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eschuetter
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| Posted: March 08 2006 at 8:38pm | IP Logged
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Hello, everyone,
It’s my first post - so please bear with me 
My ds (4.5 yo) is an excellent reader - mostly self-taught and picking things up while we read aloud together. He can recognize sight words easily and blend words on his own (sometimes he will need some prompting to help sound things out).
I don't know how to gauge his "reading level". But here's an example or two. He easily reads Beginning Books like "The Cat in the Hat" and "Oh Say Can you Say" (Dr. Seuss' tongue twister book). The Farmyard Series by Usborne books are becoming a new favorite. Much more complex books do not intimidate him in the least – today he picked up my Audobon Field Guide and was sounding out bird names (usually incorrectly because he was just glancing at them and not concentrating – I have no doubt that when I stop and make him pay attention he can sound out the larger words).My point is the small print and large words don’t phase him in the least.
He reads aloud to his dad every night at bedtime. And I read aloud to ds everyday.
My questions are these:
* What next?
Obviously, continue to read aloud and have him do the same. He loves it. That's easy 
What else have you done? Would you recommend?
* Phonics?
Although ds can read and sound out most words, I don't think he has any idea about the rules of phonics. I am a terrible speller (hopefully my posts won't reflect that!) so I want be sure to give ds all the tools he needs to be a wonderful speller.
Can anyone suggest a phonics program (or warn me about any to avoid) that would be useful to teach the rules without boring a kid who can read. I really just want him to learn the rules to help him with spelling.
* Other suggestions?
In an archived discussion, I noticed suggestions about working on fine motor skills through play. This was suggested because the poster noticed that her early reader was frustrated when dc writing abilities were severely behind his reading skills. I love this idea. Are there other things (other than reading, I mean) you have done with your early reader that you would recommend?
Looking forward to your replies.
Erica
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ShawnaB
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| Posted: March 12 2006 at 10:53pm | IP Logged
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Hello Erica,
Wow, your ds sounds just like my ds! Except that he is now 5.5, and has been reading for over a year now! I have found that having an early reader is truly a blessing, and also can make a hs mom stop and re-evaluate. I thought I would be teaching my ds how to read this year! I had all kinds of wonderful ideas for kindergarten phonics and a fabulous collection of early readers. Wrong! That is NOT what he has needed me to do. He taught himself to read before I even had a chance to get out the fancy manipulatives...
But I do understand your feelings of "what's next?" I read Elizabeth Foss' book just recently, and it has revolutioned how I think about homeschooling. Such a treasure of wisdom! One nugget I have taken is this: I do not need to merely teach my children to read, but I must teach them to love reading. This has become my new focus for my ds.
I have never used any phonics curriculum. Surely, ds could complete phonics lessons with ease, but I do not feel that this is a valuable use of our time. Since he is already reading with such fluency, he is already using phonics, along with other cueing systems, such as site recognition, context, etc.
Rather, I am teaching phonics rules as needed, mainly through his writing. When he writes and wants help spelling a word, its a great opportunity to introduce or reinforce phonics in a casual but practical way. (Althought the "sound-it-out" rules only apply 18% of the time in the English language...the other 82% of the time, there are exceptions to the phonics rules!  )
Ds has a personal dictionary, a small spiral note book with a letter from the alphabet written on the top of each page. When he asks me to spell a new word, I often ask him to add it to his dictionary. Usually, once he writes is down, he knows it from then on. If I know that a word he is asking for is in his dictionary, I'll tell him to check there first.
His writing skills (fine motor) have come a long way in the last 12 months. When he was 4.5, he could not properly hold a pencil, and forming letters was very frustrating. This would not be a problem for most 4 year olds, but ds, being so interested in print, was very determined to write! I bought him alphabet rubber stamps, and even let him us the keyboard some, just for fun, and to ease his frustration and help him fulfill his desire to see his own words in print. We also practiced fine motor skills through play...mazes are great, as well as any art project using eye-droppers...and his f.m. skills are catching up.
I think the most important thing that I am learning this year is that ds is still very, very young! We have so much time, and just because he could sucessfully conquer a phonics curriculum, or start a grammar curriculum, it does not necessarily mean that that is what he needs. He does not need much instruction from me in reading. He's already a natural, and will only improve as we consume great books as a family. He
needs my support in other areas...like in developing the habit of observation through nature walks, or appreciating great art, or making up puppet plays. He needs me to cultivate a love of learning.
Hope this is helpful...
God bless you!
__________________
Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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JSchaaf
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| Posted: March 13 2006 at 10:53am | IP Logged
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I have an early reader as well. Bethany insisted on working through "How to teach your child to read in 100 Easy Lessons" at age 3. So by 4 yrs she was reading on a 2-3rd grade level, but had no "word attack" skills. We started working through the Explode the Code series-the books are low key yet very thorough. She works through them on her own-she's learning phonics rules that are carrying over into her spelling.
I purchased my Explode the Code workbooks from Sonlight, but I've seen them on Amazon.com as well.
Jennifer
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: March 13 2006 at 5:59pm | IP Logged
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My oldest taught himself to read at a very young age. The next one down taught himself to read too, though not until he was a little older. I never did any formal phonics or spelling program with them. I corrected their pronunciation when they read aloud, and mentioned the "rule" (if I knew it  ). Once they reached about 7 or 8, I had them keep a spelling list of words that they mispelled. They reviewed the list every few days and added/removed words as necessary. Now they are 12 and 10 1/2 and are pretty good pronouncers and spellers. They still make some mistakes, but then so do I!
Personally, I wouldn't bother with phonics or spelling. I would just continue reading beautiful books, and maybe work through something like Five in a Row (which would give you lots of ideas for art, nature, etc like Shawna suggested).
Welcome to the world of posting! That was a wonderful "first"  .
__________________
Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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Rachel May
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| Posted: March 13 2006 at 7:50pm | IP Logged
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JSchaaf wrote:
We started working through the Explode the Code series-the books are low key yet very thorough. She works through them on her own-she's learning phonics rules that are carrying over into her spelling.
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This is what Laura Berquist recommended for my nephew (6) who was a very early reader also. I've never seen it, but I know he enjoys it and does it on his own, which is a great help to his mom who also has kids 5, 3, 1, and infant.
__________________
Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Early Reader - what now? phonics?
