I'm right there with you! This could be our story too. The two things I would say for encouragement are: 1) My mom homeschooled me in the early years and taught me to read and when she watches me teach my daughter and has seen all the research I've done, she says, "This is so much work, teaching you to read wasn't this hard." And for me that's validating. 80% of kids can learn to read with a whole variety of approaches, but 20% of kids will struggle and need the systematic explicit instruction and soooo much practice. Teaching a struggling reader is so different and it's hard and the experience of someone who taught a non-struggling reader to read just can't be compared. You've clearly done so much work and are doing everything you can for your child. As a random homeschooling mom on the internet, I'm proud of you! 2) Our stories are so similar and yet have many differences. We started Playing Preschool program when she was 5 yo (I wanted gentle but wanted structure). At 6 yo we started Logic of English (An Orton Gillingham program with lots of games). But LoE is a mastery based program and it starts with a few letters and phonemic awareness skills. My daughter couldn't pass the assessments for phonemic awareness. These are just listening skills, I say three sounds (B-A-T), she blends them in her head, and circles the right picture. She couldn't do it and just repeating the drills in the book over and over didn't help. So, we paused that program and did Treasure Hunt Reading because then she wouldn't fight me on the lesson, she loved watching a video. The lessons were fine, but sounding out a pizza full of pepperoni took four days and much wailing and gnashing of teeth. After we finished Journey 1, it hadn't "clicked". I started a different program with a word family approach, and even if she underlined the same -at ending in each word she would painfully sound out each word. After a lot of research and four months later, we started Pinwheels by Rooted in Language. That has lead to slow but steady progress. I hope that seeing someone else's journey can help validate how far you've come. It's easy to compare our kids to kids who learned to read in 6 months by just watching adults read to them. My daughter and I have each worked really hard and consistently and we're basically the same place you are. I've heard great things about AAR and I am excited for you guys! I'll say my favorite thing about Treasure Hunt Reading was the emphasis on a growth mindset and I've tried to carry that with us into every other program we've used. Equipped for Reading Success by David Kilpatrick taught me so much about how people learn to read and why some struggle to learn to read (there are many reasons). We also use the one-minute phonemic awareness exercises in the book. If AAR doesn't work for you (or someone else) we love Rooted In Language! Also for some free or low cost decodable readers, google "CKLA grade k Unit 6 (7 or 8) reader" and you can print out the Core Knowledge readers that are decodable. My daughter is at a similar level and can read through Unit 8. From the sounds of it your daughter is probably ready for the grade 1 readers. I've been told they're also inexpensive to buy. PS I also resonate so much with looking ahead in a curriculum and thinking, "This is so exciting! If we do one lesson/day for 5 days/week, she'll be able to read first grade level books". We haven't done any formal testing, although I do regular informal assessments to monitor progress. But I so look forward to the world of information and books that will be open to my daughter when she can read! I recently got her a Yoto and have been getting her lots of audiobooks and podcasts so that she can get the input of information that she craves without having to be dependent on others to read to her and it's been great! Even though she's only in 2nd grade, I got her science textbook on audiobook and then she can listen to it whenever she wants and look at the pictures in the book.
I feel like you're telling my story! I dabbled with unschooling in the beginning, and while I still believe in it, it wasn't right for my child. I used different programs but had the same experiences as you. We're playing catch up now, and I'm kicking myself. I'm confident that we'll get through it, though, and so will you! You're a great Mom!
This sounds so much like our story too! 100 Easy Lessons didn’t work, Treasure Hunt Reading didn’t work, The Good and the Beautiful didn’t work, but All About Reading did! I have a struggling reader. It’s taken a lot of time, a lot of tears, and a lot of work, but she’s reading fluently and has been for almost a year!! 🙌🏻
As a homeschooling mom of five, with my oldest almost 11, I can relate to your reading journey! We started with TGTB, Teach Your Child to Read, ect. Then All About Reading, which worked until the middle of Level 1 for him. His reading became choppy and he was getting frustrated and just not enjoying reading, so we switched to Alpha Phonics and a Charlotte Mason approach with the Free and Treadwell readers, and that really clicked for him and he took off reading. For my second and third children (9 and 7), both high-functioning on the Autism Spectrum (one with severe Childhood Apraxia of Speech), we tried nearly every program out there that you can think of without success. After a six-month break with my second, we found success with The Good and The Beautiful. However, my third still hasn’t found the right fit. I recently came across a recommendation for Toe by Toe and just ordered it-hoping it’ll be the solution we need! Thanks for sharing your journey; it’s so encouraging to hear different experiences!
@ashleymurphy4813 - I'm watching your McGuffey's video now lol. We have the McGuffey's I might bring those back into our day. I love Laurel's videos from Land of Kakiak, we also use somethings from the Robinson Curriculum, like she does. Mom Delights has some wonderful McGuffey's videos and extras :).
Hey there! The algorithm lead me to your video :) I haven't had a chance to read through every comment to see if this has been mentioned, and I admit I skimmed the video with subtitles because of a time crunch, so maybe I missed it- but your story so far and daughter's struggles, and everything you said could have been me 6 years ago. My dyslexic 14yo was exactly the same, and I had a similar mentality to yours, and took comfort in the tales of older kiddos just waking up one day and it all clicking... My daughter was technically reading by about 8, more independent by about 10, so I thought "great, slow and steady wins the race," because I didn't realize that there are many types and presentations for dyslexia. We were already trying to follow the science of reading/phonics so I didn't think testing mattered, but were still on the struggle bus, and still much farther behind her peers- even those that were "late readers." You know, the ones who did wake up one day and start reading Harry Potter all on their own types. Here is my cautionary tale: please get your daughter tested for dyslexia sooner rather than later. I finally broke down and had my daughter tested last year because even though she's made so much progress, she's still not near grade level and spelling is just, ugh, (and that gap gets bigger and bigger as you saw in that assessment between grades, and yes I also agree that generally assessments aren't worth the paper they're written on, however there is a time to stop and check ourselves to see if we're getting in our own way). It also helps alleviate the guilt because you see that it's not you/homeschooling that is the issue, it's their brains being wired differently. And AAR reading/spelling are great choices for dyslexic kiddos. Or if she's not dyslexic, you find out that yes, a more focused curriculum will "catch her up," and if that's the goal AAR will help with that, too. But *knowing* what you/she may or may not be dealing with is a huge piece of the puzzle. Big hugs (I have cried quite a bit on this journey, too!) and all the best to you!
I don't have the time right now to finish watching your video, but just wanted to say that I really appreciate your candidness. My daughter also found learning to read very tricky. Phonics and learning how to blend sounds just never made sense to her, so I ended up using the reading program that I used as a child here in the UK, which is based on sight words (called Peter and Jane). I still taught her phonics as they are helpful, but we didn't worry about them too much. Now at age 8, she can read most things that she wants to, including chapter books. I remember feeling like such a failure at times, and wondered if we would ever get to this point. I often have tears in my eyes when I listen to her read, as I am so proud of us both for finally getting there. My daughter has become a little book worm, and always has a book on the go. We recently discovered that she has auditory dyslexia (which I had suspected for a long time), like my husband. I have been learning more about how best she learns, and am thankful that home education gives us the freedom to be very flexible. By contrast, my six year old taught herself to read basic words before she turned four! They are all so unique, which I think is beautiful. Sorry for my long comment, I just wanted to encourage you that you are doing a good job. You know your daughter better than anyone else, and it will be extra special for you both when she becomes a confident reader.
My mama heart goes out to you. Reading is so hard. We started off with Pinwheels 1. I got antsy because it was going so slow. So we tried learning to read with the McGuffeys and that failed 😂. Then we tried Treasure Hunt Reading but I agree, it went way too fast. My son actually hated the videos and wouldn’t retain the information. We ended up going back to Pinwheels 1, and finished it out. Now we are onto Pinwheels 2. It just works for my son because it is so slow and has so much review. I hope All About Reading works for her! I have had heard so many good things about it. Side note, a charter school seems so stressful to keep up with. I can see how the money is nice though.
@@Busybeeexplorers it’s such a circus to find the right thing! I started out such a rebel- thinking that kids should be learning to read from quality literature and not these Bob Books for example. I had no experience and came to some outrageous conclusions🙈 Homeschooling is the most humbling experience of my life.
What you said about feeling like doing nothing was the gentle option and now realizing how hard you've made reading really resonated with me. I think that SO many people are in the same boat as you, and if they're lucky and their kid takes to reading quickly maybe they'll never realize the problem with this logic. But I've always thought it seemed so much more gentle to spread reading out over years, starting early with phonetic awareness and alphabet familiarity for toddlers and preschoolers, and slowly building up, rather than waiting until 6 (or 7 in some philosophies!) and inevitably having to move through everything so much faster if you want your kids reading anything other than early readers by the end of elementary. Wanting to go slow and gentle makes sense, but GO, yknow?
@@noncorporealentity5641 Lol, yes, GO! Haha. So true. And now to have to get these baby books for her otherwise very mature nature is… not ideal. Glad I have a redo with my son🙈
Yes, a child teaching themself to read is very individual. I have 7 children and only one who reading came so easily for her and she quickly surpassed what I was teaching her. It always amazed me. I have one who can teach himself math. The others really have to work at it.
We’ve had a somewhat similar journey. When my daughter was in 1st grade I realized she wasn’t progressing much in reading. I thought it was my inconsistency so I doubled down on lessons but she continued to struggle. I eventually found AAR right before 2nd grade and also didn’t want to “go backwards” by starting her with level 1. I then came to the same conclusion you did and got L1. And it was the best decision! We took our time and it took us the entire year to go through it (I thought it would be much quicker). She’s 8, 3rd grade and we’re at the beginning on L2. It’s been slow and steady progress but she really took off with AAR! She’s not “at her age level” yet but I’m confident after L2 she’ll be a confident, independent reader! 😭 I suggest going all the way through, the sounds she’s currently struggling with are in the last 1/3 of L1. So taking time to review and honestly both of y’all learn the program either way review words would be 👌🏻
@@melissacurtis I’m glad AAR 1 was the ticket for you guys! We changed course (yet again🙈) and actually started using the McGuffey Readers. We started with the Primer (which I guess is Kindergarten/1st grade level) and it is going great. We take the lessons slow and are able to include all of our LA in just that little primer book. So far so good! If you’re interested in knowing more, I posted a video about it recently.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. First of all, I think that you are a very dedicated mother and it is clear that you want what is best for your children. It seems to me that you did the best for your children based on your beliefs and convictions. As mothers, are we perfect? Of course not. We learn as we go and hope for the best along the way. My daughter (also in 2nd grade) did not learn to read (still learning) as fast as her older siblings, which came as a surprise to me. It knocked down my expectations, as I believed it would be relatively easy for her to learn to read, as it had been with my first two. That misguided belief contributed to me going faster than my daughter was ready for. I learned from that and this academic school year, she is doing CLE (Christian Light Education) Reading 1. I decided to start at the beginning and just work through it to deal with any gaps due to me rushing ahead. Did I beat myself up? Yes. But you know what? It's going to be ok. My daughter will be just fine, as will yours. You are teaching your daughter perseverance, strength, good work ethic...and all the while, spending quality, one-on-one time with her. What a blessing it is for you to be able to be with your children during their formative years. You know your daughter best. You've got this...and so does she! Bravo!
I am really sorry for all those tests and the feelings that it made you feel. You are an excellent mom, and the best teacher for your daughter. There is no saying your daughter’s experience would have been different if you had started earlier. From reading the comments, AAR sounds great, I haven’t used that program, but have read many positive things. We had great success with Alpha Phonics. I had watched a few videos on this and did follow it to the letter, there are very clear instructions at the back, and the thing I loved about it, it’s clear recommendations on keeping reading and writing together. I do highly recommend it. It’s v inexpensive, and the parent just goes at the pace of the child with it, sometimes, a lesson a day, other times, you could sit in a lesson for a week.
You are doing a great job! I had a couple thoughts… One if you look at test scores many public school kids aren’t reading on “grade level”. Your daughter has you where she is getting one on one instruction and you should be so proud of all the work you both have been putting in. I completed all 4 levels of AAR with my daughter and I do think it is an amazing program. I would consider maybe starting at the beginning. But what you could do is quickly “just review the phonics rule”, then have her read the story from the reader when the lesson has a story or if there is no story just have her read the fluency sheet and move on. Then you can move forward pretty quickly, but also stop when you get to a good spot where you want to slow down. I would say AAR is more mastery so I wouldn’t move on until she has that concept/lesson down. You do review with flash cards. So there is that for review. Also they recommend do what you can in 20 minutes and stop there. So it’s possible you could do a lesson or two per day if it’s review or she already knows it. Level 1 is 54 lessons (I think) so it’s possible to do the entire level in a month or two if you are doing 1-2 lessons per day. But some kids spend an entire week on one lesson so it really depends on the child. So for my daughter to confirm she could move on I would just have her do the fluency sheets and read the stories and if she was reading them confidently we moved on. I would avoid allowing her to read any other “readers” on her own at this time. You are right. These “readers” put words that are not decodable! I would just say for now I will read to you and you can follow along with me with your eyes. That way she isn’t discouraged by not knowing words yet. What I love about AAR is it is just reading no writing, spelling, or other type of learning. Also (if you can) maybe drop all other subjects and only work on reading. When I was teaching my daughter we didn’t do math for a while. Just an idea since you said she was very good at math (but also I don’t know if she would be sad about that). You could do 2 sessions of reading a day, if you wanted to make more progress. So instead of her reading books like the “biscuit” book, level 1 readers you could just only use AAR for now. I would recommend prepping with a binder and page protectors so you can use with another child or resell. The resell value is high on them! I also found “sold a story” very interesting podcast on reading in America. I wonder if that test she is taking is giving her words that are actually not on “2nd grade level” either way by the end of AAR level 2 my daughter was reading higher than a 3rd grade level. My son is 5 and he is about half way through level 1 so you actually might be able to start your son on level 1 too. Since your son sounds like he would be ready for level 1. I started when my son was 4 after getting through some of the pre reading level because he was ready to move on. Thank you for sharing your story. I think it will help many people. AAR is a great program and I think it’s great that you are giving her what she needs. One more thing I know a few “second graders” that are using AAR level 1 so your daughter is not the only child at her age who is on level 1. Sarah McKenzie who has the podcast read aloud revival, her passion is reading and her brand is about reading aloud. She said in a podcast that a few of her children didn’t learn to read until 9 or 10 I believe. I think she had an episode on that. So sometimes even with the best instruction it can take more time for some kids. Excited to hear how AAR works for you!
This was a beautiful video. Your daughter is so lucky to have such a dedicated mother. I also started the unschooling approach with similar feelings with my oldest and I feel like I contributed to his struggle with Math. I am doing things very different with my second who is 6. We also live in California. We were with a charter for a few years in SoCal, we recently moved to central coast and I was unable to get us into a charter this year. I have to say not having the funding is a bummer but not worrying about tests and anyone else having an opinion on where we are at is so nice! I was surprised at how much more relaxed I feel. That being said we do miss the funding for activities. It really sounds like you have the best approach now. Thanks for sharing your journey, it was very helpful and relatable.
@@xbrieex hi! Thank you for the sweet words. We are also on the central coast! I’m sorry to hear of your similar struggle but it does bring solace. That funding is powerful but I know if we get into a better financial situation, I’m done with the Charter. I would feel so much more relaxed and empowered if I wasn’t reporting to a school. Good luck to you!
I agree that charter schools do test children as if all of the same age should be at the same level… and I’ve even considered dropping out of our charter school because some of their criteria doesn’t align with my own values. But it’s hard when they provide funding to pay for great resources and for extracurricular activities that my son loves and can get skilled at. But I think you have a great plan! That you have to just ignore the test results and celebrate your daughter’s growth and just do what you know is best for her. You got it!! 👏 and I’m happy you got through the discouragement and are on that right track. I’ve seen your videos with your daughter and I’m not worried about her. She’s very intelligent and she’ll be just fine 🤩 good job mama. And thanks for sharing your journey.
AAR has been absolutely amazing for my struggling 7 yr old reader. We are almost done with level 2 and she is now reading chapter books and just doing amazing. I absolutely love AAR!!
I really appreciate you speaking so openly about this. This has encouraged me to start trying a little harder with maths with my 3.5 year old. We hace the opposite problem, shes a keen reader (were 2/3rd through with teach your child to read book and its been awesome for us) but she really struggles to even recognise numbers let alone do much with them. I wad very much like you in the sense of oh well shes young itll come...hut this video has encouraged me to start gently pushing it a bit more because if it doesnt come naturally i dont want her to still not recognise them in a couple years time. Also, its not your fault, every child is different and some kids excel in scienxe or maths and struggle reading and vice versa. The stuff youre doing with your kids will ensure shes well rounded
Sounds like we go to the same charter school in Ca. Although the check ins stress me out because I feel like we’re not doing as much as other people I stay with them for all the financial support. Horse lessons are expensive haha. I started my daughter early with letter sounds and Bob books and also got teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons. It was a nightmare. She hated and said she hated reading so we took a long break from reading all together. When we picked back up I had to re teach her the sounds but she was older and seemed to take off on reading. We didn’t do all about reading 1 but I did get the readers second hand along with the Bob books and she was able to read them so in first grade we started all about reading two. She memorizes words so easily and reads chapter books but I find when there’s a new word she has a hard time decoding it. I love that syllable board! I’m going to have to get one. Looks like it will help a lot. We also have been using the explode the code books. A page or two a day. I love them, even though she can read pretty well we continue with them because it really helps with her spelling which we have just started incorporating this year (second grade). She loves reading now so even though she struggled for a while we found our way.
@@carm1030 hi! Thank you, it is so encouraging to hear from other s who had similar struggles but are now thriving. It’s funny- I would honestly be so pleased about where she is at in her reading if we weren’t with a charter who had different expectations. But yes, that funding… Glad to hear the readers and Explode are working well! I’m sure a heavy phonics program could work well for her but if you check out my latest video, you’ll see we made a bold choice to go with the McGuffey readers for our entire language arts including reading instruction🤞🏻 AAR1 has too many components and I honestly feel simplicity is what we need. And lots of review. I will be doing a video soon on the McGuffeys
My 7 year old 2nd grader is a struggling reader and we’ve been doing hooked on phonics. The app and the workbooks they mail it comes with 2 readers per mail and you can add two more. It has been a game changer. I’ve seen so much improvement. I highly recommend looking into the program and the app is a fun change of pace for them. I have her do 20 mins of the app then we do two pages in the workbook.
The works books that come are just two levels at a time that correspond directly with the app and the readers are at those level, you can choose your shipment frequency. Every week they email you an assessment of how they did in the app and suggest what needs more work.
This sounds very similar to one of my daughters. We have all about reading as well (level 1), but we’ve stopped at lesson 26. The words get a little more difficult, she has a hard time with ccvc words. We also did explode the code (workbooks and online) We will still be doing AAR once we get more practice. What we ended up doing and it’s really been working is: I hear about Christian light education. I started her at learning to read work book level 106 and then language arts level 1. On her first test she got 100%. How it works is you start with there learn to read workbooks and then once you hit book 5 or 6 then you did LA level 1. LTR ends and you’d still be doing the LA and then move into reading. We’re not there yet (the reading wk books). It explains everything so well. It’s a mastery and spiral approach. It Carrie’s over what you’ve learned into the next lesson and teaches a new concept. The teachers guide is amazing for the parent as well. The direction are great. I wish I would have known about this when my daughter was in 1st grade… I started my other daughter that is in first grade with this as well. They’re both doing it but at different spots. The price is very affordable. I probably would have started here before purchasing AAR. I bought levels 1 and 2 of AAR and it was very costly.
@@ajatracy1299 gosh what a journey! Thank you for breaking that down. I am considering a wildly different approach than what I discussed in the video (in terms of getting AAR1). If it works, I’m sure I will make a video about it soon. I’m really looking to simplify our language arts completely. I hope this keeps going well for you!
Girl, I could have made this video! We didn’t do unschooling but my now 7 year old is my youngest and I feel like I didn’t give her the focused attention she needed when it comes to reading. My older two girls did have reading just click for them after some basic instruction and so I kept waiting for that to happen with my youngest… and it never did. I said I would never use AAR because it’s so expensive (and we don’t get homeschooling funds of any kind in Texas 😑) but I finally broke down and got it and so far it’s been working. We started from the beginning and I’m glad we did. My daughter just needed tons and tons of review and AAR really provides that in a structured way. I also struggle with the guilt and wondering how I could have served her better but here we are and in this moment, the best I can do is give her consistency. Like your daughter, she’s also great in math and I feel like it’s common for kids to excel in one or the other. Be encouraged, mama! It’s ok to make mistakes- you are obviously committed to your daughter and her education and in the end, that is what is going to benefit her the most!
I have a very very similar journey with my daughter, and AAR is such a huge win for us. We take lots of time with each lesson so she's 7 and we're doing l24. It's a huge lesson but we work through it a bit at a time each lesson until she's confident. We also do explore the code and sentence ladders. I would start at aar lesson 1 because there were big gaps from treasure hunt that aar addressed. My daughter is dyslexic, it may be worth looking into for your daughter as well.
I relate so much to this video. My youngest is 7 now. She is in first grade but I feel she is still struggling so much with phonics. We are in a public virtual school (similar to charter) and I’ve now asked for her to be evaluated in order to get some help. I’m so scared of failing her. We’ve switched around a couple of curriculums as well
@@schultesweeties hi! Thanks for connecting🙂 It’s such a struggle to find the solution! Our charter has all the interventions and support but sometimes that feels even more stressful for me. I’m sorry you’re worried about failing her. I’ve been there- and still am- but then I remember that moms who care this much aren’t capable of failing them. She’ll come around just as I know mine will- it’s just the “grade level” stuff that mucks it all up!
I would start at the beginning of Level 1. Even if it's easy at first, that will help her build confidence because she will get the feeling "I can do this." You can always skip certain activities etc. but at least knowing what each lesson expects her to know would be good for both her and you.
I taught my daughter to read a yr earlier then public school when she attended. Another son in public school didn't read till 3rd grade. My next 2 I homeschooled and now older still hasn't became grade level and are very behind, we did the same and tried so much. We spent 1 hr 5 days a week. I broke down and got them a tutor this yr. My next 3 kids I homeschool from the start. I found abeka and it has been amazing in teaching reading. My kids need a lot if practice and it gives it to them. Now doing 1st grade curriculum, but as 2nd graders, they are becoming better readers. I would never use another curriculum in the early years. It has a solid program.
The old fashioned Dick and Jane books helped my daughter with early reading. The Acorn books such as "Frog Meets Dog" are really cute early readers. The Pathway Readers (1st grade level) are great and we used them in our homeschool and are now using the 2nd grade Pathway readers. My daughter also liked the Dash Into Reading books (we just read the books and didn't do the full phonics program) and the Usborne My First Reading Library books are good. We tried Prenda Treasure Hunt Reading for a while and it was torture. The things we did consistently every day last year were reading books, Explode the Code, and for writing I added in Building Writers Level A. Don't be mad at yourself. I've also had to come to terms with the fact that we're not going to be an idyllic Charlotte Mason style family and have come to believe that explicit instruction in the early grades for reading, writing, and spelling is necessary.
@@ashleymurphy4813 The Dick and Jane and Acorn books were at the library. I purchased the Dash Into Reading books during one of their frequent sales. Also purchased Pathway readers (affordable) and the Usborne Library (pricey). The list of level 1 readers from Bookshark is also good and we read some of those.
@@ashleymurphy4813 Weird. I wrote a whole reply to you yesterday, but it's not here. I wonder if I accidentally left it under someone else's comment. Embarrassing. Anyway, the Dick & Jane books and Acorn books were at the library. The Pathway readers are very affordable and I highly recommend them. Dash Into Learning has frequent sales. Lobel books like Frog & Toad and Owl At Home are wonderful and those were our favorite readers for the year.
I would start at the very beginning of level one, I wouldn't skip through it. I really think starting in the beginning will boost her confidence. I think a big part of the learning to read hurdle really is confidence. Plus, starting at the beginning will give you some grace at figuring out how to teach it. There is a learning curve to teaching it. :) I really disliked it in the beginning- but I am so glad we stuck with it. My boys both love it! Good luck, Mama, you've got this!
@@amandapeterson9351 thank you🙏🏻 I appreciate your insight. If I start at the beginning, i just hope it will boost her confidence and not frustrate her to review so much.
@@ashleymurphy4813 just go super quickly!! I also recommend starting at the beginning but you could also go through the green word cards and see when she starts to have any hesitation/trouble and start there (you might want to spend a few days going over/teaching the phonics rules of all the lessons you are going to "skip" just to eliminate gaps).
@@inquisitivemindsacademyagreed! This is exactly what I did with my daughter. She came out of public first grade unable to read most three and four letter words, didn’t understand syllabication, and couldn’t rhyme to save her life. This is when we realized she’s dyslexic. I bought level one of All About Reading and had her read the green cards. Once we got to a point where she couldn’t figure the words out I backtracked a lesson or two and went from there. Since the 2022 school year we’ve made it to 1/3 of the way through level four. I’m glad I started from the beginning because we’ve been able to build upon the basics and have stayed the course with one program, so it’s very familiar to us and easy to use, and even modify at this point. I quit buying the student materials after level two (aside from the books). We’re only using the teachers manual for level four at this point since all the student fluency sheets and green cards are in the teachers manual albeit small, but they’re in there! My daughter got really bored of the readers in level three so we didn’t buy them for level four. I just keep her in the same lesson until she’s completely confident with it and then we move on. I also have a sticky tab that I move each week from previous lessons so she can go back and review all the green cards.
Delightful Reading Kit 2 is what we used to start off with and yep, it's just not a strong enough phonics approach and the activities were wild. Boil noodles and form the words with noodles? Nope. There's not enough repetition, and there is just NOTHING wrong with giving kids phonics rules. Actually, it makes it so much harder on them to *not* teach them the phonics rules. Teaching kids to read can be difficult. I hope you find what works for you and your daughter!
Just finishing up this video. It is SO similar to what I've been through with one of my children. We've jumped around to most of those programs. AAR could definitely work for you guys! Also, From Phonics to Reading has been great (recomended by a teacher named Akeeba here on YT, if you search Akeeba From Phonics to Reading her videos will pop up). Also, "Kids Can! Read and Write" UA-cam channel has been great, and I had a consultation with her and I may use her program.
@@AHeartForHomeEducation oh my gosh, thank you for these recs!! I can’t believe all the reading programs out there. And yes, DR2- what a funny program🙄
Oh sweet mama. It’s not your fault. I have 2 kids who have really struggled to learn to read and one who learned to read easy peasy. And my 2 oldest are twins. And one read so quickly and one is 11 and we are still working on it. I did the exact same thing with both of them to start them off. If it wouldn’t have been for one of them learning to read no problem I would have definitely thought I was the problem. I’ve heard so many people say at some point it just clicks. And I don’t think that’s true at all for struggling readers. I know for sure my oldest son has dyslexia and I’m starting to be fairly suspicious that my 7 yr old daughter does as well. We’ve been working on letters and sounds for years and she is still struggling in a kindergarten curriculum.
@@homeschoollifemom thank you for sharing! If we were further along, I may wonder if she has dyslexia but bc it’s only been a year, I think I’ll wait to have her evaluated. I really appreciate the comradeship on UA-cam! Best of luck to you
Try asking your librarian if they have any "decodable" level 1 books instead of "leveled" readers. The leveled readers do not follow phonics instruction so kids can't decode them when they are first learning to read.
@@TateyBonetto thanks, I will try using that language. I have asked multiple librarians if they have easier readers than the level 1. What I find is that they are either way too easy, like very repetitive, or they are way too hard.
@@ashleymurphy4813 The decodable readers that come with All About Reading are quite good and may be enough for your daughter while she is still learning. We enjoyed them and did not really use other books until she was reading well enough to start reading "real books".
@@sarak6401 yes I use that a lot but I’m just not sure which readers to request bc I’m not familiar. Many of the readers recommendations I get aren’t available in the library system
I don't know if you looked into things like dyslexia or ADHD, but they both affect reading. Other than that, I really get the mom guilt. I have a lot of guilt over trying things in different ways with my children and later having to switch things up. You're doing great, though. You're meeting your child where she's at and constantly looking at ways to make things better. You're doing great, and she's improving, and that's all that really matters.
@@capturinglifeinprogress1999 thanks! She’s doing really well. When I met her where she’s at, things really started improving. I’ve got to remind myself- this is all new for her and some kids take more time than others
I love to read. Always have. You know what made me curious? My mother always had a book in front of her. Books were everywhere. I was allowed to touch them. I wasn't scolded for scribbling in them. I played with them bookstore before I could read them. I think a lot of parents underestimate their influence.
@@sarahhosl2330 yes, this is a big focus on the unschooling philosophy- model what you wish to see. I have a novel in front of me constantly 🙂 they’re always from the library, so I’m not sure I would let her scribble in them, but I do agree that my influence will wear off
Excited to hear how AAR goes for you two. :) I feel like we've had similar journeys - although my 7 year old (he just turned 7 today, mid Sep!) is in first grade because we delayed a year, and I wonder if you were to do the beginning 1st grade assessment with her now how she would fare. I found that after his kinder year (starting right when he turned 6 to about 6.5) to now after taking the summer off - he is waaaay more developmentally ready and flying through his reading program, SOR aligned from The Moffatt Girls on TPT. He's also autistic and a boy so a number of factors probably contributed. Watching this video was hard because I felt all the rawness of my own emotions from the last year of trying to learn to read with my kiddo - so much insecurity and guilt wrapped up in learning phonics, whewww. She may like the some of the early readers from The Moffatt Girls, they're not as cute as the other books, but they aren't distracting and don't add in anything that wouldn't be at the level of reading the kiddo is at! My son also really likes TGTB readers.
@@hannahhensley8497 hi there, thanks for this❤️ It’s encouraging to hear from other parents who have struggled the same and now have thriving readers. Thank you for the reader tips!
Readers are so tough. Completely agree with you…most of them have several words that are not on that level! I have twins who recently finished all 4 levels of AAR. They were both reading before we started (sounds similar to where your daughter is) and “tested” into AAR2 so I was super tempted to start there. However, I wanted to make sure we didn’t have gaps so I decided to just start at the beginning (AAR1), and I’m SOOOO glad we did! I set a timer for 20 min and most days we got through 2 lessons (we flew through AAR1 in less than 8 weeks). I’m sure every kid is different but it really helped build their their confidence and I truly think it helped them with the rest of the levels (we were able to do almost every lesson in AAR2-4 in a 20 minute session). I don’t use a lot of tech in our homeschool but Nessy reading was incredible for my kids! There are playful videos and songs to help remember them learn and remember the phonics rules (I still sing “when two vowels go out walking, the first one does the talking”)! It helped break things up and lessened the monotony of AAR. Plus it “tests” them regularly (once they complete 5 targets) and it spirals back to things they need review on! We absolutely loved that program! I believe they have a 7 or 14 day trial (and you don't even need to put in your cc). I highly recommend checking it out! Good luck! Reading is such a hard thing and the journey is so different for all kids. You guys got this!
Thank you! Ok, I think starting at the beginning will be good. I’m so tired of choosing the wrong program and making poor judgements. Thank you for your tips and insights!
@@ashleymurphy4813 I completely understand! I spent so much time researching curriculums and its so hard to know what is going to work. OG method curriculums like AAR are based on science are also shown to be good for struggling readers. You have realized what you were doing wasn't working and you are moving forward! That's amazing. I think you will be very satisfied with AAR!
No Fear Reading is the UA-camr. I don't use his full program because my son is too young. Also, I use supplemental materials from Jady Alvarez on UA-cam and Teachers Pay Teachers and where'd you learn that, which is a channel called Seven in All. Her word work pages are similar to explode the code.
My favorite reading curriculum is The Logic of English. Also, Rooted in Language. I do not recommend sight words at all. Pictures do not help children decode words; they keep children guess words. Books with repetitive sentences like that are tje while language approach. It is not evidence-based. For any program you use, I think you will stop shooting yourself in the foot if you stop guessing which parts of a curricula to use. Just have her take the placement test
@@ashleymurphy4813 i think you may had misunderstood my intent. I'm writing on my phone, because my computer is dead, so i was trying to be brief. I was trying to show support for where you have come with your journey. You said in the video to give advice if we had any. I am a speech-language pathologist and literacy is a special area of interest for me. By suggesting to avoid sight words, I am trying to help.
@@gardenia77 hi, I’m sorry. Thank you for the tips. It’s such a touchy subject and one I am very sensitive about. I have since posted updates about our language arts and it’s going well🙌🏻
@ashleymurphy4813 ugh...i started to write you a reply, and I put my phone down to talk to my son and it's gone. I am sorry for not being more careful with my words. I am so glad you are finding tje right fit for reading! "Mistakes" and all, I am a firm believer that noone can meet their child where they are at better than a mother with intent and purpose. I worked in the schools, and sadly, they just are not equipped to meet students where they are. I am a single mom and I had to work until I could figure it out, but I always wanted to homeschool my son. I wasn't able to bring him home until 6th grade, and there were many gaps I knew were there and had tried to fill in with afterschooling, but there is only so much time in the day. Literacy instruction is my passion, so I get a little excited about it and I'm sorry for not coming across more warm and understanding and helpful.
I come from Slovakia, but we lived in Germany for 7 years. In Germany children aged 3-6 go to kindergarten and have mixed classes - younger with older, all together. No letters, no math, just playing, a lot of time outside, building social skills, older help younger, the kids call their teachers by their first names (even the principal of the kindergarten), there is no stress, just a lot of fun… At the age of 6, parents together with teachers decide, whether they send the children to school or not, but in my experience, they usually wait one more year (especially for those born btw. May-August) and send them to the 1st class at the age of 7. There is no rush. Children start to learn how to read and write at the age of 7. And the same is applied in Finland and this country has the best education system in the world with the best results compared to other countries. Emotional intelligence, social skills, creativity and relationships are more important than academics, but still they have excellent results even in math or science...
@@katarinavillinova9858 thank you for this perspective! I agree with a lot of this, for sure. Thank goodness I can implement self led learning in many ways through homeschooling. I did hear, though, that in Finland for instance, many of those children are taught their letters and numbers at home.
@@ashleymurphy4813 I do not know about Finalnd exactly, but my daughter was in kindergarten in Germany and there were no letters during the preschool time, only some basic shapes, colouring, some logical games, puzzles or matching and writing some basic lines to train graphomotorics, but no "serious stuff" :) ... But on the other hand homeschooling is illegal in Germany, so all children must go to school, which is one of the reasons we have moved back to Slovakia. My children are also 7 and 4 (a girl and a boy) and I homeschool them. I love your content, I find it very inspiring and wish you all the best on your journey. I just want to say that I would not worry if I were you, all kids will learn how to read, you are doing a great job.
@@katarinavillinova9858 thank you!! I appreciate the encouragement so much. I know I will look back on this time and likely not even remember much as I watch her reading away🙂
I want to give you some encouragement, please don't fret about this. I have a child who did not learn how to read until 10 years old. She is a beautiful reader and her comprehension is amazing. We know several teachers and they are blown away by her and she is out performing many of her peers now. This was my first child I homeschooled and I couldn't tell you how many times I cried and stressed over this, I let it rob my joy way too much. There is a really good book called better late than early, I encourage you to read it. I really like your channel and appreciate the content, thank you.
Listening to your description of the Simply Charlotte Mason curriculum, it sounds shockingly not very aligned with the science of reading. Just including phonics rules while also teaching methods like drawing the picture to help you remember sounds a lot like the "balanced" literacy that has caused so many public school kids to struggle to read. I'm surprised such a respected company sells something like that.
@@noncorporealentity5641 I should do a proper review of it to really show each component and a full lesson, but yes, it really surprised me. It wasn’t at all like the more classic Charlotte Mason reading lessons I had watched
What is great about All About Reading is there are only four levels and then you are done with reading instruction forever! I did a really in-depth review and advice on AAR 1 on my channel where I shared some tips and tricks if you're interested! My son was also not a "natural" reader
I'm right there with you! This could be our story too. The two things I would say for encouragement are:
1) My mom homeschooled me in the early years and taught me to read and when she watches me teach my daughter and has seen all the research I've done, she says, "This is so much work, teaching you to read wasn't this hard." And for me that's validating. 80% of kids can learn to read with a whole variety of approaches, but 20% of kids will struggle and need the systematic explicit instruction and soooo much practice. Teaching a struggling reader is so different and it's hard and the experience of someone who taught a non-struggling reader to read just can't be compared. You've clearly done so much work and are doing everything you can for your child. As a random homeschooling mom on the internet, I'm proud of you!
2) Our stories are so similar and yet have many differences. We started Playing Preschool program when she was 5 yo (I wanted gentle but wanted structure). At 6 yo we started Logic of English (An Orton Gillingham program with lots of games). But LoE is a mastery based program and it starts with a few letters and phonemic awareness skills. My daughter couldn't pass the assessments for phonemic awareness. These are just listening skills, I say three sounds (B-A-T), she blends them in her head, and circles the right picture. She couldn't do it and just repeating the drills in the book over and over didn't help. So, we paused that program and did Treasure Hunt Reading because then she wouldn't fight me on the lesson, she loved watching a video. The lessons were fine, but sounding out a pizza full of pepperoni took four days and much wailing and gnashing of teeth. After we finished Journey 1, it hadn't "clicked". I started a different program with a word family approach, and even if she underlined the same -at ending in each word she would painfully sound out each word. After a lot of research and four months later, we started Pinwheels by Rooted in Language. That has lead to slow but steady progress. I hope that seeing someone else's journey can help validate how far you've come. It's easy to compare our kids to kids who learned to read in 6 months by just watching adults read to them. My daughter and I have each worked really hard and consistently and we're basically the same place you are.
I've heard great things about AAR and I am excited for you guys! I'll say my favorite thing about Treasure Hunt Reading was the emphasis on a growth mindset and I've tried to carry that with us into every other program we've used. Equipped for Reading Success by David Kilpatrick taught me so much about how people learn to read and why some struggle to learn to read (there are many reasons). We also use the one-minute phonemic awareness exercises in the book. If AAR doesn't work for you (or someone else) we love Rooted In Language! Also for some free or low cost decodable readers, google "CKLA grade k Unit 6 (7 or 8) reader" and you can print out the Core Knowledge readers that are decodable. My daughter is at a similar level and can read through Unit 8. From the sounds of it your daughter is probably ready for the grade 1 readers. I've been told they're also inexpensive to buy.
PS I also resonate so much with looking ahead in a curriculum and thinking, "This is so exciting! If we do one lesson/day for 5 days/week, she'll be able to read first grade level books". We haven't done any formal testing, although I do regular informal assessments to monitor progress. But I so look forward to the world of information and books that will be open to my daughter when she can read! I recently got her a Yoto and have been getting her lots of audiobooks and podcasts so that she can get the input of information that she craves without having to be dependent on others to read to her and it's been great! Even though she's only in 2nd grade, I got her science textbook on audiobook and then she can listen to it whenever she wants and look at the pictures in the book.
I feel like you're telling my story! I dabbled with unschooling in the beginning, and while I still believe in it, it wasn't right for my child. I used different programs but had the same experiences as you. We're playing catch up now, and I'm kicking myself. I'm confident that we'll get through it, though, and so will you! You're a great Mom!
@@jenniesmith5620 thank you for this!! The struggle can feel so lonely but knowing others relate brings comfort❤️
This sounds so much like our story too! 100 Easy Lessons didn’t work, Treasure Hunt Reading didn’t work, The Good and the Beautiful didn’t work, but All About Reading did! I have a struggling reader. It’s taken a lot of time, a lot of tears, and a lot of work, but she’s reading fluently and has been for almost a year!! 🙌🏻
@@brittany.powell 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻Love hearing this!
As a homeschooling mom of five, with my oldest almost 11, I can relate to your reading journey! We started with TGTB, Teach Your Child to Read, ect. Then All About Reading, which worked until the middle of Level 1 for him. His reading became choppy and he was getting frustrated and just not enjoying reading, so we switched to Alpha Phonics and a Charlotte Mason approach with the Free and Treadwell readers, and that really clicked for him and he took off reading.
For my second and third children (9 and 7), both high-functioning on the Autism Spectrum (one with severe Childhood Apraxia of Speech), we tried nearly every program out there that you can think of without success. After a six-month break with my second, we found success with The Good and The Beautiful. However, my third still hasn’t found the right fit. I recently came across a recommendation for Toe by Toe and just ordered it-hoping it’ll be the solution we need! Thanks for sharing your journey; it’s so encouraging to hear different experiences!
@@PagesandPjs thank you for sharing yours! We are now doing a Charlotte Mason approach with the McGuffey readers and it is working so well!!🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
@ashleymurphy4813 - I'm watching your McGuffey's video now lol. We have the McGuffey's I might bring those back into our day. I love Laurel's videos from Land of Kakiak, we also use somethings from the Robinson Curriculum, like she does. Mom Delights has some wonderful McGuffey's videos and extras :).
@ yes I love both those channels as well!
Hey there! The algorithm lead me to your video :) I haven't had a chance to read through every comment to see if this has been mentioned, and I admit I skimmed the video with subtitles because of a time crunch, so maybe I missed it- but your story so far and daughter's struggles, and everything you said could have been me 6 years ago. My dyslexic 14yo was exactly the same, and I had a similar mentality to yours, and took comfort in the tales of older kiddos just waking up one day and it all clicking... My daughter was technically reading by about 8, more independent by about 10, so I thought "great, slow and steady wins the race," because I didn't realize that there are many types and presentations for dyslexia. We were already trying to follow the science of reading/phonics so I didn't think testing mattered, but were still on the struggle bus, and still much farther behind her peers- even those that were "late readers." You know, the ones who did wake up one day and start reading Harry Potter all on their own types. Here is my cautionary tale: please get your daughter tested for dyslexia sooner rather than later. I finally broke down and had my daughter tested last year because even though she's made so much progress, she's still not near grade level and spelling is just, ugh, (and that gap gets bigger and bigger as you saw in that assessment between grades, and yes I also agree that generally assessments aren't worth the paper they're written on, however there is a time to stop and check ourselves to see if we're getting in our own way). It also helps alleviate the guilt because you see that it's not you/homeschooling that is the issue, it's their brains being wired differently. And AAR reading/spelling are great choices for dyslexic kiddos. Or if she's not dyslexic, you find out that yes, a more focused curriculum will "catch her up," and if that's the goal AAR will help with that, too. But *knowing* what you/she may or may not be dealing with is a huge piece of the puzzle. Big hugs (I have cried quite a bit on this journey, too!) and all the best to you!
I don't have the time right now to finish watching your video, but just wanted to say that I really appreciate your candidness. My daughter also found learning to read very tricky. Phonics and learning how to blend sounds just never made sense to her, so I ended up using the reading program that I used as a child here in the UK, which is based on sight words (called Peter and Jane). I still taught her phonics as they are helpful, but we didn't worry about them too much.
Now at age 8, she can read most things that she wants to, including chapter books. I remember feeling like such a failure at times, and wondered if we would ever get to this point. I often have tears in my eyes when I listen to her read, as I am so proud of us both for finally getting there. My daughter has become a little book worm, and always has a book on the go.
We recently discovered that she has auditory dyslexia (which I had suspected for a long time), like my husband. I have been learning more about how best she learns, and am thankful that home education gives us the freedom to be very flexible. By contrast, my six year old taught herself to read basic words before she turned four! They are all so unique, which I think is beautiful.
Sorry for my long comment, I just wanted to encourage you that you are doing a good job. You know your daughter better than anyone else, and it will be extra special for you both when she becomes a confident reader.
@@amylouise6387 🥲🥲🥲This brought me so much comfort, thank you! Reading chapter books at 8 after struggling?! Music to my ears.
My mama heart goes out to you. Reading is so hard.
We started off with Pinwheels 1. I got antsy because it was going so slow. So we tried learning to read with the McGuffeys and that failed 😂. Then we tried Treasure Hunt Reading but I agree, it went way too fast. My son actually hated the videos and wouldn’t retain the information.
We ended up going back to Pinwheels 1, and finished it out. Now we are onto Pinwheels 2. It just works for my son because it is so slow and has so much review.
I hope All About Reading works for her! I have had heard so many good things about it.
Side note, a charter school seems so stressful to keep up with. I can see how the money is nice though.
@@Busybeeexplorers it’s such a circus to find the right thing! I started out such a rebel- thinking that kids should be learning to read from quality literature and not these Bob Books for example. I had no experience and came to some outrageous conclusions🙈 Homeschooling is the most humbling experience of my life.
What you said about feeling like doing nothing was the gentle option and now realizing how hard you've made reading really resonated with me. I think that SO many people are in the same boat as you, and if they're lucky and their kid takes to reading quickly maybe they'll never realize the problem with this logic. But I've always thought it seemed so much more gentle to spread reading out over years, starting early with phonetic awareness and alphabet familiarity for toddlers and preschoolers, and slowly building up, rather than waiting until 6 (or 7 in some philosophies!) and inevitably having to move through everything so much faster if you want your kids reading anything other than early readers by the end of elementary. Wanting to go slow and gentle makes sense, but GO, yknow?
@@noncorporealentity5641 Lol, yes, GO! Haha. So true. And now to have to get these baby books for her otherwise very mature nature is… not ideal. Glad I have a redo with my son🙈
Yes, a child teaching themself to read is very individual. I have 7 children and only one who reading came so easily for her and she quickly surpassed what I was teaching her. It always amazed me. I have one who can teach himself math. The others really have to work at it.
@@Grace_Filled_Homeschool thank you for watching and sharing🙏🏻
We’ve had a somewhat similar journey. When my daughter was in 1st grade I realized she wasn’t progressing much in reading. I thought it was my inconsistency so I doubled down on lessons but she continued to struggle. I eventually found AAR right before 2nd grade and also didn’t want to “go backwards” by starting her with level 1. I then came to the same conclusion you did and got L1. And it was the best decision! We took our time and it took us the entire year to go through it (I thought it would be much quicker). She’s 8, 3rd grade and we’re at the beginning on L2.
It’s been slow and steady progress but she really took off with AAR! She’s not “at her age level” yet but I’m confident after L2 she’ll be a confident, independent reader! 😭
I suggest going all the way through, the sounds she’s currently struggling with are in the last 1/3 of L1. So taking time to review and honestly both of y’all learn the program either way review words would be 👌🏻
@@melissacurtis I’m glad AAR 1 was the ticket for you guys! We changed course (yet again🙈) and actually started using the McGuffey Readers. We started with the Primer (which I guess is Kindergarten/1st grade level) and it is going great. We take the lessons slow and are able to include all of our LA in just that little primer book. So far so good! If you’re interested in knowing more, I posted a video about it recently.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. First of all, I think that you are a very dedicated mother and it is clear that you want what is best for your children. It seems to me that you did the best for your children based on your beliefs and convictions. As mothers, are we perfect? Of course not. We learn as we go and hope for the best along the way. My daughter (also in 2nd grade) did not learn to read (still learning) as fast as her older siblings, which came as a surprise to me. It knocked down my expectations, as I believed it would be relatively easy for her to learn to read, as it had been with my first two. That misguided belief contributed to me going faster than my daughter was ready for. I learned from that and this academic school year, she is doing CLE (Christian Light Education) Reading 1. I decided to start at the beginning and just work through it to deal with any gaps due to me rushing ahead. Did I beat myself up? Yes. But you know what? It's going to be ok. My daughter will be just fine, as will yours. You are teaching your daughter perseverance, strength, good work ethic...and all the while, spending quality, one-on-one time with her. What a blessing it is for you to be able to be with your children during their formative years. You know your daughter best. You've got this...and so does she! Bravo!
@@thelifedctr this is so encouraging, thank you🙏🏻
I am really sorry for all those tests and the feelings that it made you feel. You are an excellent mom, and the best teacher for your daughter. There is no saying your daughter’s experience would have been different if you had started earlier.
From reading the comments, AAR sounds great, I haven’t used that program, but have read many positive things. We had great success with Alpha Phonics. I had watched a few videos on this and did follow it to the letter, there are very clear instructions at the back, and the thing I loved about it, it’s clear recommendations on keeping reading and writing together. I do highly recommend it. It’s v inexpensive, and the parent just goes at the pace of the child with it, sometimes, a lesson a day, other times, you could sit in a lesson for a week.
You are doing a great job!
I had a couple thoughts…
One if you look at test scores many public school kids aren’t reading on “grade level”. Your daughter has you where she is getting one on one instruction and you should be so proud of all the work you both have been putting in.
I completed all 4 levels of AAR with my daughter and I do think it is an amazing program.
I would consider maybe starting at the beginning. But what you could do is quickly “just review the phonics rule”, then have her read the story from the reader when the lesson has a story or if there is no story just have her read the fluency sheet and move on. Then you can move forward pretty quickly, but also stop when you get to a good spot where you want to slow down.
I would say AAR is more mastery so I wouldn’t move on until she has that concept/lesson down.
You do review with flash cards. So there is that for review.
Also they recommend do what you can in 20 minutes and stop there. So it’s possible you could do a lesson or two per day if it’s review or she already knows it. Level 1 is 54 lessons (I think) so it’s possible to do the entire level in a month or two if you are doing 1-2 lessons per day. But some kids spend an entire week on one lesson so it really depends on the child. So for my daughter to confirm she could move on I would just have her do the fluency sheets and read the stories and if she was reading them confidently we moved on.
I would avoid allowing her to read any other “readers” on her own at this time.
You are right. These “readers” put words that are not decodable! I would just say for now I will read to you and you can follow along with me with your eyes. That way she isn’t discouraged by not knowing words yet.
What I love about AAR is it is just reading no writing, spelling, or other type of learning.
Also (if you can) maybe drop all other subjects and only work on reading. When I was teaching my daughter we didn’t do math for a while. Just an idea since you said she was very good at math (but also I don’t know if she would be sad about that).
You could do 2 sessions of reading a day, if you wanted to make more progress. So instead of her reading books like the “biscuit” book, level 1 readers you could just only use AAR for now.
I would recommend prepping with a binder and page protectors so you can use with another child or resell. The resell value is high on them!
I also found “sold a story” very interesting podcast on reading in America.
I wonder if that test she is taking is giving her words that are actually not on “2nd grade level” either way by the end of AAR level 2 my daughter was reading higher than a 3rd grade level.
My son is 5 and he is about half way through level 1 so you actually might be able to start your son on level 1 too. Since your son sounds like he would be ready for level 1. I started when my son was 4 after getting through some of the pre reading level because he was ready to move on.
Thank you for sharing your story. I think it will help many people.
AAR is a great program and I think it’s great that you are giving her what she needs.
One more thing I know a few “second graders” that are using AAR level 1 so your daughter is not the only child at her age who is on level 1.
Sarah McKenzie who has the podcast read aloud revival, her passion is reading and her brand is about reading aloud. She said in a podcast that a few of her children didn’t learn to read until 9 or 10 I believe. I think she had an episode on that. So sometimes even with the best instruction it can take more time for some kids. Excited to hear how AAR works for you!
This was a beautiful video. Your daughter is so lucky to have such a dedicated mother.
I also started the unschooling approach with similar feelings with my oldest and I feel like I contributed to his struggle with Math. I am doing things very different with my second who is 6.
We also live in California. We were with a charter for a few years in SoCal, we recently moved to central coast and I was unable to get us into a charter this year. I have to say not having the funding is a bummer but not worrying about tests and anyone else having an opinion on where we are at is so nice! I was surprised at how much more relaxed I feel. That being said we do miss the funding for activities.
It really sounds like you have the best approach now. Thanks for sharing your journey, it was very helpful and relatable.
@@xbrieex hi! Thank you for the sweet words. We are also on the central coast! I’m sorry to hear of your similar struggle but it does bring solace. That funding is powerful but I know if we get into a better financial situation, I’m done with the Charter. I would feel so much more relaxed and empowered if I wasn’t reporting to a school. Good luck to you!
I agree that charter schools do test children as if all of the same age should be at the same level… and I’ve even considered dropping out of our charter school because some of their criteria doesn’t align with my own values. But it’s hard when they provide funding to pay for great resources and for extracurricular activities that my son loves and can get skilled at. But I think you have a great plan! That you have to just ignore the test results and celebrate your daughter’s growth and just do what you know is best for her. You got it!! 👏 and I’m happy you got through the discouragement and are on that right track. I’ve seen your videos with your daughter and I’m not worried about her. She’s very intelligent and she’ll be just fine 🤩 good job mama. And thanks for sharing your journey.
AAR has been absolutely amazing for my struggling 7 yr old reader. We are almost done with level 2 and she is now reading chapter books and just doing amazing. I absolutely love AAR!!
@@AlyssaNikole music to my ears!! Thank you
Start at level one lesson one and you will get through it fast! Probably 1-3 lessons a day.
@@AlyssaNikole ok, fantastic! I am getting lots of tips on how to go through level 1 quickly given she can smoothly read the review words🙏🏻
I really appreciate you speaking so openly about this. This has encouraged me to start trying a little harder with maths with my 3.5 year old. We hace the opposite problem, shes a keen reader (were 2/3rd through with teach your child to read book and its been awesome for us) but she really struggles to even recognise numbers let alone do much with them. I wad very much like you in the sense of oh well shes young itll come...hut this video has encouraged me to start gently pushing it a bit more because if it doesnt come naturally i dont want her to still not recognise them in a couple years time. Also, its not your fault, every child is different and some kids excel in scienxe or maths and struggle reading and vice versa. The stuff youre doing with your kids will ensure shes well rounded
Sounds like we go to the same charter school in Ca. Although the check ins stress me out because I feel like we’re not doing as much as other people I stay with them for all the financial support. Horse lessons are expensive haha.
I started my daughter early with letter sounds and Bob books and also got teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons. It was a nightmare. She hated and said she hated reading so we took a long break from reading all together. When we picked back up I had to re teach her the sounds but she was older and seemed to take off on reading. We didn’t do all about reading 1 but I did get the readers second hand along with the Bob books and she was able to read them so in first grade we started all about reading two. She memorizes words so easily and reads chapter books but I find when there’s a new word she has a hard time decoding it. I love that syllable board! I’m going to have to get one. Looks like it will help a lot.
We also have been using the explode the code books. A page or two a day. I love them, even though she can read pretty well we continue with them because it really helps with her spelling which we have just started incorporating this year (second grade). She loves reading now so even though she struggled for a while we found our way.
@@carm1030 hi! Thank you, it is so encouraging to hear from other s who had similar struggles but are now thriving. It’s funny- I would honestly be so pleased about where she is at in her reading if we weren’t with a charter who had different expectations. But yes, that funding…
Glad to hear the readers and Explode are working well! I’m sure a heavy phonics program could work well for her but if you check out my latest video, you’ll see we made a bold choice to go with the McGuffey readers for our entire language arts including reading instruction🤞🏻 AAR1 has too many components and I honestly feel simplicity is what we need. And lots of review. I will be doing a video soon on the McGuffeys
My 7 year old 2nd grader is a struggling reader and we’ve been doing hooked on phonics. The app and the workbooks they mail it comes with 2 readers per mail and you can add two more. It has been a game changer. I’ve seen so much improvement. I highly recommend looking into the program and the app is a fun change of pace for them. I have her do 20 mins of the app then we do two pages in the workbook.
The works books that come are just two levels at a time that correspond directly with the app and the readers are at those level, you can choose your shipment frequency. Every week they email you an assessment of how they did in the app and suggest what needs more work.
@@RikkiMohon thank you for the suggestion!🙏🏻 I’ll check it out
This sounds very similar to one of my daughters. We have all about reading as well (level 1), but we’ve stopped at lesson 26. The words get a little more difficult, she has a hard time with ccvc words. We also did explode the code (workbooks and online) We will still be doing AAR once we get more practice. What we ended up doing and it’s really been working is: I hear about Christian light education. I started her at learning to read work book level 106 and then language arts level 1. On her first test she got 100%. How it works is you start with there learn to read workbooks and then once you hit book 5 or 6 then you did LA level 1. LTR ends and you’d still be doing the LA and then move into reading. We’re not there yet (the reading wk books). It explains everything so well. It’s a mastery and spiral approach. It Carrie’s over what you’ve learned into the next lesson and teaches a new concept. The teachers guide is amazing for the parent as well. The direction are great. I wish I would have known about this when my daughter was in 1st grade… I started my other daughter that is in first grade with this as well. They’re both doing it but at different spots. The price is very affordable. I probably would have started here before purchasing AAR. I bought levels 1 and 2 of AAR and it was very costly.
@@ajatracy1299 gosh what a journey! Thank you for breaking that down. I am considering a wildly different approach than what I discussed in the video (in terms of getting AAR1). If it works, I’m sure I will make a video about it soon. I’m really looking to simplify our language arts completely. I hope this keeps going well for you!
Girl, I could have made this video! We didn’t do unschooling but my now 7 year old is my youngest and I feel like I didn’t give her the focused attention she needed when it comes to reading. My older two girls did have reading just click for them after some basic instruction and so I kept waiting for that to happen with my youngest… and it never did.
I said I would never use AAR because it’s so expensive (and we don’t get homeschooling funds of any kind in Texas 😑) but I finally broke down and got it and so far it’s been working. We started from the beginning and I’m glad we did. My daughter just needed tons and tons of review and AAR really provides that in a structured way.
I also struggle with the guilt and wondering how I could have served her better but here we are and in this moment, the best I can do is give her consistency.
Like your daughter, she’s also great in math and I feel like it’s common for kids to excel in one or the other.
Be encouraged, mama! It’s ok to make mistakes- you are obviously committed to your daughter and her education and in the end, that is what is going to benefit her the most!
I have a very very similar journey with my daughter, and AAR is such a huge win for us. We take lots of time with each lesson so she's 7 and we're doing l24. It's a huge lesson but we work through it a bit at a time each lesson until she's confident. We also do explore the code and sentence ladders. I would start at aar lesson 1 because there were big gaps from treasure hunt that aar addressed. My daughter is dyslexic, it may be worth looking into for your daughter as well.
I relate so much to this video. My youngest is 7 now. She is in first grade but I feel she is still struggling so much with phonics. We are in a public virtual school (similar to charter) and I’ve now asked for her to be evaluated in order to get some help. I’m so scared of failing her. We’ve switched around a couple of curriculums as well
@@schultesweeties hi! Thanks for connecting🙂 It’s such a struggle to find the solution! Our charter has all the interventions and support but sometimes that feels even more stressful for me. I’m sorry you’re worried about failing her. I’ve been there- and still am- but then I remember that moms who care this much aren’t capable of failing them. She’ll come around just as I know mine will- it’s just the “grade level” stuff that mucks it all up!
I would start at the beginning of Level 1. Even if it's easy at first, that will help her build confidence because she will get the feeling "I can do this." You can always skip certain activities etc. but at least knowing what each lesson expects her to know would be good for both her and you.
I taught my daughter to read a yr earlier then public school when she attended. Another son in public school didn't read till 3rd grade. My next 2 I homeschooled and now older still hasn't became grade level and are very behind, we did the same and tried so much. We spent 1 hr 5 days a week. I broke down and got them a tutor this yr. My next 3 kids I homeschool from the start. I found abeka and it has been amazing in teaching reading. My kids need a lot if practice and it gives it to them. Now doing 1st grade curriculum, but as 2nd graders, they are becoming better readers. I would never use another curriculum in the early years. It has a solid program.
The old fashioned Dick and Jane books helped my daughter with early reading. The Acorn books such as "Frog Meets Dog" are really cute early readers. The Pathway Readers (1st grade level) are great and we used them in our homeschool and are now using the 2nd grade Pathway readers. My daughter also liked the Dash Into Reading books (we just read the books and didn't do the full phonics program) and the Usborne My First Reading Library books are good. We tried Prenda Treasure Hunt Reading for a while and it was torture. The things we did consistently every day last year were reading books, Explode the Code, and for writing I added in Building Writers Level A. Don't be mad at yourself. I've also had to come to terms with the fact that we're not going to be an idyllic Charlotte Mason style family and have come to believe that explicit instruction in the early grades for reading, writing, and spelling is necessary.
@@YasminB-u9d thank you so much❤️ I will look into those readers. Have you found any of those at libraries or did you have to purchase them all?
@@ashleymurphy4813 The Dick and Jane and Acorn books were at the library. I purchased the Dash Into Reading books during one of their frequent sales. Also purchased Pathway readers (affordable) and the Usborne Library (pricey). The list of level 1 readers from Bookshark is also good and we read some of those.
@@ashleymurphy4813 I also want to throw in Progressive Phonics. It's free online and has readers that can be printed out.
@@ashleymurphy4813 Weird. I wrote a whole reply to you yesterday, but it's not here. I wonder if I accidentally left it under someone else's comment. Embarrassing. Anyway, the Dick & Jane books and Acorn books were at the library. The Pathway readers are very affordable and I highly recommend them. Dash Into Learning has frequent sales. Lobel books like Frog & Toad and Owl At Home are wonderful and those were our favorite readers for the year.
I would start at the very beginning of level one, I wouldn't skip through it. I really think starting in the beginning will boost her confidence. I think a big part of the learning to read hurdle really is confidence. Plus, starting at the beginning will give you some grace at figuring out how to teach it. There is a learning curve to teaching it. :) I really disliked it in the beginning- but I am so glad we stuck with it. My boys both love it! Good luck, Mama, you've got this!
@@amandapeterson9351 thank you🙏🏻 I appreciate your insight. If I start at the beginning, i just hope it will boost her confidence and not frustrate her to review so much.
@@ashleymurphy4813 just go super quickly!! I also recommend starting at the beginning but you could also go through the green word cards and see when she starts to have any hesitation/trouble and start there (you might want to spend a few days going over/teaching the phonics rules of all the lessons you are going to "skip" just to eliminate gaps).
@@inquisitivemindsacademyagreed! This is exactly what I did with my daughter. She came out of public first grade unable to read most three and four letter words, didn’t understand syllabication, and couldn’t rhyme to save her life. This is when we realized she’s dyslexic. I bought level one of All About Reading and had her read the green cards. Once we got to a point where she couldn’t figure the words out I backtracked a lesson or two and went from there. Since the 2022 school year we’ve made it to 1/3 of the way through level four. I’m glad I started from the beginning because we’ve been able to build upon the basics and have stayed the course with one program, so it’s very familiar to us and easy to use, and even modify at this point. I quit buying the student materials after level two (aside from the books). We’re only using the teachers manual for level four at this point since all the student fluency sheets and green cards are in the teachers manual albeit small, but they’re in there! My daughter got really bored of the readers in level three so we didn’t buy them for level four. I just keep her in the same lesson until she’s completely confident with it and then we move on. I also have a sticky tab that I move each week from previous lessons so she can go back and review all the green cards.
Did you know that Reading Eggs has a workbook that goes with the computer program?
Delightful Reading Kit 2 is what we used to start off with and yep, it's just not a strong enough phonics approach and the activities were wild. Boil noodles and form the words with noodles? Nope. There's not enough repetition, and there is just NOTHING wrong with giving kids phonics rules. Actually, it makes it so much harder on them to *not* teach them the phonics rules.
Teaching kids to read can be difficult. I hope you find what works for you and your daughter!
Just finishing up this video. It is SO similar to what I've been through with one of my children. We've jumped around to most of those programs. AAR could definitely work for you guys! Also, From Phonics to Reading has been great (recomended by a teacher named Akeeba here on YT, if you search Akeeba From Phonics to Reading her videos will pop up). Also, "Kids Can! Read and Write" UA-cam channel has been great, and I had a consultation with her and I may use her program.
@@AHeartForHomeEducation oh my gosh, thank you for these recs!! I can’t believe all the reading programs out there. And yes, DR2- what a funny program🙄
Oh sweet mama. It’s not your fault. I have 2 kids who have really struggled to learn to read and one who learned to read easy peasy. And my 2 oldest are twins. And one read so quickly and one is 11 and we are still working on it. I did the exact same thing with both of them to start them off. If it wouldn’t have been for one of them learning to read no problem I would have definitely thought I was the problem.
I’ve heard so many people say at some point it just clicks. And I don’t think that’s true at all for struggling readers. I know for sure my oldest son has dyslexia and I’m starting to be fairly suspicious that my 7 yr old daughter does as well. We’ve been working on letters and sounds for years and she is still struggling in a kindergarten curriculum.
@@homeschoollifemom thank you for sharing! If we were further along, I may wonder if she has dyslexia but bc it’s only been a year, I think I’ll wait to have her evaluated. I really appreciate the comradeship on UA-cam! Best of luck to you
Try asking your librarian if they have any "decodable" level 1 books instead of "leveled" readers. The leveled readers do not follow phonics instruction so kids can't decode them when they are first learning to read.
@@TateyBonetto thanks, I will try using that language. I have asked multiple librarians if they have easier readers than the level 1. What I find is that they are either way too easy, like very repetitive, or they are way too hard.
@@ashleymurphy4813 The decodable readers that come with All About Reading are quite good and may be enough for your daughter while she is still learning. We enjoyed them and did not really use other books until she was reading well enough to start reading "real books".
Does your library have an app for inter library loans? We borrow all our early reader this way, it's saved me so much money for my 1st grader
@@sarak6401 yes I use that a lot but I’m just not sure which readers to request bc I’m not familiar. Many of the readers recommendations I get aren’t available in the library system
I don't know if you looked into things like dyslexia or ADHD, but they both affect reading. Other than that, I really get the mom guilt. I have a lot of guilt over trying things in different ways with my children and later having to switch things up. You're doing great, though. You're meeting your child where she's at and constantly looking at ways to make things better. You're doing great, and she's improving, and that's all that really matters.
@@capturinglifeinprogress1999 thanks! She’s doing really well. When I met her where she’s at, things really started improving. I’ve got to remind myself- this is all new for her and some kids take more time than others
Lots of things have no worked for us. Only one out of 6 kids taught themself to read.
I love to read. Always have. You know what made me curious? My mother always had a book in front of her. Books were everywhere. I was allowed to touch them. I wasn't scolded for scribbling in them. I played with them bookstore before I could read them.
I think a lot of parents underestimate their influence.
@@sarahhosl2330 yes, this is a big focus on the unschooling philosophy- model what you wish to see. I have a novel in front of me constantly 🙂 they’re always from the library, so I’m not sure I would let her scribble in them, but I do agree that my influence will wear off
Excited to hear how AAR goes for you two. :)
I feel like we've had similar journeys - although my 7 year old (he just turned 7 today, mid Sep!) is in first grade because we delayed a year, and I wonder if you were to do the beginning 1st grade assessment with her now how she would fare. I found that after his kinder year (starting right when he turned 6 to about 6.5) to now after taking the summer off - he is waaaay more developmentally ready and flying through his reading program, SOR aligned from The Moffatt Girls on TPT. He's also autistic and a boy so a number of factors probably contributed.
Watching this video was hard because I felt all the rawness of my own emotions from the last year of trying to learn to read with my kiddo - so much insecurity and guilt wrapped up in learning phonics, whewww.
She may like the some of the early readers from The Moffatt Girls, they're not as cute as the other books, but they aren't distracting and don't add in anything that wouldn't be at the level of reading the kiddo is at! My son also really likes TGTB readers.
@@hannahhensley8497 hi there, thanks for this❤️ It’s encouraging to hear from other parents who have struggled the same and now have thriving readers. Thank you for the reader tips!
I do not like the bob books but so far they are working. The youtube channel thats right i homeschool has a video going over readers.
@@StephanieMT thank you!
Readers are so tough. Completely agree with you…most of them have several words that are not on that level! I have twins who recently finished all 4 levels of AAR. They were both reading before we started (sounds similar to where your daughter is) and “tested” into AAR2 so I was super tempted to start there. However, I wanted to make sure we didn’t have gaps so I decided to just start at the beginning (AAR1), and I’m SOOOO glad we did! I set a timer for 20 min and most days we got through 2 lessons (we flew through AAR1 in less than 8 weeks). I’m sure every kid is different but it really helped build their their confidence and I truly think it helped them with the rest of the levels (we were able to do almost every lesson in AAR2-4 in a 20 minute session). I don’t use a lot of tech in our homeschool but Nessy reading was incredible for my kids! There are playful videos and songs to help remember them learn and remember the phonics rules (I still sing “when two vowels go out walking, the first one does the talking”)! It helped break things up and lessened the monotony of AAR. Plus it “tests” them regularly (once they complete 5 targets) and it spirals back to things they need review on! We absolutely loved that program! I believe they have a 7 or 14 day trial (and you don't even need to put in your cc). I highly recommend checking it out! Good luck! Reading is such a hard thing and the journey is so different for all kids. You guys got this!
Thank you! Ok, I think starting at the beginning will be good. I’m so tired of choosing the wrong program and making poor judgements. Thank you for your tips and insights!
@@ashleymurphy4813 I completely understand! I spent so much time researching curriculums and its so hard to know what is going to work. OG method curriculums like AAR are based on science are also shown to be good for struggling readers. You have realized what you were doing wasn't working and you are moving forward! That's amazing. I think you will be very satisfied with AAR!
No Fear Reading is the UA-camr. I don't use his full program because my son is too young.
Also, I use supplemental materials from Jady Alvarez on UA-cam and Teachers Pay Teachers and where'd you learn that, which is a channel called Seven in All. Her word work pages are similar to explode the code.
We use Spelling You See level A for more practice and it's handwriting.
@@CP-fo5sy thank you for the recs!!
My favorite reading curriculum is The Logic of English. Also, Rooted in Language. I do not recommend sight words at all. Pictures do not help children decode words; they keep children guess words. Books with repetitive sentences like that are tje while language approach. It is not evidence-based.
For any program you use, I think you will stop shooting yourself in the foot if you stop guessing which parts of a curricula to use. Just have her take the placement test
@@gardenia77 I’m glad you have it figured out.
@@ashleymurphy4813 i think you may had misunderstood my intent. I'm writing on my phone, because my computer is dead, so i was trying to be brief. I was trying to show support for where you have come with your journey. You said in the video to give advice if we had any. I am a speech-language pathologist and literacy is a special area of interest for me. By suggesting to avoid sight words, I am trying to help.
@@gardenia77 hi, I’m sorry. Thank you for the tips. It’s such a touchy subject and one I am very sensitive about. I have since posted updates about our language arts and it’s going well🙌🏻
@ashleymurphy4813 ugh...i started to write you a reply, and I put my phone down to talk to my son and it's gone. I am sorry for not being more careful with my words. I am so glad you are finding tje right fit for reading! "Mistakes" and all, I am a firm believer that noone can meet their child where they are at better than a mother with intent and purpose. I worked in the schools, and sadly, they just are not equipped to meet students where they are. I am a single mom and I had to work until I could figure it out, but I always wanted to homeschool my son. I wasn't able to bring him home until 6th grade, and there were many gaps I knew were there and had tried to fill in with afterschooling, but there is only so much time in the day. Literacy instruction is my passion, so I get a little excited about it and I'm sorry for not coming across more warm and understanding and helpful.
@@gardenia77 thank you very much, I can feel your heart and intention🙏🏻
Maybe try reading eggs...
@@mariewalch5597 we do! My kids actually like it🙂
I come from Slovakia, but we lived in Germany for 7 years. In Germany children aged 3-6 go to kindergarten and have mixed classes - younger with older, all together. No letters, no math, just playing, a lot of time outside, building social skills, older help younger, the kids call their teachers by their first names (even the principal of the kindergarten), there is no stress, just a lot of fun…
At the age of 6, parents together with teachers decide, whether they send the children to school or not, but in my experience, they usually wait one more year (especially for those born btw. May-August) and send them to the 1st class at the age of 7. There is no rush. Children start to learn how to read and write at the age of 7. And the same is applied in Finland and this country has the best education system in the world with the best results compared to other countries. Emotional intelligence, social skills, creativity and relationships are more important than academics, but still they have excellent results even in math or science...
@@katarinavillinova9858 thank you for this perspective! I agree with a lot of this, for sure. Thank goodness I can implement self led learning in many ways through homeschooling.
I did hear, though, that in Finland for instance, many of those children are taught their letters and numbers at home.
At home when they are little I mean
@@ashleymurphy4813 I do not know about Finalnd exactly, but my daughter was in kindergarten in Germany and there were no letters during the preschool time, only some basic shapes, colouring, some logical games, puzzles or matching and writing some basic lines to train graphomotorics, but no "serious stuff" :) ... But on the other hand homeschooling is illegal in Germany, so all children must go to school, which is one of the reasons we have moved back to Slovakia. My children are also 7 and 4 (a girl and a boy) and I homeschool them. I love your content, I find it very inspiring and wish you all the best on your journey. I just want to say that I would not worry if I were you, all kids will learn how to read, you are doing a great job.
@@katarinavillinova9858 thank you!! I appreciate the encouragement so much. I know I will look back on this time and likely not even remember much as I watch her reading away🙂
I want to give you some encouragement, please don't fret about this. I have a child who did not learn how to read until 10 years old. She is a beautiful reader and her comprehension is amazing. We know several teachers and they are blown away by her and she is out performing many of her peers now. This was my first child I homeschooled and I couldn't tell you how many times I cried and stressed over this, I let it rob my joy way too much. There is a really good book called better late than early, I encourage you to read it. I really like your channel and appreciate the content, thank you.
Listening to your description of the Simply Charlotte Mason curriculum, it sounds shockingly not very aligned with the science of reading. Just including phonics rules while also teaching methods like drawing the picture to help you remember sounds a lot like the "balanced" literacy that has caused so many public school kids to struggle to read. I'm surprised such a respected company sells something like that.
@@noncorporealentity5641 I should do a proper review of it to really show each component and a full lesson, but yes, it really surprised me. It wasn’t at all like the more classic Charlotte Mason reading lessons I had watched
What is great about All About Reading is there are only four levels and then you are done with reading instruction forever! I did a really in-depth review and advice on AAR 1 on my channel where I shared some tips and tricks if you're interested! My son was also not a "natural" reader
@@autumnholt1889 thank you!