Language Arts.....the time of day in our house that we don't look forward too. So the time has come for a re-evaluation of what we are doing in order to find what is going wrong.... We know that this isn't a one sided coin... just the program we are using... But also the attitude we bring to the program. So praise God He showed us this and we are now dealing with the attitude we all have but now it is time to also change the program. We were using a complete language arts program but it just wasn't made for wiggly boys.... 20 spelling words a week that didn't have a pattern, and daily phonogram flash card drills... in other words NOT VERY FUN! At this young age I want to instill in my kids a love for learning and this wasn't cutting the mustard. Right now I am in the searching mode so I would gladly take any suggestions of programs you have used that are good for boys who would rather do anything else :) He already know basic phonics and is reading just not with fluency.
With my 4 year old I recently started using this book called Teach Your Kids to Read in 100 Easy Lesson and I am in LOVE! It is short and too the point and
In the intrem for Jayden I found this great website http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/spelling-levela.html It has 1st grade spelling lists where all the word focus on ONE phonogram blend... like last week we did words with TH... this week AY and are only 9 words.. And boy did my son get so excited to see that he was able to spell all the words on his list after a week of practing them with no problem at all and his mommy almost cried tears of JOY from seeing him enjoy it!
We are also using and have been since September https://www.explodethecode.com/. He enjoys most of it and it is working. I also love that I can track his progress and they tell me areas that he needs to work on. Right now his is reading compound words.
Ok so it was time to make it fun... what better way to do that then to play a game... And that is what the photo is at the top a great game I ordered through Amazon with my vision's money called What's Gnu? We had a blast playing it yesterday. I also ordered these games which we got this week
Now I just need to remember to play these games. I am a very " textbook" learner so it has been hard for me to think outside of the box. I know that is not how either one of my boys is going to be able to learn... so now it is time to get creative :)
Oh and for readers we have been using
Well now that I have successfully avoided my run this morning it it time for me to go and get ready. My sister and I need to go and find a dress for the wedding we are going to this afternoon. Thank you ahead of time for your suggestions! Have a wonderful weekend!
my Mother-in-law told me about the book! I'm glad you're reading it because I didn't know anyone who's read it. Now I'm gonna go order it. Ethan is doing really well with reading, but he's more logical that way. Rachel is going to struggle a bit more, I can tell.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all these great ideas!
I've been enjoying reading your blog. I added it to my google reader so that I know whenever you update. :)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this post last month, I ordered "How to Teach Your Child in 100 Easy Lessons" from the library to see what it is like. I've been using it with my two little brothers (ages 5 and 3), and we all love it! My brothers think it is a lot of fun, and they are learning quickly due to the multi-sensory method. So, I just wanted to say, thanks for posting about it!