Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) 3

Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) 3 - Spy Mission 3, Tools, Secret Codes, Code Book, & Reporting:

Action Plan 3: Making multi-syllable words and simple sentences from the small-word list. Finding the next Secret Codes of word usage. Charts of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs. Compound words. Ad-libs. Use Phonics Charts 13, 15a-16f. Spy Rules 32, 37-43.

Spy Game – The Secret Codes:
                Spy Mission 3: Uncover the secret world of syllables, sentences and word usage.
                You (child) are the world-famous spy, Cody Breaker! Your third mission is to find words with more than one syllable as well as compound words. You will crack the code of word-usage (nouns, verbs, adjectives, & adverbs). You will decipher and create secret messages with ad-libs, too. Use the Phonics charts 15a – 16f in the appendix. Learn how to de-code new words by sounding out each syllable separately, then joining them together. Have the Spy Chief (parent) demonstrate how to do this with you. Have her explain the meaning of the words, if needed.

                Look for multi-syllable words and compound words in the signs and world around you. Report to the Spy Chief regularly about what you have found. Besides cracking the ad-libs, your Spy assignment is to choose 5 new words from the dictionary, learn their meaning, then create a story using all 5 new words. Develop your skills by writing it down. The results can be hilarious (and educational)!

Spy Tools:
                Spy Chief, use phonics charts, found in the appendix, with your child. You can start introducing the corresponding words as you present each concept with the Spy Code Rules 32, 37 – 43 below, so that s/he understands how syllables and sentences are put together. You might not want to do all of them in one sitting. Have your little Spy search for new examples in books, signs, etc. Practice dividing syllables of written words by drawing a slash mark between them. Introduce how to use the dictionary. Be creative! Have joyous fun with it!

The Spy Code Rules:

Spy Code Rule 32: The a- rule: when a comes in front of a two-syllable word, it usually says ‘ŭ’ (alone, a/lone).

Spy Code Rule 37: Syllable rule: a syllable is a part of a word. Short words have only one syllable. Long words have more than one syllable. Each syllable is sounded out as a short word, then blended together. Each syllable must have its own vowel that you can hear.

Spy Code Rule 38. The –y rule: at the end of a long word, y usually says ‘ē’ (family).

Spy Code Rule 39: Double consonant rule: doubling a consonant in the middle of a long word usually changes the long vowel to a short one (dīner to dĭnner, sūper to sŭpper). Note: Discussion of short vs. long vowels is in Chapter 7.

Spy Code Rule 40: Dividing syllables 1^st rule: a long word’s syllables may be divided between double consonants (din/ner, sup/per).

Spy Code Rule 41: Dividing syllables 2^nd rule: when le follows a double consonant at the end of a long word, only the le* is heard in the last syllable sound (mid/dle, bot/tle). The middle consonant is sounded with the first syllable. *The e is silent.

Spy Code Rule 42: Dividing syllables 3^rd rule: a long word’s syllables may be divided between a vowel and a consonant as follows – if the first vowel is short, divide after the middle consonant (rob-in, thick-en); – if the first vowel is long, divide before the middle consonant (ta-ble, la-dy).

Spy Code Rule 43: Dividing syllables 4^th rule: a long word’s syllables may be divided between middle consonants that are not alike (san-dy, pick-le).

Spy Code Book:
                The Spy Code Book is the charts and rules found below and in the appendix. The Spy Chief must follow them for vital mission success.

Spy Reporting:
                Show your Spy (child), Cody Breaker, how to report what s/he has found by writing the words s/he has learned so far. To truly understand the code, s/he must master writing the code him/herself. Practice two or three words each session, or more if the child desires. Use the Century Gothic font as your letter-shape guideline. For example, a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z is the easiest style to learn to write. Remember to print each letter in its left-to-right sequence, and in its proper bottom-to-top or top-to-bottom orientation, like cursive does, as explained in the Chapter 1 HELPS.

                Help your little Spy point out which words in a simple sentence (see charts & ad-libs) are nouns and verbs, to start. Adjectives describe the nouns, and adverbs describe the verbs. Think who, what, how, where, when, etc., to help your Spy figure these out. Keep It Simple For Success (KISS your child). Keep it fun!

APPENDix

HELPS – Action plans – Spy Code Rules

Phonics Charts 13, 15a-16e.

Chart 15a: Multi-syllable words for beginners

banana	began	begin	being	belong
between	button	cupful	discuss	fulfill
handful	inhibit	lasting	lollipop	prefix
quicksand	ribbon	suffix	tossing	until
upon	visit	windmill	wisdom	zigzag

Chart 15b: Multi-syllable words (like committee), expanded

Easier Syllables	Harder Syllables	Harder Syllables
banana	after	jiggle
began	apple	juggle
begin	beetle	ladder
beginning	belief	lantern
being	belittle	matter
belong	belong	middle
between	binocular	minister
button	bottle	mommy
camel	breezy	monkey
committee	bubble	monster
cupful	bubbles	muscular
discuss	bunny	nanny
fulfill	butter	olive
handful	buttercup	ostrich
inhibit	clatter	peanut
lasting	clutter	people
lollipop	collar	piggy
prefix	creaky	pitcher
quicksand	creamy	puddle
ribbon	crinkle	puppy
suffix	daddy	putty
tossing	dimple	quiver
unbutton	dinner	reason
until	doctor	riddle
upon	dollar	river
visit	dolly	rocket
windmill	donkey	sandy
wisdom	dreamy	scatter
zigzag	drummer	season
	dusty	simple
	eagle	sippy
	even	sister
	faster	sleepy
	fastest	softer
	fearing	sprinkle
	flatter	summer
	frisky	sunny
	frosty	supper
	fumble	swimmer
	funny	tackle
	fuzzy	tickle
	giggle	trample
	gladness	twinkle
	glassy	unbelief
	gobble	uncle
	grammar	unjust
	granted	unlisted
	griddle	unreal
	gumball	valley
	guppy	weaving
	hamburger	whimper
	handle	whisker
	handy	winner
	happy	wonder
	hitter	wonderful
	hobby	zebra
	hotter	zipper
	instructor	zippy

Chart 16a: Parts of speech for silly sentences (ad-lib style), 2- & 3- letter words

Use the words from Charts 16b-16e in the ad-lib sentences below, or go to http://rinkworks.com/crazytales/ and use the Classic-Story ad-libs. Have fun!

1. That’s because my (adjective) (noun) taught me to (verb) quickly.

2. I made a (adjective) face at (pronoun).

3. A purple (noun) skipped all the way to the (adjective) (noun).

4. The (adjective) (noun) (verb) to the (adjective) (noun).

5. Just then my (adjective) (noun) Terry (verb) (adverb) and (verb) (noun) (adjective) (noun).

6. A (adjective) (noun) (verb) such a (adjective) (noun)!

7. One (adjective) (noun), a (adjective) (noun) (verb) over a (adjective) (noun).

8. Every (adjective) (noun) (verb) its (noun).

9. A strange (noun) was back inside my (adjective) (noun) again.

10. If you’re (adjective) and you know it, (verb) your (noun).

11. Rock-a-bye- (noun) in the (adjective) (noun); when the (noun) (verb) the (noun) (verb) (verb).

12. Jingle (noun), jingle (noun), (verb) all the (noun)!

13. We all (verb) in a (adjective) (noun)…

14. You are my (adjective) (noun), my only (adjective) (noun). You make me (adjective)!

Chart 16b: Parts of speech for silly sentences (ad-lib style), 3-letter words

Nouns	Nouns	Nouns	Verbs	Verbs	Adjectives
asp	gut	pig	add	sag	aft
ass	hag	pin	am	sat	an
ax	ham	pit	ask	sip	bad
bag	hat	pix	ban	sit	bam
bat	he	pod	be	sob	big
bib	him	pom	bid	sup	dim
bin	hip	pot	bit	tap	dun
bog	hob	pox	bob	tat	fat
bon	hog	pub	bop	tog	fun
box	hub	pun	can	tug	his
bud	hut	pup	con	wag	hot
bug	ins	pus	cut	win	its
bum	it	rag	dab	wop	lax
bun	jag	ram	dib	yap	lib
bus	jam	rat	did	zap	mad
cab	jig	rib	dig	zip	max
cad	jip	rig	dip		mid
cam	job	rim	don		mod
cap	jot	rod	dub	Adverbs	non
cat	jug	rum	dug	not	pug
cob	kid	rut	fit	up	sad
cod	kin	sap	gab		sub
cog	kip	sax	gag		yum
cop	kit	sin	got	Conjunctions	yup
cot	lab	sir	had	and
cub	lad	sis	has	but
cud	lap	six	hid	um	Prepositions
cup	lid	sod	hit		as
dad	lip	sog	hop		at
dam	log	sop	hug		if
din	lot	sot	hum		in
dog	lox	sum	is		on
dot	man	sun	jab		up
dud	map	tab	jog		upon
end	mat	tam	jut
fab	me	tan	lag
fad	mob	tin	lit
fag	mom	tip	lob
fan	mud	tit	lop
fax	mug	top	lug
fib	mum	tot	mix
fig	nap	tub	mop
fin	nib	tux	nab
fob	nil	van	nag
fog	nit	vat	nip
fop	nix	vim	nod
fox	nog	wax	pat
gal	nub	we	pop
gap	nun	wig	ran
gas	nut	wit	rid
gig	ox	yak	rip
gob	oz	yam	rob
god	pad	zag	rot
gum	pal	zig	rub
gun	pan	zit	run

Chart 16c: Parts of speech for silly sentences (ad-lib style),
4-letter words

Nouns	Nouns	Verbs	Verbs	Adjectives	Prepositions
bass	peep	beep	till	back	off
bee	pill	cull	toss	buff	upon
beef	pock	deem	tuck	deep
beet	puck	doff	will	dill
biff	queen	feed	yack	dull
boss	rack	feel		eek
buck	razz	fill		full
bull	reed	hack		ick
buzz	reef	heed		keen
cock	reel	hiss		meek
cuff	riff	hock		sick
deed	rill	huff		uck
deer	rock	jeer		ugh
dick	sack	keep		wee
dock	seed	kick		yuck
doll	sill	kill
duck	sock	kiss
duff	tack	lack
eel	tee	leer
fee	teen	lick
feet	tick	loll
fizz	tiff	lull
fuzz	tock	meet
geek	weed	miff
gill	week	miss
guff	wick	mock
gull		moll
heel		muck
hick		mull
hill		need
hull		pack
ill		pass
inn		pee
jack		peed
jazz		peek
jeep		peel
jiff		peer
jock		pick
lee		piss
lock		puff
loss		pull
luck		putt
mass		reek
mill		sass
mitt		see
moss		seek
muff		seem
mutt		seen
nick		suck
null		teed

Chart 16d: Parts of speech for silly sentences (ad-lib style), words with silent, extra letters

Nouns	Nouns	Verbs	Verbs	Adjectives	Prepositions
adze	leak	beat	knock	dumb	near
axe	limb	deal	lead	gone
beak	mead	eat	leap	mean
beam	meal	eke	leave	neap
bean	meat	give	live	neat
ear	peak	have	quip	numb
eave	quack	hear	quit	queer
fear	quid	heave	read	quick
gear	quill	knead	reap	real
geese	quiz	kneel	weave	rear
gnat	seal	knit		weak
heap	seam
heat	seat
knack	suds
knee	tea
knob	team
knot	tear
leaf	zeal

Chart 16e: Parts of speech for silly sentences (ad-lib style), words with alternate sounds

Nouns, 3-letter	Verbs, 3-letter	Adjectives, 3-l	Nouns, 4-letter	Verbs, 4-letter	Adjectives, 4-l
bed	beg	red	bell	fell
den	bet	ten	deck	peck
fez	fed	wet	dell	sell
gel	get	yes	egg	tell
hem	led		hell	yell
hen	let	Conjunction	jell
her	met	yet	mess	Adverb
hex	rev		neck	well
jet	vex
keg	wad
leg	war		Silent, Extra	Silent, Extra	Silent, Extra
men	was		debt	been	dead
net	wed		head	guess	deaf
peg	yen		knell	quell
pen			deck	read
pep
pet
ref
rex
set
sex
vet
web

Chart 16f: Compound words

Easy Compound	Easy Compound	Hard Compound
backdrop	tagalong	backlash
backhand	taskmaster	become
backlog	turnoff	blacksmith
backpack	underbid	butterscotch
backslap	undercut	candlestick
backslid	underdog	dishpan
backspin	upbringing	eardrop
backtrack	uphill	eardrum
blacklist	upkeep	earring
buttercup	upland	fishmonger
butterfingers	uplift	fishpond
butternut	uplink	gearshift
cancan	upon	grandchildren
cannot	uppercut	granduncle
crosscut	upstanding	handsome
duckbill	upturn	hereafter
duckpin	upwind	herein
duckweed	windmill	honeybee
grandmaster	sunup	honeysuckle
grandson	tagalong	jumpshot
grandstand	taskmaster	keypad
grasshopper	turnoff	matchbox
grassland	underbid	passkey
hamburger	undercut	pinwheel
handcuff	underdog	rattletrap
handgun	upbringing	sheepskin
longhand	uphill	somebody
nutcracker	upkeep	starfish
pickup	upland	steamship
pinup	uplift	sunfish
quicksand	uplink	teacup
rubberband	upon	teapot
sandlot	uppercut	turnbuckle
slapstick	upstanding	upbeat
standoff	upturn	upheaval
sunglasses	upwind	upshot
sunlit	windmill	upstream
sunup

Spy Code Rule 44: Word usage rule: when a word changes from a noun (or adjective) to a verb, or vice-versa, its pronunciation and/or spelling may also change (The wind was too strong to wind the sail). (He thought the present time was time to present the present). (The bandage was wound around the wound). (I did not object to the object). (The insurance was invalid for the invalid). The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert). (A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum). (How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?). (It’s not safe to live around a live wire). By Sonal Panse

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/4-20-2005-68792.asp

Phonics Chart 13: Common Platypus Words – How to Handle a Few Common Sight Words

Say the words phonetically the way they look, then say them the platypus (traditional) way. This helps children remember.

ā     again    are   been   both   brother   come   do  done  father     from    give    gone

have   Ī    is     live      love    mother   none   once   one              said  says     some  thē

thought   their   there   to   two     want   was     were   what   when  where   who why

you     your    ton      eye     of

http://thegodfreymethod.com/blog/home-early-learning-play-school-helps-3

Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) 2

Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) 2 - Spy Mission 2, Tools, Secret Codes, Code Book, & Reporting:

Action Plan 2: Sounding-out (reading) two- and three-letter words from the list. Discussing syllables and one-syllable words. Rhyming games. Blending sounds slowly, then say it fast! Start with a review of the previous sounds, then move ahead to new sound. Use magnetic letters in 3-dimensional shapes. Discuss directionality of letters. Making play-dough letters. Finding the next Secret Codes. See Code Rules 2 – 5. 

Use Phonics Charts 2 – 4.

Spy Game – The Secret Codes:
                Spy Mission 2: Discover what the words say and mean.

                You (child) are the world-famous spy, Cody Breaker! Your second mission is to sound out the letters for each word in the Phonics charts 2 – 4 in the appendix. Choose a word and say each sound separately, left to right. Then blend the sounds together slowly, left to right. Then say them fast! You have read a word. Have the Spy Chief (mom or dad) demonstrate how to do this with you. Have her explain the meaning of the word, if needed.

                Try at least 3 new words each day, or as many as you want until you’re ready to stop. Report to the Spy Chief regularly about what you have found (parents, avoid the temptation to show pictures with the words, since it is very important that your little spy does not learn to read by sight. Sight reading will come naturally later and should not be taught here.) Start finding words you can sound-out in the world around you.

Spy Tools:
                Spy Chief, start using The Godfrey Method phonics charts, found in the appendix, with your child. You can start introducing the words once your little spy knows some letter sounds. The words are written progressively, adding a new letter to each section, in alphabetical order. Introduce the Spy Code Rules 2 – 5 below, so that reading wires on the left side of your child’s brain where it belongs. Sight-readers and dyslexics wire on the right side, which causes problems later. We don’t want the child to become “prompt-dependent” on pictures of the words, and NEVER encourage your child to guess. The sounding out of word-letters individually, then together slowly, then together quickly! is very important to excellent reading skills.

The Spy Code Rules 2 – 5:

Spy Code Rule 2: One-vowel rule: when there is one vowel in a word, that vowel usually says its short sound. (Note: The Godfrey Method starts with the short sounds of a, i, o, & u, but uses long e because of rule 4 below and the words in the first phonics charts.)

Spy Code Rule 3: The ck rule: ck says ‘k’ and usually follows a short vowel.

Spy Code Rule 4: One-vowel exception rule: when e, o, or y is the only vowel at the end of a short word, it usually says its long sound (‘ē’, ‘ō’, or y ‘ī’).

Spy Code Rule 5: The l rule: when l comes at the end of a short-vowel word, it is usually doubled (tell, fill, bull).

Spy Code Book:
                The Spy Code Book is now the charts and rules found in the appendix, below. The Spy Chief must follow them for vital mission success. The rationale and tips for each point are given there.

Spy Reporting:
                Show your spy (child), Cody Breaker, how to report what s/he has found by writing the words s/he has learned so far. To truly understand the code, s/he must master writing the code him/herself. Practice two or three words each session, or more if the child desires. Use the Century Gothic font as your letter-shape guideline. For example, a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z is the easiest style to learn to write. Remember to print each letter in its left-to-right sequence, and in its proper bottom-to-top or top-to-bottom orientation, like cursive does, as explained in the Chapter 1 HELPS.

http://thegodfreymethod.com/blog/home-early-learning-play-school-helps-2

HELPS – Action plans – Spy Code Rules

Phonics Charts 2 – 4.

Phonics Chart 2: Small Words – Set 1       (Short Vowels ă, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ, except ē)

ă, b, c:            cab    

d:         add     bad     cad     dab     dad

ĕ:         be

f:          fab      fad

g:         bag     gab     gag

h:         had     hag     he

ĭ:          bib      bid      big      dib      did      dig      fib        fig        gig      hid       if

j:          jab      jag      jig

k:         kid

l:          gal      lab      lad      lag      lib        lid

m:        am      bam    cam    dim     ham    him      jam     mad    me      mid

n:         an       and     ban     bin       can     din       fan      fin        in         kin       man    nab

            nag     nib       nil

ŏ:         bob     bog     bon     cob     cod     cog     con     dog     don     fob      fog      gob

            hob     hog     job      jog      lob      log      mob    mod    mom   nod     on

p:         bop     cap     cop     dip      fop      gap     hip       hop     jip        kip       lap      lip

            lop      map    mop    nap     nip       pad     pal      pan     pig      pin       pod     pop

q:         (see the letter u)

r:          ear      rag      ram     ran      rib        rid        rig        rim       rip        rob      rod

s:          as        ask      asp      gas      has      his        ins        is          sad      sag      sap      sin

            sip       sir         sis        sob      sod      sop

t:          aft       at        bat      bit        cat      cot      dot      fat       fit         got      hat      hit

            hot      it          its         jot        kit        lit         lot        mat     not      nut      pat      pit

            pot      rat       rot       sat       sit         tab      tam     tan      tap      tat       tin        tip

            tog      top      tot       eat      tag      ant

ŭ:         bud     bug     bum    bun     bus      but      cub     cud     cup     cut      dub     dud

            dug     dun     fun      gum    gun     gut      hub     hug     hum    hut      jug       jut       

            lug       mud    mug    mum   nub     nun     pub     pug     pun     pup     quid    quip   

            quit     quiz     rub      run      rut       sub      sum     sun      sup      tub      tug                 

            um      up       us        tun      suds

v:         van     vat      vim

w:        wag    we      wig      win      wit       wok    wop

x:         axe      box     fax       fox       lax       lox       max    mix      nix       ox        pix       pox

            sax      six        wax     tux       fix        tax

y:         yak      yam    yap     ye        yum    yup

z:          zag      zap      zig       zip       zit

Phonics Chart 3: Small Words – Set 2       (Short Vowels ă, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ, except ē)

ă, b, c, d, ĕ:   bee     deed

f:          beef   fee      feed

g, h:    heed

ĭ:          biff

j:          jiff

k:         back   eek     geek   hack   hick     ick       jack    kick

l:          dill       eel      feel     fill         gill       heel    hill        ill          kill        lack    lee      lick

m:        deem meek  miff     mill

n:         inn       keen   need  nick

ŏ:         dock   doff     doll      hock   jock    lock    loll       mock    moll   off

p:         beep  deep  jeep    keep   pack   peek   peel    peep  pick    pill       pock

q:         (see the letter u)

r:          deer   jeer     leer     peer   rack    reed   reef     reek    reel     riff        rill         rock

s:          bass    boss    hiss      kiss      lass      loss      mass   miss     moss   pass    sack    sass

            see      seed   seek    seem  seen   sick     sill        sock    mess

t:          beet   feet     meet  mitt     tack    tee      teed   teen    tick      tiff        till         tock

            toss     tree

ŭ:         buck   buff     bull      cuff     cull      duck   duff     dull      full       guff     gull      huff

            hull      luck     lull        muck  muff    mull     mutt    null      puck   puff     pull      putt

            quack                 queen       quick  quid    quill     quip    quit     quiz     tuck    muss   quail

v, w:    wee    weed week  wick    will       we     

y:         yack   yuck  

z:          buzz    fizz       fuzz      jazz      razz

Phonics Chart 4: Extra Silent Letters – Set 1         (Short Vowels ă, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ, except ē)

adze    axe      beak   beam  bean   beat    deal    dumb    ear    eat      eave    eke      eve

fear     gear    geese give     gnat    gone   have   heap   hear    heat    heave knack knead

knee   kneel   knit      knob   knock knot     lead    leaf      leak     leap    leave   limb     live

meal   mean  meat   neap   near    neat    numb  peak   read    real      reap    rear     sea

seal     seam   seat    tea     team     tear     weak     weave       zeal     

Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) 1

Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) 1 – Spy Mission 1, Tools, Secret Codes, Code Book, Reporting, & Speech Secrets:

Action Plan 1: Phonemic awareness and phonics, starting as early as 18 to 24 months old. Besides reading to your child daily, ask questions about the pictures and story. Show a love of books. Discussion of hard sounds, g, k and what to do. Discussion of a forward-thrusting tongue, r, s, f, th, and what to do – especially by 4 or 5 years old. Practice writing letters as outlined. Discover the Secret Codes (spy game).   Phonics Chart 1 (see appendix). Secret Code Rule 1.

TGM picture-letters and stories tap into all different types of learning: left-brained logic with the letters and sounds, right-brained imagination with the colorful enchanting pictures, kinesthetic learning by touching the letters while saying the sounds, and rhyming- which is one of the easiest ways to remember things. You can also help your child make letter cookies out of dough, use 3-D magnetic letters, color-code vowels versus consonants, and so many things to involve all the senses, even smells. But first and foremost importantly, the picture-letters and their sounds, sounds, sounds!

Spy Game – The Secret Codes:
                Spy Mission 1: Discover what the squiggly lines mean.
                You (child) are the world-famous spy, Cody Breaker! Your first mission is to find out what all the squiggly lines on the pages mean. Are they drawings? Sounds? Which squiggly line means which sound? Have the Spy Chief (mom or dad) use the Spy Tools and Spy Code Book to help you decipher the strange code. Report to the Spy Chief regularly about what you have found (parents, as the child learns each sound, ask her to find all of the “ă – apples” on the page, billboard, etc.)

Spy Tools:
                Spy Chief, start using The Godfrey Method picture-letters found in the appendix with your child. They are recommended for children ages two to six years, but you can start introducing them even younger. If you prefer color instead of these black-and-white pictures, get A Pretty Girl Was Alpha Bette or A Funny Boy Was Prince River books. Follow the guidelines in the Spy Code Book to use these picture-letters properly. Taught the right way, they are a simple, very effective way to link letters and sounds, and the child never forgets. They are like nothing else, and never cause a ‘prompt-dependent’ issue the way other methods might.

Spy Code Rule 1: The qu rule: q usually has u, and qu says ‘kw’ together.

Spy Code Book:
                The Spy Code Book is found in the appendix. The Spy Chief must follow it for vital mission success. The rationale and tips for each point are given there. The main points are:

·       Only teach the letter sounds, one sound per letter, not the letter names.
·        Only teach the lower-case letters, not the upper-case (capital) letters.
·       Start TGM phonics as young as 18-24 months, without waiting until the child is older, can talk, goes to     preschool, etc.
·    Teach words only by sounding-out, never by sight-reading.
·    Start making small words early, without waiting to finish all of the alphabet letter sounds.
·    Spend fun, quality time teaching TGM phonics at home, without waiting for the preschools or schools to do it.
·    Have no control issues or power struggles about phonics with your child, never demanding your child to respond.
·         Raise your child’s vocabulary by using normal language, never baby talk.
·         Include touching with phonics instruction, not just the seeing and hearing senses.

      Follow The Godfrey Method as given in the Spy Code Book, never leaving it up to the child to ‘discover’ reading on his own.

Spy Reporting:
                Show your spy (child), Cody Breaker, how to report what s/he has found by writing the letters s/he has learned so far. To truly understand the code, s/he must master writing the code him/herself. Practice two or three letters each session. Use the Century Gothic font as your letter-shape guideline. For example, a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z is the easiest style to learn to write.

                It is very important to have your child write the letters from left to right. The order of writing each letter is crucial to learning the orientation of each. For example, to write the letter b you draw the line first and then the circle. But for the letter d you write the circle first and then the line. This helps set the different direction of b vs. d, as well as p vs. q in the child’s mind. And it’s the way we write in cursive, forming all letters from left to right, in a continuous flow, as we write each word. Learning cursive by age 8 is a great way for children to remember letter orientation.

                Most handwriting print methods teach us to write all lines from top to bottom. However, it sets in a child’s mind better if those with tall lines start at the bottom and go up, like b d f h k l t, to more easily differentiate them from those that have tails below. For g j p q y, start the line at the top and go down (same for all the short letters, a c e i m n o r s u v w x z). Starting at the bottom or top helps differentiate b vs. p, as well as d vs. q. It also helps with all orientations and sizes above or below the main line. Again, this is how we write in cursive, with lines starting from bottom to top for tall letters, and from top to bottom for tails on letters. It is much easier to see how letters orient in written space this way.

Spy Speech Secrets for Spy Chiefs:
                If your little spy is over age three and still has problems with hard sounds like, g and k, here’s the secret of what to do. Gently hold the front tip of your child’s tongue down with your clean thumb while having him say g and k sounds. This will strengthen the back muscles of his tongue and show him how to use them for certain sounds. The back of the tongue has to learn how to rise up and touch the roof of the mouth in back.

                If your little spy is over age three and still has problems with a forward-thrusting tongue and confuses the sounds of s, f, and th, here’s what to do. Place one mini-M&M candy (or Skittle, etc.) behind your child’s upper, front teeth barely above the inner gum line. Have her hold it there with the tip of her tongue for a few seconds or minutes, as long as possible. Make a game of it. Doing this regularly will strengthen her tongue’s muscles and help it learn not to thrust forward all the time. Also having her practice saying s-s-s-s-s with her upper and lower teeth shut together. It will help her start hearing and feeling the difference between s and th sounds.

                Sometimes speech problems are a hearing-processing problem in the brain. If I asked one child to say ‘thirsty,’ she would always say ‘firsty.’ But if I asked her to say ‘super,’ she would say ‘thuper.’  So I asked her to say ‘sirsty,’ and she said ‘thirsty.’ Saying the sound was not a tongue-muscle problem but a processing problem. She was not hard of hearing, but struggled with interpreting the different sounds. This can be a precursor of dyslexia, which is a hearing-processing problem, not a seeing problem. Learning phonics and sounding-out words cured her speech problem, preventing any future learning disability.

                When children struggle with the r sound, they are saying it with the back of their tongue rising. Many other languages (like French) and the American East Coast say it that (soft-r) way. To say it correctly the common American (hard-r) way, the front tip of the tongue should be raised just behind the upper teeth, almost touch the roof of the mouth. Have your child practice making motorcycle sounds by vibrating his tongue up in that same spot where a mini-M&M would be held (see above), r-r-r-r-r-r. Practice the difference with saying a soft-r in back vs. a hard-r in front of your tongue.

http://thegodfreymethod.com/blog/home-early-learning-play-school-helps-1-0