My Phonics Curriculum Of Choice

At a very young age, I began to notice that G may exhibit some characteristics of ADD. When he began school, he was right on level. I am noticing that certain subjects in school are becoming a bit harder for him as he gets older. G is a bright boy. He is creative and hard working and excels in math reasoning and science. What he needs a little more help with is his reading fluency, phonological processing, and spelling.

So, we sit at our desk away from my three other children every day to do a little extra tutoring from the Phonics Pathways book. Here's what makes me think that this is the book for us as well as a few things that I love about the book:

It begins very simple with the short vowels and gradually adds the consonants to make very simple short vowel words and continues all the way up to complex words in sentences. The progression feels so natural for me and for him. We move as slow as we need to and repeat as often as needed.

It encourages both copy work and dictation and has games to play to reinforce what is being taught.

It includes spelling rules. These rules have been wonderful as my son needs very explicit phonics instruction. We memorize the rules and review them daily.

It is made for all ages and skill levels, so, I can use it with my four year old who is learning to read as well as my 9 year old who needs a little more instruction.

The lessons are very short. It encourages only 5 - 15 minutes per day. This is doable for me, a busy mom of 4! Each page even has quotable words of encouragement given by a truly wise bookworm named Dewey.