Day 1 of our new phonics program didn't go too well. Apparently Jared is doing much better at his school phonics this year and is already on book 6 of 8 books. He will definitely finish all his books way before he end of the year (last year he didn't make it past 3 by the end of the year). His mind is in that particular phonics mode, so when I worked with him on memorizing words today - the home phonics program, he was still doing his short vowels and blends from school. For example, today he needed to memorize the first 25 common words, out of his 1,000 we hope he learns from Seeing Stars. But, once we got to "we", "he", "be", "she", etc. I couldn't get him to stop saying "wah eh" and "heh eh" and "bah eh", etc. Instead of memorizing his words, he was dissecting them... which is how the school curriculum instructs... which works for the majority of early readers.
So, here we are. Despite getting to book 6, the curriculum at school isn't really working for him. Sure, he's getting through his books, but I think a lot of that is memorization. He still sounds out the letters and then tries to say the word backwards. And this new curriculum? I think it would work GREAT... if he wasn't in the middle of learning how to read with a completely different kind of curriculum. I feel like this may completely confuse him. I don't know what to do. Can learning two opposing phonics curricula screw him up? Am I supposed to wait 7 weeks until he finishes school?
Right now I'm not feeling very positive about this journey.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:8 (NIV)
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