I could use some advice on language arts/reading with my son Jacob. He is 5 years old and was an early reader. He is reading fluently now. He is even more advanced (I hate that word, how can a child be advanced or behind when he's following his own time table?) in Math. Anyway, he's doing fairly complicated Math, multiplyiing, and subtracting up to 4 digit numbers with borrowing with no trouble. We are using Singapore Math and it's a good fit for him. He's finishing up Primary 2A right now.

Reading is where I need help. We are using Veritas Press' Phonics Museum and really like it. He's in the first grade program. We've been taking it fairly slowly, but we're about to finish it up. It has been such a great fit for him, I really like and he responds well to the way it's set up - like the way they show how to tell if a c will have the soft or hard sound within a word, things like that. I also really like the readers. They follow real events in history. Today the book was Moon Mission and he learned a lot about the first trip to the moon - which happens to go right along with our current Science interests.

Anyway, I don't know where to go from here. The only thing I see in the Veritas Press catalog for 2nd grade looks like it has a heavy component of Spelling and we're already using Spelling Power. We use Sonlight in other areas, but I've never used it for Language Arts. Could someone please tell me about the Language Arts for Sonlight? I wish I could see it in person before buying it. Would the 2nd grade Sonlight LA be the next step for him?

At what point do you stop formal (for lack of a better word) reading instruction? At this point, he can read just about anything you put in front of him. I would like for him to continue with some kind of reader, just because they ones we've used this year have been so interesting. Mostly I just want him to love reading, which he does.

I would sincerely appreciate any advice or help you could give me. I don't have time to post much and my posts tend to get few replies (which I understand), but I could really use some help. I'll also ask on the Sonlight forums.

We aren't doing any formal reading instruction past basic phonics. Once he is reading - we are using real books from the library. Nathan enjoys reading Dick and Jane books. Austin finally decided reading isn't quite so bad, so he is reading some chapter books (3 at once??? silly kid!). We use Story of the World and Living Learning Books for history and science, and almost all of Austin's 'school' reading comes from those resources and supports what stories we are reading/topics we are covering.

We also have been using some little workbooks for extra practicei n other LA areas. Analogies, Reading Comprehension in Varied Subject Matter, Wordly Wise 3000, HWT.

I say go with real books that he wants to read. :)

Originally posted by 3boysnagrl
I say go with real books that he wants to read. :)

This is what we're doing, too. It's hard to find age-appropriate books that still challenge, though. I tend to steer him toward early 20th-c books, some of which are classics. All 14 of the Oz books by Baum, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Narnia, almost anything by Roald Dahl, Cricket in Times Square books, the Borrowers series, orginial Little House books, original Milne (Pooh) books, etc. He's also okay with some of the Beverly Cleary books like Ralph S Mouse, etc. although these aren't as challenging for him.

Tara