The Final Bob Books Reading Loop

I posted earlier about using Bob Books to learn reading with a kid that doesn't like to re-read anything. (I don't get that. I mean, she will ask me to read a new story 3-4 times in a row to her!) Here is the progression we ultimately ended up using:

Bob Books Set 1
Bob Books Set 2
Bob Books Sight Words Kindergarten
Bob Books Rhyming Words
Bob Books Set 1
Bob Books Sight Words Kindergarten
Bob Books Set 2
Bob Books Sight Words First Grade
Bob Books Set 3
Bob Books Sight Words First Grade
Bob Books Set 3
Bob Books Set 4
Started Progressive Phonics Intermediate level
Started easy readers - mostly Clifford, Little Critter, and Elephant and Piggie
Bob Books Set 5

Once I introduced her to Progressive Phonics and easy readers, she would choose which she wanted to do each time she wanted to read to me. We'll still go back and forth between easy readers and Progressive Phonics (which she calls the "read it together stories"). She can now handle easy readers at a beginning-of-first-grade level with just a bit of help with some of the words that are not phonetic.

If I were redesigning the sequence, I would put the Rhyming Words set and the Sight Words Kindergarten set before Set 2. They fit better there, but I wasn't sure where the non-numbered sets should go when I started. We may loop through Sets 4 and 5 again sometime in the future depending on whether she is interested and how she is doing with the easy readers.

At her request to learn spelling, I also introduced All About Spelling while we were going through Set 5. Since All About Spelling is a phonics-based spelling program, I'm expecting that it will also help bolster her reading skills. Right now, it is giving her further confidence because she is realizing she can already spell all the words in the first several lessons!

Homeschool Room (aka Playroom)

So many people posted their homeschool room about a month ago and I was envious of all the neatly organized spaces. Ours usually looks like it has been ransacked, possibly because our homeschool room is better know as "The Kid's Playroom". But I took advantage of a day without her in the house to organize, clean, and photograph!

This is the bookshelf for the current library books, the dress up bin, the ball bin, and the fabric bin. We use the couch seen in the background for a comfy reading space.

Next up is a map of the U.S., a dollhouse, a small whiteboard, a cash register, and the big wooden chest that currently is full of Duplo.

Last on that side of the room is the art station.Still probably the least "organized" section of the room because I know that it will never stay organized.

The shelves above hold "school supplies" and the cabinets below hold "toys", though there is admittedly a lot of overlap between these two categories. The first picture above is a shot of all of it. The large white board usually contains our to-do list for the day and there are letter magnets on the back of it.

The shelves in the second picture contains more art supplies (I keep the paints out of reach) and science experiment supplies. The last picture is the shelves with the reading books, sandpaper letters, and math manipulatives.