Homeschool World Forum

Today was a bad day. I am currently teaching my 5 year old how to read using the book Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons. We are having problems blending letter sound together, she keeps saying them separately and I keep demonstrating to her how to blend them but she's just not getting it. What do I do?

I would supplement (or put 100 Easy down for a couple of days). For me, that means leaning on my old ABeka days. I have several "characters" that I had to draw, cut out and laminate. Picture this...

A Momma kangaroo with a consonant on her abdomen, vowels in her pouch. Whenever a "baby" hops out, the student must blend.

A train engine and carts, using the same concept as above.

For consonant-consonant blends, the same things may work, but I already had tons of flashcards and charts at my disposal.

I guess the main thing is to make it fun and to stay calm and patient. That advice may not apply to you, but I have to put it out there... Back when I was teaching my firstborn son to read and write, we would both end up in tears nearly every day. At 4yo, he just wasn't ready... he's one of those wiggly boys! I'm straying off-topic so I'll stop for now.

lol thanks for the input. Yeah the reading bit is not very fun and I think supplementing that one task she has problems with is the best thing.

When my youngest struggled with reading, I bought her Hooked on Phonics. It seemed to click for her because by 2nd grade she was reading Lord of the Rings all by herself.