The Reading Lesson

I know, I've appeared from absolutely nowhere! I guess I took a sabbatical from blogging.

I decided that perhaps I should start teaching Annabelle a little more to get her ready for reading. So we started using The Reading Lesson today. It went well, though I'm not sure it was entirely worth the money. We will see.

I have learned that I need to focus more on the short vowel sounds. She has the -a- as in alligator down pat, but she struggles with the other vowels. Vowels are hard to teach! She used to know most of her consonants, but based on discussions with her lately, I can tell she needs a refresher course. Our first lesson in Heart of Dakota's Little Hands to Heaven focuses on A as in -a-a-Adam. Even little Sophia has the -a- sound down pat! She places her hands on her cheeks and says, "A-A-Adam." So cute!

Here is the first stanza of the fingerplay from Heart of Dakota so you'll know what I'm talking about:

A-A-Adam! Hands on cheeks in surprise
Can you believe? Hands out, palms up
God made animals Point out sweeping arm across
And you and me? Point out and then to yourself

I've been questioning whether the Little Hands to Heaven guide is too simple for Annabelle's age, but I am feeling more confident that it is the right fit for her now. Some things are obviously too simple, but I don't think the reinforcement can do any harm, and I LOVE how she's learning to hide God's word in her heart through the lessons. Honestly, I am learning how to hide God's word in my heart alongside her.

I think I am going to switch gears with using The Reading Lesson though. I may pick it up occasionally, but my heart has found another method that I absolutely love. Though I haven't purchased anything to use this particular method yet. I don't plan to start more formal reading lessons until she is 6 years old. My heart is telling me to follow the Charlotte Mason approach and use Delightful Reading. It just makes so much sense to me! In the mean time, I am going to approach reading readiness using the methods explained in these blog posts from Simply Charlotte Mason.