Comments on: Making Adjustments as We Go and Free Phonics Cards

By: Amber @ Classic Housewife

Amber @ Classic Housewife — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:47:18 +0000

Oh there is so much truth here! My oldest daughter did very well with a relaxed phonics approach with a little bit of sight recognition thrown in. But trying the same approach with my second daughter wasn’t getting us very far, very fast. She has a different personality and a different learning style. Like you, I began printing out phonics cards like the ones you have here and working on word families. She is very hands on, more left brain and can’t sit still very long – so having her match the cards to their word family works well with her. She also compares herself to her older sister a lot (they are 6 and 9) and is very competitive. She expects more of herself than what her sister did at her age, because she’s comparing herself to her sister at this age. I began hearing a lot of “I can’t do this, I’m not good enough.” After I began using the flash cards and started showing her how many “at” or “an” words she COULD read, she started gaining more confidence and I began hearing more “I CANs.” And in only a few weeks she’s come so far! As you said, it’s so important to monitor and adjust. =)
Amber @ Classic Housewife´s last blog ..Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins: Crafts, recipes and more!

By: Shari

Shari — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:11:42 +0000

Saw your blog in my blogfrog & thought I would stop by. I will be back to read more when I am more awake! Time to hit the hay, to be ready to worship tomorrow.
Shari
Shari´s last blog ..Friday Fall Finish!

By: Pat

Pat — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:56:24 +0000

These were wonderful! I think you are doing a great job. All their life you will be monitoring and adjusting so don’t get frustrated because whether you are teaching them to read or teaching them to drive, it will be an adventure. I bet as they get used to it, the speed at which they learn will pick up. I’m sure you remember from teaching that everything has hills and valleys but it will all be worth it.
Pat´s last blog ..Dictionary

By: JESS

JESS — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:14:20 +0000

What blessings God provides for us when we get more out of the lesson than we ever expected. I am an MC and have always been a visual learner so I understand exactly where she was at. I am so happy that you could grant the time to step back assess the situation and move forward taking so much out of it. Love you guys and love the flash cards!

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:53:10 +0000

I use Ordinary Parent’s Guide as well. I have been very pleased with it. We are in the 2nd half with Ethan and I like the thoroughness of the material.The phonetic rules have really helped with his spelling. Don’t you love the Bob Books? I also used Explode the Code as a supplement as well. Have you looked into those workbooks yet? My kids love them. Also the Well Trained Mind forum is one of my favorites and I’ve gotten some great ideas, insight, and support! If you’re interested I’d be happy to send you the link.
I know exactly what you mean by realizing the different needs/learning styles of children. Ethan (1st grade) and Emma Grace(Kindergarten) are 2 totally different students! Its been a challenge to not try to squeeze E.G into the same learning box that Ethan is in!

By: Erin @ Closing Time

Erin @ Closing Time — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:44:04 +0000

This is SO true! There are many days when I feel like I have learned as much (or more) than my girls! I’m learning that adjusting and staying flexible is vital!
Erin @ Closing Time´s last blog ..Friday Favorites

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:22:12 +0000

thanks Monica – I might hand write mine on colored index cards. Today I made a matching game with the nine main colors + pink and then wrote the words and they had to match them. We have the Frog Tree Press CD that sings the color words so they have been spelling them while singing for a while now.
My main problem is that they don’t seem to be visual learners – they don’t like to look at something to figure it out, they’d rather guess and reading is visual so i’m at a loss for what to do and I don’t have a reading background….so off to consult the vast array of knowledge on the internet