I have a friend/mom who has moved to brazil! Her kids are in brazil schools but she wants then to work at home so that they do not lose their english skills. This is MY 2nd year HSing so I am a newbie! she is calling me for advice. she does not need an entire curr., but just english help! of course i told her sight words, reading etc. the girls are 1st and 2nd grade. Any advice that I can forward to her? Amy
First Language Lessons is a great read-aloud style book that includes memorization that covers BOTH 1st and 2nd grade. There is also a volume 3 separate for after that, though for my family we move to a different publisher in 3rd grade. (Rod & Staff is excellent! They don't have a 1st grade book, as they teach only phonics then and begin with grammar study in the 2nd grade. Excellent stuff.) If the kids need to learn to read in English, most of us will recommend phonics before sight words. (Of course, a few basic sight words are necessary for early reading - the, and, is, are, and things like that.) Basically, reading is about being able to decode a phonetic language. The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading is by the same publisher as FLL and covers all of the phonograms and should lead them through being able to read anything on their own. There are plenty of phonics and "learning how to read" programs available, but this one is IMHO one of the most compact with a great approach and excellent for someone who is simply using it in an "afterschooling" type of format. Of course, there are others. Explode the Code or Modern Curriculum Press Phonics are both excellent supplemental workbooks to go alongside this, if she wants that option. Starfall.com is a fantastic (and FREE) online resource that my kids use as supplements as well. Hope that's helpful - you'll probably get several suggestions.
A little off topic, but when I saw Brazil, I got excited. Been there twice and love it! Good luck to your friend!
One of my friends grew up in Brazil as a missionary kid. I'm not sure what they did for English. She is a missionary now and her and her family are out trying to gain support so I'm not able to reach her now. I do know that she has been out of Brazil for quite some time now and she still continues to think of Brazil as her home.
