The kiddo completed his Kindergarten reading program.! We’re super proud of him and more importantly he is proud of himself!
The reading program we used was the Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Kindergarten we have an older version that is cd based, the newer versions have DVDs.
I highly recommend this learn to read program! It was super effective for our son. He could recognize his letter since he was 20 months. We supplemented learning the sounds of each letter with the LeapFrog: Letter Factory DVD –this DVD makes learning the sounds so easy. Using the CD’s with the Hooked On Phonics program and that DVD he really learned the sounds inside and out, which is critical to moving forward. We had started using the program a little bit last year but did not set aside time every day to do it. we kind of stalled out on page 23 and the kiddo’s interest wasn’t there so we cooled off for a bit.
During the summer my teacher friend came by to help me think through lesson planning and talk about what the kiddo should know as a kindergartener. She shared with me some really great techniques to help encourage him in his reading as well as build his confidence in his practicing.
One of the challenges was that he would get jumbled on a word and start guessing. The solution was to take a piece of cardstock and cut a hole in it, this allowed him to see one word at a time instead of a whole page of words that might be intimidating or overwhelming.
The second solution helped to keep him motivated to get through a review page where there might have been 20+ words. She suggested skittles but I had gummy bears on hand so at the end of each line we’d put a gummy bear and as he completed it without error he’d get a treat. If he missed a word we moved on and then came back to that line so he could try again. We’re still using that technique.
When we sat down and started our school year in September we were sure to set aside time each day to work with the program. So in approximately 1.5 months he’s gone from simple words like pad, pat and pan to reading whole stories!
The techniques that my friend shared were instrumental in getting us past page 23! Seriously I almost cried that day. It was a victory for both of us!!
The reading journey chart (shown in the top picture) really motivated him to keep going. He had never been one to like sticker rewards (like with potty training) but during this program that clicked and he was super excited to earn a sticker for each accomplishment.
HOP now makes the K, 1st & 2nd Grade learn to read series on DVD they’re a bit different because you do your learning through the TV. I really prefer the CD approach over the DVD it fits into our learning style better, and it helps us achieve our goal of less TV time. The only downside to the CD versions is that mine came with software that is not compatible with my windows 7 machine. I haven’t taken the time to write the HOP people to see if there are any updates, the kiddo’s learning was not hindered because he didn’t have the software.
Well that’s my wordless—er wordFULL Wednesday post. Are you homeschooling? Do you have any interest in teaching your kids to read?
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