As I have been writing, I am in the process of cleaning out, decluttering and packing. Today, I started packing books. I ran out of boxes and decided to move on to taking the ABC pictures of the wall. Savannah made these when she was about 4 years old. The actual sheets come from
Sing, Spell, Read and Write. The book is the Off We Go book. I had purchased the whole set to use with Savannah, but ended up only using this book before moving on to The Reading Lesson and Explode the Code. I liked the songs from Sing, Spell, Read and Write and I liked the letter pages, but the program was way too much to do without getting lost. We would listen to the songs, work on coloring in the letter page and then work on the Get Set for the Code books A, B, C. A friend of mine had told me to post the letter pictures on the wall. At first I was horrified! Put pictures all over my walls! I had just decorated my rooms, why would I want things that didn't match??? Yes, I really used to feel that way. I soon changed my mind and now can't seem to imagine ever thinking that way. My mom had bought me a Xyron Laminator from Michaels. Tip - use a 40% off coupon to purchase anything at Michaels. After Savannah finished each page, she got to run it through the laminator. She loved this part! Then we would put it up on the wall. I cannot begin to tell you how much she referred to these letters over the years as she was learning to read. Even Timmy was a little stunned that I was taking them down today. I told him that soon enough we would be putting Mr. Sebastian's letters up one by one in our new home. When somebody asks me what my favorite program is for teaching reading, my answer is that it isn't ONE program. After a lot of trial and error, I found that Savannah needed a little bit from several programs. She learned a lot of the sounds part form the Sing, Spell, Read and Write cd. Really, just the main song that goes aaaaa - apple, bbbbb - ball, etc. I think the letter pages were wonderful to go along with that song and cement the sounds in. Then the Get Set for the Code books leading into the Explode the Code series were great for teaching rule. The Reading Lesson was great for putting those rules to use and finally she loves Pathway Readers. These are very plain readers written by the Amish, but there is something about them that holds kids attention. She did almost all of K-1 in one year and is about halfway through 3rd grade right now. I don't really understand the draw of these books, but I have heard it over and over again about them. So, today, marked a day where I realized Savannah really didn't need her letters on the wall so much anymore and it was time to clean up and declutter to move on. Where did that time go? I carefully put the pages away and will store them will all of her other work. Someday, we will get to look through them and remember the fun we had when she was 4 years old!
Sing, Spell, Read and Write. The book is the Off We Go book. I had purchased the whole set to use with Savannah, but ended up only using this book before moving on to The Reading Lesson and Explode the Code. I liked the songs from Sing, Spell, Read and Write and I liked the letter pages, but the program was way too much to do without getting lost. We would listen to the songs, work on coloring in the letter page and then work on the Get Set for the Code books A, B, C. A friend of mine had told me to post the letter pictures on the wall. At first I was horrified! Put pictures all over my walls! I had just decorated my rooms, why would I want things that didn't match??? Yes, I really used to feel that way. I soon changed my mind and now can't seem to imagine ever thinking that way. My mom had bought me a Xyron Laminator from Michaels. Tip - use a 40% off coupon to purchase anything at Michaels. After Savannah finished each page, she got to run it through the laminator. She loved this part! Then we would put it up on the wall. I cannot begin to tell you how much she referred to these letters over the years as she was learning to read. Even Timmy was a little stunned that I was taking them down today. I told him that soon enough we would be putting Mr. Sebastian's letters up one by one in our new home. When somebody asks me what my favorite program is for teaching reading, my answer is that it isn't ONE program. After a lot of trial and error, I found that Savannah needed a little bit from several programs. She learned a lot of the sounds part form the Sing, Spell, Read and Write cd. Really, just the main song that goes aaaaa - apple, bbbbb - ball, etc. I think the letter pages were wonderful to go along with that song and cement the sounds in. Then the Get Set for the Code books leading into the Explode the Code series were great for teaching rule. The Reading Lesson was great for putting those rules to use and finally she loves Pathway Readers. These are very plain readers written by the Amish, but there is something about them that holds kids attention. She did almost all of K-1 in one year and is about halfway through 3rd grade right now. I don't really understand the draw of these books, but I have heard it over and over again about them. So, today, marked a day where I realized Savannah really didn't need her letters on the wall so much anymore and it was time to clean up and declutter to move on. Where did that time go? I carefully put the pages away and will store them will all of her other work. Someday, we will get to look through them and remember the fun we had when she was 4 years old!
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