Kipper, Chip et al...how does it actually work?

[TheProvincialLady]

DS1 started reception 3 weeks ago (late due to an operation). He is 5 and can read basic words and a few more complex ones, from my having taught him the basic phonetic alphabet and then him asking questions about other sounds. School ran a 'how to support your child's reading' session but sadly I missed it as I only had 2 days notice and an important work meeting at that time.

Last week he brought home his first book, which had no words but a list of questions to ask and things to talk about which we did every day as requested. DS says his teacher has listened to him read some words in a book and so today he brought home a reading book with words. But the words contain sounds that we haven't covered at home like AI (which AFAIK can be read as either air or aid) - how do I teach these if he hasn't already covered them at school?

I was a bit surprised TBH as the reading scheme they were using at his Montessori nursery seemed a bit more structured, ie each book built on the foundations of the last one - whereas this is more dive straight in and get on with it. I've seen rumblings of Kipper discontent on MN before but never really paid much attention before, oops.

I guess what I am asking is, how does this scheme work and what should I be doing to teach this stuff? Thanks

I think there is a place for reading schemes beyond the teaching of basic decoding skills as they are written with specific purposes that are more difficult to meet in a "real" book which is written for enjoyment ... consider them as text books

So once they have completed stage 6 and have all the basic decoding skills would you say it is best to have mixture of reading scheme books and real books?

I would always want children to have "real" books from an early age.

I mean from school though, not at home :)

As in books they can read by themselves, not books that would be read to them.

For instance DS is 5. I am currently reading Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes to him, but wouldn't expect him to be able to read this by himself yet.

I send home "real" books for children to share with parents and reading scheme books to practise decoding and other specific skills I want to target.

Well, as a parent of 3 children I found the old ORT useless in that very early stage when dc had to figure out that from letters/ sounds you can make words.To me it makes more sense to start with a book with words like "mat", "cat" than a book with words like "yellow scales". Having said this dc1 was very quick in learning to read his books he got from school. He only needed me to help him the first time and he could read it even with me covering the words (he hadn't realised obviously ).
I know from dc2+dc3 that once they were beyond that first stage they made big jumps and just seemed to "recognise" words.

Still off topic. Do you think you will still be having the same conversation mrz in another 10 years about ORT old out of date book stock?
I noticed DD books are over 20 years old.

mrz The ones you send home to share with parents are the children supposed to read them to the parents, or the parents read them to the children?

nappyaddict they are supposed to rea them with an adult

So the children are supposed to read them with an adult listening and guiding if they get stuck?

After complaints from Mrz, Maisie or Feenie, I can no longer put a link to it on here.)

Not me, masha, and I very much doubt if it was either of the others you name. The only time I ever got you banned anywhere was when you were trying to sell your 'little book' all over the TES forums; thus infringing their Terms and Conditions.

More likely just a fed up mumsnetter.,

Masha my only complaint is bad dreams ...

MNHQ wouldn't ban you from posting links to your website simply because certain posters complained - and they most certainly would not tell you the names of those who did. They would ban you from doing it because it infringes their website conditions too.

I'm flattered masha thinks I wield such power and can influnce MN towers

influence