A few week's ago, I wrote about
how I taught Mary to read using
The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. I really like the program because I was able to teach Mary to read at an early age, even before she could write!
Eventually her writing abilities caught up, and I began to realize I needed something else to help with spelling. One day we were writing a thank you card to a friend of ours who had given us some books. I dictated to Mary to write, "L a u r a." She insisted that was not correct and it should be "L o r a." That's how it sounded after all. I agreed that it did sound like it should be spelled "L o r a" but it really should be spelled "L a u r a". A friend of mine introduced me to phonograms and the
Spell to Write and Read program, a completely different approach. Most people probably would use either
The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading or
Spell to Write and Read, but I ended up using BOTH. We started using
Spell to Write and Read after we finished
The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, just before Mary turned four.
Spell to Write and Read is best implemented when the child can write, and I didn't want to wait that long to teach Mary to read, since she was really interested in learning to read before she could write! Maggie is interested in learning to read, and she can't write either, so it looks like we're heading down the same road:)
The Core Kit includes the Spell to Write and Read Book, the WISE Guide for Spelling Book, 70 phonogram cards, 28 spelling rule cards, and a phonogram CD. To use this program, you need to have all of this plus a log, either The Primary Learning Log for younger students or a Black Composition Notebook for older students.
This essence of this program is that the English language is comprised of 98 keys: 70 basic phonograms and 28 spelling rules. While many phonics programs teach the basic letter sounds and then lots and lots of exceptions, Spell to Write and Read teaches the 70 basic phonograms and 28 spelling rules and very few exceptions!
So, what exactly is a phonogram? A phonogram is a letter or a combination of letters that produce a sound. In the English language there are 45 sounds written basically 70 different ways. Take for example the letter
a. It has three sounds: /a/ as in am, /A/ as in apron, and /ah/ as in wasp. Instead of teaching the first as the short-vowel sound, the second as the long-vowel sound and the third as an exception, with this program you teach that the phonogram
a has three sounds: /a/, /A/, /ah/. Now, the order of the sounds is important, as the sounds are taught in order of frequency in the English language. /a/ is the most common sound of the phonogram
a; /A/ is the second most common; /ah/ the least common. In this case, there is a flashcard with the letter
a on it. The student recognizes this phonogram as /a/, /A/, /ah/. Another example is the multi-letter phonogram
eigh. This phonogram has four letters but only one sound: /A/. In this case, there is a flashcard with the letters
eigh on it. The student recognizes this phonogram as/A/ four-letter /A/.
The first step in this program is to teach the student the 70 basic phonograms. In order to do so, you use the flashcards provided. It is really helpful to listen to the pronunciation CD yourself first to ensure that you can pronounce the phonograms correctly, but you needn't get bogged down trying to master proficiency of all the phonograms before teaching them. I just told Mary that all of this was new to me, too, so we were going to be learning together. Every once in a while, I even have her quiz me on the phonograms. Boy, does she ever love that! One of the ways in which you teach the phonograms is by dictation. You dictate the phonograms and the student writes them in the back of the log discussed above.
The next step is to actually begin spelling words from the Wise Guide for Spelling (a listing of 2,000 core words of the English language). The student does not need to have mastered all 70 phonograms before beginning this step. Each section lists the phonograms that the student should know and that you should review prior to dictation. The way the dictation process goes is as follows: You dictate a word and the student records the word in the Primary Learning Log BEFORE seeing the word written. You lead the student by sounding out the word syllable by syllable, giving as much information as necessary to enable the student to correctly identify the phonograms used and spell the word correctly the first time. After the student has written the word in the Primary Learning Log, you write the word on the board and the student checks her work. You then lead the student in marking the words appropriately. Some markings include underlining multi-letter phonograms or in the case of a phonograms with more than one sound, writing the number of the sound used above the phonogram if it is not the first sound. Take wasp for example. The student would record a 3 above the
a to indicate that we pronounce the third sound of the phonogram
a in wasp.
Another component of this program is teaching the spelling rules using the spelling rule cards. With this program, you teach spelling rules as necessary to spell words in the Wise List. There are also reference pages in the back of the Primary Learning Log that are used to introduce and reinforce spelling rules. Recently, I have discovered that these reference pages, oddly enough, are Mary's favorite part!
Each section of the Wise Guide contains 20 spelling words and suggested sentences, but you can choose to teach the words at whatever pace you want. We started our second year of this program just this past week. Since we are reviewing words from the very beginning, we are doing 40 words a week. When we catch up to words that are more difficult for Mary, we will slow down our pace to 20. Each section also contains many language arts activities for various levels to reinforce the words taught in that section. Personally, I have found that I prefer a more systematic approach to grammar, so this year I have introduced another resource for grammar instruction, although I still plan to use some of the activities in the Wise Guide. I just don't care for the random order in which the grammar material is presented. The first year you use this program, it is recommended that you begin with section A; however, there are diagnostic tests in the back of the book that can be used to assess your child's spelling level to determine appropriate placement. I use these periodically.
Does this all sound very confusing? Admittedly, it does take some getting used to. Is it worth it? YES! This program makes the English language logical! There are very few exceptions to the rules in this program, so by applying the phonograms and the spelling rules, you can confidently spell, write, and read words of the English language! Rest assured Wanda Sanseri guides you step by step in the instructions about what markings to use, what to record in the reference pages, etc. We have been using this program for a over a year now and the markings have now become intuitive for both Mary and myself.
Since Mary enjoyed My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George so much, she asked to read On the Far Side of the Mountain, the next book in this trilogy. These books are about a boy, Sam Gribley, who left his New York home to live off the land in the Catskills. Sam's younger sister Alice now is also living with him in his wilderness home. A very sad event occurs at the very beginning of this book. Sam's greatest companion, Frightful, a female peregrine falcon is confiscated by a conservation officer, who explains to Sam that it is against the law for him to keep an endangered species. When Alice leaves, Sam fears for her safety and sets out in pursuit along with his friend, Bando. This book contains wonderful descriptions of Sam and Alice's resourcefulness and creativity in using materials they find in the wilderness. For example, they make compasses, sundials, slingshots, etc. We also learned a bit about about breeding falcons and orienteering in this book.
We moved on and read the final book of the trilogy by Jean Craighead George: Frightful's Mountain. This book, written from Frightful's perspective, describes how Frightful becomes less and less imprinted on Sam and more and more wild and instinctual. She raises eyases that lost their mother, mates and raises her own eyases, and even migrates for the winter and returns again to the Catskills. Since we are studying about flying creatures of the fifth day in science this year, this book reinforced a lot of our lessons. There is information about the kinds of nests that falcons build, their mating and reproductive habits, as well as how they nurture and care for their young. This book also contains interesting information on how falconers are able to raise young eyases and reintroduce them into the wild. The description about Frightful's migration ought to make everyone stand amazed at the great Designer! It is amazing how birds know to eat more to increase their fat stores, when to leave, what direction to go, when to come back and not only to come back but to come back to the same location! Not only that, but I gained a deeper appreciation for all the hardships that birds undergo in their migratory travels. It's amazing that they are able to survive at all! God is amazing!
I read Homer Price by Robert McCloskey to the girls while we were homebound because of Tropical Storm Lee's visit! This book, originally published in 1943, contains six short stories about a young boy, Homer, who lives in the small mid-western town of Centerburg. Our copy has a different cover, a picture of the doughnut machine, so it has become known as The Doughnut Book in our house. And that was the story we liked most from this collection! I really enjoyed a glimpse of a small town that I have never myself experienced. 
I checked America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money by Steve and Annette Economides out of our local library. I have been intrigued by this book for quite some time after seeing it in the Rainbow Resource catalog. This book provides useful information on setting up a family budget as well as money-saving tips in specific areas like groceries, cars, housing, utilities, medical, clothing, recreation, and vacations. There is also a chapter on the system that they use to teach their children about handling money, called the Payday System. David and I are in discussions about whether this system or a revised form might be useful with our children. I enjoyed reading about their grocery shopping strategy. Annette and Steve shop for all their groceries once a month--everything, even all their produce. One covers the outer section and one covers the inner aisles. The communicate while they're shopping on walkie talkies, so they can tell each other about the great deals they find. They do use coupons, but each party is responsible for his/her domain. Their theory is that the less you venture into a store, the less you will spend. I am not ready to attempt this, but it was really interesting to read about it! I also picked up a great tip from reading this book on deli meat. I am also really excited about bringing my slow cooker on my next vacation to prepare an inexpensive meal!
A good friend of mine, also a home-schooling mom of four, told me about Managers of Their Homes A Practical Guide to Daily Scheduling for Christian Home-School Families. Since she lives in Utah now, I was able to borrow this book from another friend and mentor. The authors, Steven and Teri Maxwell, are Christians and offer not only practical suggestions for devising a workable schedule but also tons of spiritual encouragement. They tested out this kit with several families first and have included comments/questions resulting from these trials in the margins of the book. Their method for developing a schedule is very easy to use. I have found after using a schedule for two weeks that I am actually able to get more accomplished. Okay, I'm still not really venturing out of the home except for the boys' weight checks and to go grocery shopping, but the house is cleaner, laundry is done, dinner is usually ready, and we are able to do more extra things, like crafts and music. I have been able to have scheduled time with Maggie to work on letter sounds and numbers and read and play puzzles, all things which I wanted to do before, but seemed to get crowded out by other things. I personally love the freedom of a schedule and that I don't need to remember what everyone's supposed to be doing because it's all written down. I would note, however, that I did notice that the moms who tested the book did not all subscribe to the chapter on scheduling babies. Some chose to schedule their babies, while others chose to feed on demand. The schedule can accommodate either approach. My husband has been so impressed with how much we are accomplishing that he wants to develop a schedule for Sundays, too!
Nana gave us this book because she thought it was pretty neat since my mom's name is Nancy and she is a retired nurse! We think about Grandma Nurse Nancy whenever we read 
I bought 
Grandma Nancy gave Mary 
Lentil 
Amy Dacyczyn's quest for thrift was born out of a desire to prove "that it was still possible to raise a large family and buy a house without two full-time incomes." This book is a compilation of thrifty information originally printed in newsletters. Although this book was published in 1993 and some information is now outdated or applies to the New England states, I was really encouraged by reading it to explore areas of frugality that I had not considered before, such as powdered milk. Based on the recommendation in this book, I am using powdered milk in all cooking and baking and replacing half of our milk consumption with powdered milk. So far, no one has noticed a difference! Thanks to a friend, I now have 
I chose to read 
I acquired 