Reading Plans

Lydia has known her letters and basic letter sounds since before she could really even talk (thanks Leap Frog Letter Factory!)  I have planned for a long time to take her through a thorough phonics program.  The phonics program I've chosen to be my spine is The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.  It's the first homeschooling book I bought after The Well-Trained Mind.

For those who don't know, a "spine" is the main book in a curriculum plan.  You use it as a guide or sometimes the only resource and then supplement in a child's weak areas as needed.  I'm not sure how well Lydia will do with a straight phonics approach or if she'll need more help.  OPGTR is a mostly no-nonsense approach.  If Lydia doesn't respond to it, I plan on at least using it as reference to make sure we've covered everything.

Another major resource I plan on utilizing if needed is Phonics Pathways.  This is another very thorough reading program, but it approaches reading a little more visually than OPGTR.  Either would work as a spine, I just like OPGTR better.

I have numerous supplements and readers and back-up spines that would all be fine to use if I end up needing them.  Progressive Phonics and Funnix are both complete reading curricula in their own right.  Progressive Phonics uses a series of readers that the parent and child do together to develop skills.  Funnix is a computer-based program with many lessons and worksheets that work together to teach the basics of reading.

BOB books, I See Sam readers, Reading Eggs, and Starfall are all a bit more supplementary.  BOB books are a series of readers that start very simply and get more complex.  They are great because children can start reading books early, giving them a sense of accomplishment fairly early on.  The I See Sam readers are similar.  Reading Eggs and Starfall are online websites with games that teach phonics skills.

Finally, we recently ordered Lydia an iPad, and I've found several apps that may help us.  I haven't had a chance to look at them yet, so I can't say if they are any good or not.

Like I said in my earlier post, I don't plan on using all of these unless I have to.  Lydia may pick up reading with very little difficulty or we could be at it for the next several years.  It is just hard to tell, but I do have a direction and a place to start!