,
I won't be able to encourage you on DITHR, we're not there yet. But hopefully I could offer you some encouragement with TRL. Boy am I so famililiar with the *sigh*. We started TRL a little over a year ago and getting to lesson four was tough. I was frustrated (this was my first time hsing with my oldest dd) and she was frustrated with tears. I new the program was the right program, I just wasn't sure how to get her to understand it. I really prayed and asked the Lord for wisdom, and sought this board for advice. Well I'm proud to say a year later she is reading The Early Readers Bible with hardly any mistakes, Praise God! After about Lesson 7 she really hit her stride and learning did become easier, with some bumps along the way. After the tears incident, we took a couple days off and got back into it only reading one page a day. She didn't have to know the word 100%, we just moved on. TRL really builds on itself, so that word she may have trouble on, will show up again and start sounding familiar. The companion CD helped a lot, she thought she was playing a video game. So if she read a page, she got to play a video game. Another thing I did, was offer her a chocolate chip or marshmellow every time she read a page with joy in her heart. And most of all I changed my heart, came down to her level and realized she got a kick out of mommy clapping, jumping around and giving her silly kisses for the page she just read. Eventually we moved up to about two to five pages a day, the Lord is faithful when we cry out to Him!

Jennifer

[Larissa]

Thanks for sharing that Jennifer. Even though, I have already taught my first two children to read ... my 3rd one, well, he's a whole new ball game! So, I really have to take a different approach with him, which is why I am switching to TRL. It's good to hear how others have struggled and what you did about it.

[my3luvs]

Thank you everyone for you wisdom We will continue to go through the reading lessons and she will eventually hit her stride. As far as Dithor.......I think when I read the time involvement i kinda of freaked. LOL. Im sure once we actually start doing it we will be ok. I will keep everyone posted. Again, thank you everyone for your thoughts I appreciate them.

[VAmomto4]

Blending is foundational--it is absolutely FINE if it takes a while! The Leap Frog videos can't be beat for teaching blending. They are painless and kids love them! I think it is on Netflix streaming if you have that. If not you can pick it up for $10 or so at Amazon.

[my3luvs]

Blending is foundational--it is absolutely FINE if it takes a while! The Leap Frog videos can't be beat for teaching blending. They are painless and kids love them! I think it is on Netflix streaming if you have that. If not you can pick it up for $10 or so at Amazon.

I have talking words and letter factory. I know it will come with time. *I* just need to be patient.

[Carrie]

Karen,

You're already gotten such great advice, so I'll just pop-in to share that it isn't uncommon for kiddos to be daunted by word lists. Children feel as if the list will never end sometimes, and the multiple words on the page can distract the child from focusing on only one word at a time. So, I'll paste below my thoughts from a previous post on using a markerboard to help with blending that I used to do the word lists, and it may be of some help to you as you ponder your word list blending hump too!

Instead of having your little honey read from the book for awhile, you may instead want to write the words on a markerboard one letter at a time, having your kiddo say the letter sound right after you write the letter. Then, you would write the next letter immediately while the previous sound is still "hanging in the air". This gives kiddos a feel for blending. Last, have your kiddo say the whole word, running her fingers under each letter as she says it. Then, allow her to erase it after she says it, and move onto the next word.

We did ten or so words each day from the words listed in the phonics program. It really helped my third son over the blending hump and helped him focus on how each letter sound blended into the following sound, without overwhelming him with the whole word at once. This was wise advice from my sister!

This kept the lessons short and sweet and made him feel like he was a great reader!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Carrie]

These past threads may be of help with you as you begin DITHR: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3394
Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6820

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3luvs]

Thank you Carrie! I think I will start using the whiteboard with reading. Such a great idea! Also, thank you for the links on DITHOR.

[HollyS]

My oldest struggled with blending. I'd made flashcards to teach her letter sounds, then when we moved on to blending I put 3 together and had her sound it out. Some of the words were real and some where made up. The made-up words insured that she wasn't just memorizing them...and she thought they were silly and fun to figure out.

I'd definitely keep the lessons short so she's not getting frustrated...that was very important with my DD.