How fast do I go?

[stephanie]

My 4 1/2 year old wants to do more than a page per day. Usually he wants me to do 3 or 4 pages, and then the CD-ROM. Is this going way too fast for him? Should I stick to one page per day. Also he couldn't read all the words himself after the first lesson (only cat), or blend the sounds. Should I go over the pages twice, or just give it time to sink in. When should I expect him to blend the sounds or read a few words on his own.

I tried the 100 lessons book, but after reading the good reviews on the Reading Lesson, I decided to try yours instead. Compared to the 100 lessons book, the reading lesson seems very simplistic (but maybe that is why it works ). The 100 lesson book had several instructions for the parents for every lesson. It is not very user friendly, or pleasant to the 3-4 year old eye. So far my son loves the reading lesson.


Any feedback anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated!!! Anyone out there who has finished or almost finished the book I would like to hear your thoughts/comments.

[Michael Levin M.D.]

Stephanie,

There are no hard fast rules. We suggest 1-2 pages for 4 year olds because this from my experience seems about right for most kids. Our own two children could only do about two pages a day at this age. BUT, I have seen children who can do a lot more. They have better attention span or are just more verbal than usual. The guidelines are there just so your child does not bored. But if your son can do more pages a day, by all means do them. But still limit to no more than 4 pages per day, or not to exceed the number of pages per years of age. Because after that they are not really learning. They are more interested in looking at the pictures.

In the first five lessons, most children can not read all words alone. We are trying to teach them the phonics blending rules in these lessons. So it may help to repeat the pages. So if you do four pages a day, the following day, go back and repeat the last two pages.

The key words at the end of the lesson are very important because they will help him develop fluency. Do these pages at least 2-3 times. You may even want to make a card deck out of them, if you like flash cards. You can have him write the words, if he can.

Michael Levin M.D.

[nan]

My son took two years to finish this program. But we did it. By the time he started first grade, he was reading well. Certainly better than all of his peers. So even though it took me nearly two years, it was very much worth it. So stay with it.