zenmomma *

>>Now, with your post, it all begins to feel natural again! I can 'teach'
>>Em to cook since she loves it!). I can 'teach' her how a plant can grow
>>from a seed (since she's curious)! And when she asks, I can teach her
>>what different sounds letters make. I really didn't like being paranoid
>>of using that word....teach : )>>

No need to be paranoid. :o) Of course you're teaching your little one all
about the world. That's what we parents do. But I doubt your're sitting her
down and insisting she follow a cooking or plant life or (hopefully) reading
curriculum. That's the kind of usage or connection to the word teaching that
we try to stay away from here.

>>Getting back to phonics books....Have you heard anything about Reading
>>Reflex? It's a'new(?) method of phonics where there are no rules to
>>learn...and they use terms like 'sound pictures' (the letters that
>>represent the sounds in words).>>

Wow. Your daughter is only 3 right? Have you tried the old (and inexpensive)
letters on the fridge like Ned suggested? I haven't seen Reading Reflex, but
I know Conor really understood letter sounds using pictures instead of just
letters. But I would think that could be accomplished by just cutting out
pictures from a magazine and sticking them on an index card. For example, a
picture of a carrot on one side/a "c" on the other. A picture of an apple/an
"a". A picture of a top/a "t". Put carrot/apple/top together and the 3
starting sounds are c-a-t. If your daughter is enjoying it and asking
questions about letters and sounds, this could be a fun game.

I was also remembering that computer games were another fun learning tool.
Games like the early Jump Starts (K-grade 3) were my kids favorites. (After
that they got too schooly for them.) Reader Rabbit, Arthur's Reading Race,
etc. were all fun.


Life is good.
~Mary

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