I’m very interested in AGF for other subjects. My little one is probably too old for this and I chose a program with more phonics mainly because the lack of instruction has hindered my own reading. We use Explode the Code with Alpha Phonics.
We absolutely LOVE A Gentle Feast for other subjects. If your child is too old for 100 Gentle Lessons in Sight and Sound, and is reading fairly well on their own, they would move on to AGF's Language Arts Packets. These packets have copywork that is pulled from passages you are reading from other subjects within AGF. Spelling words are pulled from those readings and grammar is introduced in those LA packets as well. So, maybe consider looking into those if your child is further along than 100 Gentle Lessons.
Do you happen to be willing to share what you switched to when your child needed something else? I started using sight and sound for my 6-year-old but I quickly realized he needed a better phonics base. He knew letter sounds but he did not know how to blend even basic words like cat. Jumping to the sight words was just a little bit too much of a reach for him. I am hoping to maybe go back to sight and sound later. I was just curious what you switched to. We ended up switching to Simply Charlotte Mason Delightful Reading. That has been a better fit but I am still keeping my eyes open for other options because I am intimidated by getting him to becoming a strong, fluent reader.
I'm glad that Simply Charlotte Mason Delightful Reading is working for you. I have not personal used that program, but I know SCM does quality products. 🥰 I know this sounds 'too easy,' but really if you continue to instill a love of reading through reading aloud and continue to just work towards reading fluency, eventually it really will just 'click' for your budding reader (provided there are no learning disabilities). I taught my oldest to read using The Good and the Beautiful, which is what I switched to for my daughter. It spirals and continues to expand knowledge while still returning to things already leaned to refresh. It's very 'advanced'... But if done slowly is a really great program! I just don't put any pressure on it. Both of my school aged kids use it and are almost a full 'grade' behind, but I feel it's appropriate for them to be there. TGTB is not Charlotte Mason at all. 🙈 So this is one area that I've diverged from CM, but it's what has worked for my kids so far. I will probably give 100 Gentle Lessons another try next year for my next learning reader!
Children should be reading phonetically, not by sight words. Most “sight” words can be read phonetically, there are very few that can’t be. There are many curriculums that teach phonetically but I’ve found so many parents resorting to All about reading.
You also have to realize in the time that Charlotte Mason was alive, some of these phonetic curriculums did not exist. Charlotte Mason did the best with what she had at the time, but I’m truly certain she would have changed her mind on heavy sight words vs sounding out.
Thanks for your overview of this book! That was helpful!
You are welcome! So glad it was helpful to you! 🥰
I’m very interested in AGF for other subjects.
My little one is probably too old for this and I chose a program with more phonics mainly because the lack of instruction has hindered my own reading.
We use Explode the Code with Alpha Phonics.
We absolutely LOVE A Gentle Feast for other subjects. If your child is too old for 100 Gentle Lessons in Sight and Sound, and is reading fairly well on their own, they would move on to AGF's Language Arts Packets. These packets have copywork that is pulled from passages you are reading from other subjects within AGF. Spelling words are pulled from those readings and grammar is introduced in those LA packets as well. So, maybe consider looking into those if your child is further along than 100 Gentle Lessons.
Do you happen to be willing to share what you switched to when your child needed something else?
I started using sight and sound for my 6-year-old but I quickly realized he needed a better phonics base. He knew letter sounds but he did not know how to blend even basic words like cat. Jumping to the sight words was just a little bit too much of a reach for him. I am hoping to maybe go back to sight and sound later. I was just curious what you switched to. We ended up switching to Simply Charlotte Mason Delightful Reading. That has been a better fit but I am still keeping my eyes open for other options because I am intimidated by getting him to becoming a strong, fluent reader.
I'm glad that Simply Charlotte Mason Delightful Reading is working for you. I have not personal used that program, but I know SCM does quality products. 🥰 I know this sounds 'too easy,' but really if you continue to instill a love of reading through reading aloud and continue to just work towards reading fluency, eventually it really will just 'click' for your budding reader (provided there are no learning disabilities). I taught my oldest to read using The Good and the Beautiful, which is what I switched to for my daughter. It spirals and continues to expand knowledge while still returning to things already leaned to refresh. It's very 'advanced'... But if done slowly is a really great program! I just don't put any pressure on it. Both of my school aged kids use it and are almost a full 'grade' behind, but I feel it's appropriate for them to be there. TGTB is not Charlotte Mason at all. 🙈 So this is one area that I've diverged from CM, but it's what has worked for my kids so far. I will probably give 100 Gentle Lessons another try next year for my next learning reader!
What do you all use for math?
@@HeatherMama7 I use The Good and the Beautiful for math. 🥰
@@ThisDevotedLifedid you end up using this again?
Children should be reading phonetically, not by sight words. Most “sight” words can be read phonetically, there are very few that can’t be. There are many curriculums that teach phonetically but I’ve found so many parents resorting to All about reading.
You also have to realize in the time that Charlotte Mason was alive, some of these phonetic curriculums did not exist. Charlotte Mason did the best with what she had at the time, but I’m truly certain she would have changed her mind on heavy sight words vs sounding out.