Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

[howiecram]

I am so excited that we found MP and that the recommendations were to start my 6 year old with K, not 1st grade. I lamented for a bit and when the materials arrived I thought "oh this is too easy, and we could/should jump to easily the middle of the year". Again, upon suggestions here, we did not skip ahead and are cruising along with the K curriculum, as written (with a few modifications if a day is slower or faster). I still, even after a few weeks of FSR felt myself thinking "we should have started with book B or C". However, my daughter's writing was slow (not terrible, but she did complain a lot about writing) so we forged ahead, again as written. We are now on week 6 and I am so, so, so happy with her progress! I kept thinking that starting over would be holding her back, but no, she is "learning" despite repeating information. Six weeks ago, she would not have voluntarily picked up "The Foot Book" and read it, the whole thing! (She easily baulked at anything more than a few lines) She loves reading the baby books to her 2.5 year old sister and is having fun reading the directions in the FSR book and Numbers book. (She needs some help, but she is working fairly independently after a lesson)

A couple of questions about FSR. I have now realized that you do really need to be reading, to some degree BEFORE beginning FSR. I, once again, kept thinking "I wish I found this last year!". However, I don't think 12 months ago my daughter could have done anything beyond book A yet. I noticed just after her 1/2 birthday she was much more ready to read. We could have probably repeated book A at that time and been a little further along, but probably not much further! How does HLS handle students that can't progress beyond book A? What does HLS do with students that complete K, but can't read Little Bear by the start of 1st? Again, these are not concerns at the moment, but I do have 2 younger children and like to get a feel for how these things are addressed in the school. It specifically tells you in book A to not continue if the words are not mastered, but does not offer much in a plan to work on if you are stuck on book A.

Anyway, so happy to have found this curriculum! (I had read on so many homeschooling forums that "school in box" was not good) I think my daughter would be in school now, without this! Thank you!

[KF2000]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

I am so glad to hear you are having such a good start to this year! I too had to learn that the "easy" repetition was not just helpful, but valuable 😊

I hope you get a response about what they do at HLS, because I have wondered that question myself. Since you are asking for the future, I wanted to share that I still plan to teach my little ones the basics of reading before getting to FSR.

I did K last year, and am currently doing JrK and First. With my older child of those two, I was very glad that she was a confident reader going into K. She enjoys school a lot, and I think that has a big part in it.

For my younger one, I considered just doing the pace laid out by the JrK, K, and First grade path...but as we have been working, I find myself really wanting to get her reading. So I am reverting to our old habits of teaching the four year old to read, while still planning to follow the MP path for "school." I have always done it that way and been happy with it. Why rock the boat, right? But that would be a way to help the situation you noticed too.

Hths!
AMDG,
Sarah

[Emilylovesbooks]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

I have now realized that you do really need to be reading, to some degree BEFORE beginning FSR. I, once again, kept thinking "I wish I found this last year!". However, I don't think 12 months ago my daughter could have done anything beyond book A yet. I noticed just after her 1/2 birthday she was much more ready to read. We could have probably repeated book A at that time and been a little further along, but probably not much further! How does HLS handle students that can't progress beyond book A? What does HLS do with students that complete K, but can't read Little Bear by the start of 1st? Again, these are not concerns at the moment, but I do have 2 younger children and like to get a feel for how these things are addressed in the school. It specifically tells you in book A to not continue if the words are not mastered, but does not offer much in a plan to work on if you are stuck on book A.

Anyway, so happy to have found this curriculum! (I had read on so many homeschooling forums that "school in box" was not good) I think my daughter would be in school now, without this! Thank you!

I'm wondering what you mean by needing to be "reading to some degree before beginning FSR." I would not say that my son could read before beginning, but we had worked on some letter sounds and trying to blend a little during the summer using the short a. We are only in the middle of Week 5, so maybe we will find some problems transitioning to Book B. For now, though, it has been lovely--not too easy, but not too hard either. I was just surprised at the comment and Sarah's response that it is good to know how to read before started.

I, too, was set on not using "school in a box" before looking into MP! But when I saw that it was including everything I would have wanted to put together on my own (and much better I'm sure than I would have been able to do) and leaving out the very parts of other schools-in-a-box that I didn't like, it was impossible to look any further.

[howiecram]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

I'm wondering what you mean by needing to be "reading to some degree before beginning FSR." I would not say that my son could read before beginning, but we had worked on some letter sounds and trying to blend a little during the summer using the short a. We are only in the middle of Week 5, so maybe we will find some problems transitioning to Book B. For now, though, it has been lovely--not too easy, but not too hard either. I was just surprised at the comment and Sarah's response that it is good to know how to read before started.

Well, we started a K program last year. It used 100 EZ lessons. We quit after oh, about lesson 5. We were not feeling it. I looked into AAR, but the expense kept me from buying it. After we quit 100EZ lessons, we just did some free Bob book work from thisreadingmama.com (I had gotten the books for $1 at a homeschool fair). My daughter knew the sound every letter made when she was 4. She could identify where a sound was in a word (beginning, middle, end), but when she was 5 and we were learning to blend, she simply could not. I mean, she would, but it was painful! Maaan. She would have just "read" the word and then would spend another bit sounding out the word she JUST read! After some time looking around some more, I found Little Angel Readers (it's a Catholic reading program, that lasts 2 full years). I started using it around Nov last year. It was moving ok, but again, around lesson 10 or so it said "if your child can not read these words in x amount of time, keep working". So, we quit. I did not do any formal reading lessons, other than an occasional worksheet here and there for a LONG time (I did have a nice read aloud list, we were doing poetry and math and handwriting, etc). We didn't really start school back up until Feb. She turned 5.5 on Feb 23rd and something happened. She was actually reading the Bob books with much more ease. She still did not want to read many words, but she was blending and retaining the information. I feel if we would have started the FSR program last year at 5, despite the fact she knew the sounds they all made, we wouldn't be much further ahead than we are now. I think we could have started FSR book A around March of last year. So, in other words, I guess I mean I feel like they really need to be able to blend letters together well, before beginning FSR..or repeating A until they can. (and this is what it says in the manual to do if you get to the end of A and they have not mastered the word list they have provided) I am just wondering what advice they give if someone repeats A and is still not blending well. (some kids might not be ready until more like 7?).

My 4 year old, for example, is really interested in math...not so much in reading. I think for him we are doing the Simply Classical B this year and then C next year (when he is 5) and then we'll see if we do SC1 or K. He's squirrely and I like the kinetics that are in the SC1 - we might fight less with that one! :-)

[howiecram]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

For my younger one, I considered just doing the pace laid out by the JrK, K, and First grade path...but as we have been working, I find myself really wanting to get her reading. So I am reverting to our old habits of teaching the four year old to read, while still planning to follow the MP path for "school." I have always done it that way and been happy with it. Why rock the boat, right? But that would be a way to help the situation you noticed too.

Hths!
AMDG,
Sarah

What are you doing to "teach" reading to your younger ones? I mentioned below, but with my 4 year old we are doing Simply Classical B. I felt the "preschool, or level A" were not enough for him, but felt JrK wasn't a good fit either. He was 4 on the 1st of September and I don't think he'll be ready for K next year (or maybe, but I don't think so). He also knows the sounds of many letters, but not all. I have some Montessori manipulatives (sandpaper letters, moveable alphabet) and we'll use some of those along with playing I spy, etc. I've still thought about buying the All about reading pre-reading, but again, seem overkill...but maybe not?

[Michelle T]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

Greetings! A child is ready for FSR if they recognize their letters (most of them), know most of their letter sounds, can answer comprehension questions correctly to a simple picture book read aloud to them and can understand rhyme. The average age for these to be present is 5 years old. Some students aren't ready for a formal reading program until 6 but then some are ready at 4.

Should you complete Book A of FSR and realize your child has not mastered the information, it is recommended that you repeat the information taught. I suggest you repeat the problem areas rather that ordering another Book A and doing the entire book again, unless you deem that necessary. In my class we review the sight words daily as flashcards and practice reading the word families we learned previously. Constant review of what you have learned is key. Keep in mind that in Book A we are just learning how to blend words. It is unrealistic for students to point to h-a-t and be able to read it as "hat". It is more common for them to say h---a---t, h--at, hat. We are on Week 6 and there are some students who can look at the word and read "hat" but there are some I need to continue to help with blending. They are learning.

If the student is not reading the assessment list at the end of Book A at a quick pace, it probably means they need more practice. They will get this practice in Book B. Mastery of Book A means they can blend and read most all the words, missing one or two is not a reason to redo Book A. Reading slowly is not a reason to redo Book A. Rather spend a week reviewing the word family lists. Read them each day. Do practice dictations of some of the words. For the common words, be sure you are reviewing these before each reading, flashcard style. We keep moving onto Book B even if some students are reading the words slowly. They are still progressing.

Follow the same procedure if there is a stall at the end of Book B or C. Review the common words that are problematic, practice reading the word family lists and any stories that were included. I suggest focused review of the trouble areas (you want to add some easy words to build confidence too) rather than doing the entire book over. Again, take a week to review and master, two weeks if needed. This is the best way to keep making progress and gives the student the time they need to work towards that mastery.

Some students will blend-read (that is what I call sounding out each letter then saying the word) for a long time before reading clicks and they have the confidence to just say the word. It can be long, and almost painful to listen to a child blend/read sometimes the same word multiple times; however this is an important step in their progress. What they need is more practice! Practice, practice, practice!!

I sincerely hope this helps! There were many questions on this thread so if I failed to address them all, please let me know.

Blessings,
Michelle T

[KF2000]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

Emily,
I am really glad to know that your experience has been good so far, even without having a lot of early reading ability. I have only had one child go through FSR so far, and when she did, she had already been reading for a while. So I was glad it was good for her, but I have wondered what it is like for kids who are completely new at it - trying to decide for the next child, you know? I know MP is fully confident in the program, so I was going to try to just not rush things and "follow the plan." But my four year old is my sixth four year old, and I have always taught them to read about now. So I am finding that my own personal history is pulling at me more strongly than the desire to just wait for the "plan."

That's all. I wasn't trying to say you have to be reading ahead of time - just that I had had the same question as the OP in trying to decide what to do this next time around. Like I mentioned, I am really glad to hear that your child is doing really well! It does help me to know that!

AMDG,
Sarah

[howiecram]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

Greetings! A child is ready for FSR if they recognize their letters (most of them), know most of their letter sounds, can answer comprehension questions correctly to a simple picture book read aloud to them and can understand rhyme. The average age for these to be present is 5 years old. Some students aren't ready for a formal reading program until 6 but then some are ready at 4.

Should you complete Book A of FSR and realize your child has not mastered the information, it is recommended that you repeat the information taught. I suggest you repeat the problem areas rather that ordering another Book A and doing the entire book again, unless you deem that necessary. In my class we review the sight words daily as flashcards and practice reading the word families we learned previously. Constant review of what you have learned is key. Keep in mind that in Book A we are just learning how to blend words. It is unrealistic for students to point to h-a-t and be able to read it as "hat". It is more common for them to say h---a---t, h--at, hat. We are on Week 6 and there are some students who can look at the word and read "hat" but there are some I need to continue to help with blending. They are learning.

If the student is not reading the assessment list at the end of Book A at a quick pace, it probably means they need more practice. They will get this practice in Book B. Mastery of Book A means they can blend and read most all the words, missing one or two is not a reason to redo Book A. Reading slowly is not a reason to redo Book A. Rather spend a week reviewing the word family lists. Read them each day. Do practice dictations of some of the words. For the common words, be sure you are reviewing these before each reading, flashcard style. We keep moving onto Book B even if some students are reading the words slowly. They are still progressing.

Follow the same procedure if there is a stall at the end of Book B or C. Review the common words that are problematic, practice reading the word family lists and any stories that were included. I suggest focused review of the trouble areas (you want to add some easy words to build confidence too) rather than doing the entire book over. Again, take a week to review and master, two weeks if needed. This is the best way to keep making progress and gives the student the time they need to work towards that mastery.

Some students will blend-read (that is what I call sounding out each letter then saying the word) for a long time before reading clicks and they have the confidence to just say the word. It can be long, and almost painful to listen to a child blend/read sometimes the same word multiple times; however this is an important step in their progress. What they need is more practice! Practice, practice, practice!!

I sincerely hope this helps! There were many questions on this thread so if I failed to address them all, please let me know.

Blessings,
Michelle T

Now, this make a LOT of sense! I guess my only suggestion might be in the manual to say what you say up above, about when and how to move on to book B, C, etc. I don't think it is explained as well as you have explained it here! Thank you so much! It gives me some things to think about with my 4 year old then! (maybe he will be ready next year to do K?). However, now I feel sad we didn't find this last year for my 6 year old. I do occasionally think we could just breeze through FSR, but then what? I guess we could do the 8 week review books and grab the 1st grade lesson plans and see what to do....interesting!! :-)

[KF2000]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

HWC,
I do not make it a big deal or have a huge program. Even the MP Classical Phonics book from K/1/2 phonics can be used for what I do. We just sit on the couch together for ten minutes, and go over the pages in the CP book together...for her, starting at the very beginning, and learning the letters in the order they are given in the book. Most of the pages have short vowel words at the bottom, so I blend them for her, and she follows along until she realizes what word we are saying. It is honestly just about simple practice and repetition. We also pick out the letters she is learning from the JrK alphabet flashcards and use those for drill too.

As soon as she seems able to remember, I start using BOB books too. That's really it. I do not stress a lot over it because I know she will get full "coverage" down the road. The hardest part is waiting and practicing through the part when they don't seem to remember anything from one day to the next. But that is why we keep it short, and make sure to do it every day. I have see her start to retain things just in a couple weeks. And she asks every day to do it, so I know she wants to. I hope that helps at all!

[Emilylovesbooks]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

Emily,
I am really glad to know that your experience has been good so far, even without having a lot of early reading ability. I have only had one child go through FSR so far, and when she did, she had already been reading for a while. So I was glad it was good for her, but I have wondered what it is like for kids who are completely new at it - trying to decide for the next child, you know? I know MP is fully confident in the program, so I was going to try to just not rush things and "follow the plan." But my four year old is my sixth four year old, and I have always taught them to read about now. So I am finding that my own personal history is pulling at me more strongly than the desire to just wait for the "plan."

That's all. I wasn't trying to say you have to be reading ahead of time - just that I had had the same question as the OP in trying to decide what to do this next time around. Like I mentioned, I am really glad to hear that your child is doing really well! It does help me to know that!

AMDG,
Sarah

He's my first child, so if we continue homeschooling, I expect it will be a little different with my second and third. I will have to see how he does as the year goes. I plan to just slow down as needed but not speed ahead....If he were already blending easily, I can see how the beginning weeks would seem overly simple. I keep reading here about trusting the process and am keeping that in mind. Math is currently the area where it seems easy, but the handwriting in it is an excellent challenge!

[Michelle T]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

I would suggest those Primary Phonics Readers for continued reading practice! Your 6 year old will like the stories, they are cute.

Blessings,
Michelle T

[KF2000]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

Emily,
That sounds like a great plan, and I am so glad it has been a good fit for you guys. My personal learning curve the first time around was pretty stressful...so I am glad that you are having a great experience with your first!

And Michelle, thanks for the explanation! You answered a lot of "wonderings" I had too.

AMDG,
Sarah

[howiecram]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

He's my first child, so if we continue homeschooling, I expect it will be a little different with my second and third. I will have to see how he does as the year goes. I plan to just slow down as needed but not speed ahead....If he were already blending easily, I can see how the beginning weeks would seem overly simple. I keep reading here about trusting the process and am keeping that in mind. Math is currently the area where it seems easy, but the handwriting in it is an excellent challenge!

We think the math is pretty easy too. However, again, she is doing it and doing it well. We will start to move faster than the lesson plans now that she has the number writing down! (We needed 6 weeks to write numbers, for sure!)

A lot of people complain about the math program. I didn't think I liked it at first. However, I went through some more of the teacher's manual and it is honestly JUST what I was looking for. We used Horizon last year. It is very colorful, but it was distracting and had them doing concepts I don't think they were ready for. My daughter was in tears most days doing it. I like the simple, old-fashion math fact learning! I am a traditionalist at heart (think 1950s Catholic school!) and I didn't know this was what I was looking for in that mass of math curriculums! That being said, we are still proceeding with Montessori math as well (we started last year and I already put a lot of money out for it) and it doesn't really align, but I like that she is writing since Montessori does not have writing for a bit.

Good luck, and after reading Michelle's review, I guess my then 5 year old daughter was right on "par" with her "reading" abilities last year, I just didn't know it! Hooray for MP! :-)

[morthswendy]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

I also have a question about FSR book A. My son will be 6 any day now and he still cannot name the letters or their sounds after a year of AAR-pre K program. We are working through the FSR book -we are on week 5- and he is able to print all the letters, spell his name, copy Bible verses, etc. He is unable to isolate beginning/middle/and end sounds and does not understand rhyme. I know he would refuse to redo the workbook as he remembers what he has done(he memorizes the pictures that start with the said letter sound, so on a redo he would get it correct-he just can't name the letter or tell me their sounds-go figure. Do I move forward anyway and hope it "clicks" or stop and maybe focus on drilling the sounds and letters until he gets them? Thank you all for the helpful tips!

Wendy

[Michelle T]

Re: Reflections on K/ - comments/questions about FSR at HLS

Wendy,
I think after that much work with letters I would be concerned there may be other issues causing the delay in this case. By week 6 in FSR letters M, A, S, N, T and F have been covered. If you showed him a card with one of these letters could he tell you the sound it makes? Have you followed the lessons as written in the Teacher's Guide including the Ear Training?

If you prefer to email me privately my info is [email protected] , or you can call Memoria Press.

Blessings,
Michelle T