So the unavoidable fact about learning sight words is that there is some element of rote learning to them. Oh how many Montessori, Waldorf or Reggio inspired homeschoolers might deplore rote. So here is how I make the necessary evil less evil.
We used the Piqolo Kids sight words interactive pack. The pack comes with 7 clickable gems to note the dates of each session.
On each page of the sight words, the same 7 gems are present. If my child can read the sight word, she can 'claim' one gem
Sometimes when I feel she is up to it, I even get her to spell on it. The interactive printable allow the child to click on each letter and the colour will change (consonants and vowels have different colours).
After we complete the exercise, we count the number of gems collected and key in the number on the cover page. We run through a few different packs and then add up the total number of gems collected with an abacus. We then keep track of them with our own hand made gem-tracking card.
Heidi was extremely motivated to collect gems. I was also impressed at how much she knew. Many of my friends send their kids to reading programs but I still maintain that kids should be kids. Therefore, the only reading program they undergo is me reading to them during bedtime and any time we have. They love books, all sorts of books. But I did not realise that she actually knew that many words. This exercise also helped me keep track of the words she aren't familiar with and I could pay more attention to them.
I hope you enjoyed this post!