Kindergarten Reading Help

[mgrace]

My youngest daughter just turned six September 30, and I started the Memoria Press Kindergarten program in mid-August. We're almost to the end of the First Start Reading Book A, and I'm not sure she's ready to move on. If we isolate the word families (am, at, an) and work with one word family at a time, she can sound out the words. If we read a story with more than one word family, as well as common words like the, as, is, she gets frustrated and gives up. We review letter sounds, word families, and common words each day. She's good at recitation, but once it's in story form, she struggles.

Just a little extra background for the full picture: last spring she was diagnosed with severe hearing loss. Early this fall, she had a surgery to try determine whether a prosthesis could help her hearing. Now we are waiting for surgery to implant hearing aids, but those won't be fully functioning until January (it's a long process). She speaks well and has amazing coping skills to understand what we're saying. I'm sure her hearing loss factors into hearing sounds and applying them while reading.

My question is: if the assessment shows that she's not ready to move on, do I just review previous lessons and word families? What are some other activities I can do to help her grasp these concepts?

Thank you for the help!

Maran Grace
Atlanta, GA
Oldest Daughter (9th Grade, MPOA)
Middle Daughter (4th Grade, MP)
Youngest Daughter (K, MP)

[Michelle T]

At the end of Book A students are still learning how to blend and read. There really have not been many "stories" to read so they have likely not perfected reading in that format. I always say to allow a lot of grace in those first assessments because this is all so new. However, by Book B student performance on the end-of-book assessments should gauge whether to stop and take another week reviewing or to continue onto Book C.

[enbateau]

My little guy had fluid on his ears causing a 30% hearing loss for months at a time. We've been through multiple sets of ear tubes, and all the while we've been pushing through reading and phonemic awareness. We really over-exaggerate mouth movements and tongue placement, so even if he can't hear what he's saying when he reads a letter or word, he is still getting the muscle memory down. This is a good time to get out a mirror and say sounds into a fog-free mirror while flashing large, bold phonics flashcards like the ones from MPK. Point to the letter, have her look at your mouth while you say the letter, then have her say the letter and look at her mouth while she says it. I also liked to distinguish between voiced and unvoiced sounds by having him put his hand on my throat to feel the vibrations. Voiced consonants are b, d, g, j, l, m, n, r, s's 2nd /z/ sound, v, w, y, z. All vowels are voiced. She will feel her own throat making the buzzing vibration for each of these voiced consonants in isolation. You can also pursue an evaluation through the school system for speech therapy if you don't have private insurance.

With that said, I agree with Michelle that even at the end of Book A, my MPKer still got frustrated by words he didn't remember. Keep calm, be patient and whip out the stack of flashcards. See if that cues her for the words she has forgotten. Another thing I have done is write the words on a white board with more space between each letter. As children learn to read, their eyes are learning the sweeps and returns of left-to-right reading. Sometimes more space between each letter allows children to isolate letter sounds. Burgeoning readers will pull in adjacent letters from words above, below and after the word they are decoding. Use an index card to block off and isolate only the sounds she needs to be reading. Sometimes it's not that they don't know the word, it's that their eyes don't know where to go next, and all of this comes with repeated practice. Keep reading, reading, reading.

[mgrace]

Thank you both for the assistance! enbateau, your tips were so helpful. I was having her watch my lips very closely, but I will have her put her hand to her throat and use the mirror. I think those things make such a difference when you can't hear the sounds clearly. We've also been using her lined whiteboard quite a bit to break up the sounds and blend them.

Each child is so unique: it feels like my first daughter was reading from birth - it just came naturally to her. My middle one needed more time and repetition and our youngest has some extra challenges that will require extra practice. I'm grateful for this curriculum which focuses on mastery and repetition, and the forum which offers great ideas from other moms who have experienced similar struggles.

Thank you again!