Teaching Letters... a beginners assistant.

Your little baby is finally interested in learning letters... you're so excited because you've dreamt about reading books together since before they were born. There's just one problem...

You have NO idea how to teach letters!

No worries. I've got you. Today we start a series on learning letters and reading.

Ok. Great Jen, but where do I start?

At the beginning, of course. ;)

First lets chat about the single most unknown reality for teaching kids to read.

Teaching them the names of the letter (aka, the alphabet) is literally useless to reading. It will be helpful when spelling tricky words later or when spelling a word that someone is dictating (meaning that they say, how Do you spell antidisestabishmentarianism? and you spell it out for them to write as you go). But for now?? Leave it behind.

What really helps?

Learning the SOUNDS the letters make. Think about this. When you sound out a word, you use the sounds each letter makes. Some are convenient and sound similar to their name... K, D, P. But what about W? How many times have I, as a preschool teacher, had to break a kid of thinking that W makes the 'd' sound? TOO many. And mostly from those moms who assure me he knows ALL his letters. But I digress.

Lets have a mini lesson, shall we? 

Letter sounds for the teacher or parent unsure of how to teach them. 

Now that you know what sounds each letter makes... you can teach your child. So you sit down to start and ask yourself 'But isn't 26 letters a little overwhelming?'

Indeed it is!
The reading program I use, The California Phonetic Reading Program, breaks down the alphabet into the order they are used in the reading materials. So as children are learning the alphabet, they are also learning to build words and read.
They don't have to learn ALL the letter sounds to start reading.

So what order ARE we teaching these letter sounds?
Set 1. c m s t r a
(this is what almost every Montessori school will teach first, as you can build several words with just these few letters)
Set 2. h p f n b
Set 3. l j d v g
Set 4. w x e y k
Set 5. i z o u

Did you notice that most of the vowels are at the end? That's on purpose beause as you add consonants, your child can spell SO many simple words with just 'a' in the middle. While they are still learning letter sounds, it's important to set them up for success by letting them REALLY build on their ability to hear the letter sounds. Keeping the middle letter the same for SO long (a), they can really learn to hear all the different sounds our letters make.

Students in my class get to take home word lists as they master word building and reading those words. They get to 'read' these lists to mom and dad and everyone gets to celebrate their accomplishment. They will take home 7 (seven) of these lists before they get to the letter 'e', which is the second vowel.

I have purchased materials on Etsy and requested that these letter groups be followed. That's how committed I am to adhering to these letter groupings.

Now you have a better understanding of where to start. Whatever materials you decide on, break them up into smaller letter groups and don't be afraid to ask for a customized product if you're purchasing from a small business instead of a box set. If you do go with a box set, just be sure you can break them up.

And really, even if you don't use the order I have listed, thats ok. The REAL take away is letter SOUNDS instead of letter 'names' and breaking the alphabet down into smaller, more manageable groups, so that no one (mom included) gets frustrated or overwhelmed when it's time to practice letters or reading.

Learning to read should be fun. For both of you.
Be sure to check back for further lessons on Teaching Letters and Reading.

ING
!jen

Homeschool Weirdos! Yep, we have those.

Homeschoolers are weird. This is probably the most common phrase regarding our lifestyle choice and it's also the most common UNtruth. But don't take my word for it, see it for yourself. 

The kids and I have been talking about what we'll do in June when they finish their experiment public school year, all the things we'll do over the summer and what our schooling will look like next year as we look forward to retirement from the Navy. One of the things they decided was joining the ranks of YouTubers. Not wanting to wait until school was out, they decided to start making video's now.

They wanted to let people know what homeschoolers get to do all day. How we learn by doing and exploring and experiencing the world. 

We started as fairly regular homeschoolers with a very Montessori flair. I'm certified in the Montessori method and have years of education experience so I knew just what to do when we started this 'homeschooling' thing. 

Famous last words.

Each year we continued homeschooling, following our kids to what they wanted to learn and love (as Montessori does), I realized that we are way more UNschoolers than anything else. 

We learn about whales by going to the coast and whale watching after a bit of library research. We explored building and mathematics and following instructions at Lego School. We learned about the rainforest by hiking in it and seeing it first hand. 

These are the experiences that my children thrive in and beg for. So when they said they wanted to start making YouTube videos... you bet I was on board.

They made a list of ten different episode ideas, then gave each episode a list of materials it might need. We sat down and gave each episode a 'budget' and discussed using it wisely. We talked about making videos with no cost to save up for a video with more materials. 

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Yeah, it's 'school'. 

Each episode requires such planning and organization, when I involve them in it, they learn. Learn by doing and being responsible and planning and even editing.

Yes, you read that right. 

#WestWind is the editor. I record them (like, I actually push the record button... go me!). We decided this would be best, as them watching themselves in selfie mode would just be disastrous. Then I upload the clips and she takes over in iMovie. 

She LOVES it. After working all day at school, asking to edit is the first request when she gets home. If there aren't episodes to edit, she is actually sad. She has learned about royalty free music and where to obtain it. She has leaned about cutting out 'dead air' and watching for when her brother might feel the need to scratch himself (ahhhh), so she can cut that out too. No one wants to see it ;)

The aforementioned brother? #FlyBoy is a natural in timing and poise. He knows just how to move the video along and sign off when everything is done. The youngest? #MoonSeeker is just an adorable addition for now. But don't you worry! She's working on her own segments too, you'll see. 

Do you have weird homeschoolers? 

What are they doing lately?

How are they learning and loving it?

ING

!jen