Excitement +

I feel very excited for tama 2.

He completed Lesson 40 today ... all 38 questions !!!

AND he got them all correct, as you can see below

↓

Tama 2 can now read words such as fish, dish, ship, fast and even a new character name, called "Miss Pat."

Oh that's right, he also had to learn the word "fit" in Lesson 39 yesterday ...

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~~ooOoo~~

It's exciting to think he will be finished in three more lessons!! [Well, I'm at least 90% sure that's all he has left.] As soon as we complete it, I will start him all over again to gauge how well he's doing and then we'll move on entirely. We will have to redo the entire course as I don't think it's possible to skip any lesson(s).

No doubt he'll get hoha - but with a bit of luck he won't. What I'm hoping for, is that he'll get excited he can read each sentence quicker than the last time he read them. If I could afford Reading Eggs, I'd probably move him across to that, but to repeat myself from previous posts ... it will have to wait until (1) he shows his reading level has moved on, and (2) I can afford the six month subscription. They may even run another 5 week free trial which would be better still.

~~ooOoo~~

Today was hard yakka for the little guy. I mean, he had 38 sentences to read as well as recognise what letters were missing from certain words. So I'm very excited and proud of his accomplishments. He cooperated wonderfully today which is one of the primary rules in learning. If the kids don't concentrate I know I won't get the best results. So I'm a happy mummy indeed that he persevered and the smile on his dial spoke volumes on completion.


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ka kite ano

For example

This morning tama 2 worked on lesson 37 for his Montessori lesson. He made a fantastic effort and the above screenshot is to show an example of a word tama 2 struggles to pronounce.

For starters, the word "mints" is brand-spanking new for him. To help him, I hid the letters m, t and s and asked him what he could read. He correctly said the word "in" so I asked him what sound the "m" makes and we put those two sounds together, then we added the "t" sound as well. When we separated the word into three clear sounds like this, he could pronounce the word without a hitch. However, in typical tama 2 fashion, he didn't accept my suggestion of sounding it out like this each time we came across it, until he could say it clearly. That's when we have the problem of not understanding what he says. The word then came out in a muddle, but that's what happens when he becomes headstrong and decides he knows best.

Needless to say, this becomes frustrating at times, and I'm afraid today was one of those times I was frustrated. I couldn't wait to finish the lesson and take a break. I didn't want to spoil the rest of his reading, so I simply got through to the end of it and said he could go and play outside.

Sometimes it's hard to remind myself he's only four years old - especially when he shows the same stubborn streak he gets from me, lol.

~~ooOoo~~

Today's post was simply to record an example of a word he finds hard to say. Blending "nt" to a word is very hard for tama 2, but the hard thing for mum is getting him to follow her advice!


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ka kite ano

Tamāhine 2 is really starting to take a shine to computer-learning

On previous posts I've mentioned how tamāhine 2 has started to take a shine to the computers. I certainly can't and won't discourage her enthusiasm because she's already starting to say the sounds of letters and even get a little bit of counting in order - simply by listening and watching what her older brother is learning.

Each time she sees tama 2 get on the computer now, she's pretty much waiting in the wings to see what he's going to use. Once she hears music of any kind, she's up like a shot and practically pushing him out of the way to get "up close".

Too close!!

I can see it's not going to be the easiest thing in the world to teach her to refrain from leaning in so close to the screen; as well as my pet hate - "touching" the screen!!! However, it is something I will need to enforce sooner rather than later. I just hope she graciously accepts mum's authority!!!

Yeah! Right!



Tamāhine 2 had us all laughing today because she practically yelled with glee as she worked alongside her brother. She recognised many of the characters that tama 2 was working with, and she wasn't afraid to dictate what he should be doing.

~~ooOoo~~

I mentioned tama 2 and I have returned to Starfall and today we read no. 2 "en", "et" and Peg the Hen. He did very well.

After Starfall we did a lesson on Montessori. Following that we went onto PBS Kids Island because we knew tamāhine 2 would enjoy it ... and of course ... she did!!!

They both did actually!

~~ooOoo~~

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ka kite ano

Learning phonics and phonemes while learning to read

We started our morning off by practicing phonics and phonemes. Here's three YouTube clips we discovered via a blog I follow - The Snails Trail.

Tama 2 found a few of the sounds a little awkward to sound out, but overall he understands the concepts being introduced. He's a little way off from understanding there's short and long vowel sounds, but we will get there in time.

One of my biggest goals with tama 2 right now is to improve his annunciation.

I know all kids are like sponges, but I'm glad that of all the kids, he's soaking it all up. I just hope that with the work we're doing, he will surprise me and have his words spoken clearly... and yes! I'd like this to happen sooner rather than later, lol.

His language and comprehension are already there, and I'm not forgetting what things are important. However, I can't help but keep repeating that it is also important to have the words coming out clear and strong. Yes, he can hold a conversation, but it takes A LOT OF EFFORT to grasp many of the words he says, so I will keep refining until we improve this aspect as we move ahead with his education. I'm not a qualified teacher, but I know I'm doing him justice by spending the time and energy to help him reach his full potential.

~~ooOoo~~

Tamāhine 2 is now climbing up to the computer to watch. She's saying a few letters, but I've not introduced her to too much just yet. I know she'll be picking up a lot of information (so is tama 3 for that matter) simply by being around us and hearing the voices and tunes coming from the computer(s).

I must make a mental note to sign her up with the Correspondence School as well. I haven't done so yet because I don't know if we can secure our home. However, I have told myself that I need to send out positive thoughts to the universe that we WILL keep our house, and to help make that happen I will make a note to ask tama 2's teacher if we can sign Tamāhine 2 up at some stage. Having completed my Mauri Ora programme, I feel like I can concentrate on the children a lot better than what I have done to date. What better time to tackle a new challenge but straight after the completion of another eh?

~~ooOoo~~

I asked tama 2 if he would like to use Tonka Town one last time. He said yes, but within 15 minutes he'd had enough. I pointed out that if he'd had enough, I'd be removing it from the computer. He was fine about it.

Good, so I packed up the Correspondence satchel and around 12.30pm we all piled into the van and dropped it off at Te Ngae Post Shop. I had planned to pop it in the mail box for the rural post to collect but seeing as I needed more milk for our muffins, I figured it best to drop it off at the same time.

~~ooOoo~~

After lunch I had tama 2 sit down with Starfall and this is the first time we've been on the Learn to Read section in a while. It's always been a fill-in for him to play with the alphabet section, but today we achieved the -an, -at words as well as read the entire Zac the Rat (by himself!!!!) Both tama 2 and myself were very, very happy with this accomplishment.

Following a well-deserved break, Tama 2 sat down and completed Lesson 35 on the Montessori website while his older siblings read alongside him to each other. I thought they may cause too much of a distraction for tama 2, but he remained focussed and he read all 25 sentences. The last sentence (shown below) has the word "fit" in it. He only came across this word yesterday and he was sooooooo determined to read it on his own today, you could just about see his veins popping out of his head as he willed himself to say it.

Now, going from memory when Tamāhine 1 used Montessori, I'm quite sure there are 43 lessons in Book 1. If I'm right then we've only got 8 lessons to go!!! This is fantastic! Considering tama 2 wasn't able to do more than recognise his alphabet back in term 3, we've made incredible progress. He couldn't spell his name without help, but now he's able to write all 8 letters of his name. Okay, he sometimes gets that wrong, but 95-98% of the time he gets it right. He's not even five years old !!! Isn't that exciting?

~~ooOoo~~

Oh, actually, he did use one other website today. I keep forgetting to mention it because quite often it's one of the sites we get to late at night when tama 2 wants to work alongside his mum and dad when we're using the other computers. (Dad on TradeMe; Mum finding new sites for the kids, updating blogs, or Skyping!)


For the most part he plays on this site, like a few others he uses. But the reason I've mentioned it today is because I want to have it recorded for the future. I am quite sure it won't be too much longer before I announce he's reading from this site - without my help.

~~ooOoo~~

So, overall today was "impressive". Tama 2 put in a lot of effort and I'm very proud of his wonderful work today.


Thanks for dropping by
ka kite ano

His reading is improving. How does it happen?

Not only is his reading coming along, but his spelling is too. Today he had to add the likes of an "a" in the word "that", and "ing" as in "singing" (example further down).
The screen in the picture below I made tama 2 put the wrong answer. It asks if the cat is thin. I wouldn't say it was thin. But then I should've remembered it would ask if the cat is fat - which of course, it isn't!!! So sorry about that tama 2!!! The cat is thin.
This is the example where tama 2 had to type "ing".

~~ooOoo~~

This afternoon I thought I'd let tama 2 use the three free samples on Reading Eggs to see how much of an improvement he's showing in recognising words.
I was really excited that he managed to read "I can see 1 rat, 2 cats, 3 bees and 4 (somethings)."

As much as I'd like to pay the NZD$70 for six months, I still can't justify it in my mind. We're already committed to other websites and although I like Reading Eggs, I just think I get better value for money with other websites. In other words, the cost is just too much at this point in time. BUT (and it's a big BUT) I will probably revisit the decision when we finish Montessori. He's improving and if I want to take the financial plunge, I will ... just not yet.

There are other reading sites that are FREE and that's more like the price I'm willing to pay. For example, Starfall:

I need to get back onto Starfall because he's ready to advance with that. And yes, it's FREE.

Sounds contradictory when you consider I'm paying for the kids to use a couple of websites, but you can't get carried away with things now can you? The biggest excuse/reason I'd have to subscribe to Reading Eggs is that it helps keep tama 2 entertained. You have to find as much variety as possible. He can become bored (wow! like he's the only kid to get bored is he?! lol) so quickly. He manoeuvres around the web so easily that he needs to have plenty to stimulate him. Because he sees me near the computer so often, he simply wants to do the same. If I don't find plenty for him then he's going to get hoha about the computer and I don't want that to happen.

~~ooOoo~~

I let tama 2 play with Tonka Town today. He didn't use it nearly as long as I thought he would so I think it's time we can send the correspondence material back.

I just need to fill in the feedback form and get it all packaged up. Tama 2 enjoyed a lot of what he had in this posting. All about wheels.

We also enjoyed using the magnifier. I had no idea such a thing excited. I only knew of a magnifying glass!! How old am I?!!! lol.

~~ooOoo~~

Anyway, I want to get this post done as we'll be busy tomorrow morning. I have an appointment with my midwife at 9.20am. We'll drop off some library books when we've finished also and then get home around 11ish with a bit of luck. In all reality we'll have a half-day of school, and apparently the weather report is for fine weather. I certainly hope so.


Thanks for dropping by
ka kite ano

This week's free reading at Big Universe

Tama 2 read the most basic of words in the above two books this afternoon, but it was very encouraging that he could read with me. He knows the name "Sam" from his Montesorri reading. Words such as "a", "the", "this", "at", "in", "I", "can" etc were a few of the words he managed with confidence. I am definitely pleased with his reading.

We can only access the two free weekly readings and normally the books are well above tama 2's reading level and interest. This week it was nice to have two books he could sit at the computer with me to read.

~~ooOoo~~

This morning I had the luxury of leaving the two babies behind with their dad while I took the three oldest with me to the supermarket and then library. It makes such a difference to spend time just relaxing and finding books at our leisure, as opposed to the usual rush and watchful eyes over little fingers. Tama 2 thoroughly enjoyed his time in the library. He's managed to find some interesting books to read, so we will enjoy reading those ... seeing as the weather forecast is for rain, rain and more rain!!!

~~ooOoo~~

Tama 2 worked on Lesson 26 this afternoon and read 32 sentences. He had a new word today ... "that".

Definitely improving with practice.

~~ooOoo~~

Time for me to get off the computer because the three kids will now work on their multiplications.

Thanks for dropping by
ka kite ano

Take advantage of this great deal

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