Hooked on Phonics

The challenge in our house lately is trying to help Eli sail effortlessly into the world of reading.  It is not nearly as effortless as I had hoped.  Though I am literary genius, my teaching skills may not be as stunning.

We are have a pack of flashcards with short words on each card.  The goal is that Eli will be able to identify the letters and then sound out each word.  The problem is that he sees the first few letters then immediately starts guessing every word he has ever heard that that have that sound at the beginning or the end.

Here are a few examples from this morning:

The word - CAN

Eli: Ca..Ca... Cat!
Me:  Close.  Look at the last letter and try again.
Eli:  Ca..Cat!
Me:  No.
Eli: Ca.. Ca... Concubines!  (He watches Mulan nearly every day)
Me:  Hmmm.  It's can.  Let's try another word.

The word - DID

Eli:  Da.. Da.. Dad!
Me:  Almost.  Try a soft "I" in the middle
Eli:  Di@#! (I'll let you take your best guess at this.  I think he must mean it like someone's name, because there is no way he's ever heard that word.  But I didn't even try to investigate.)
Me:  Ok, I think we are done for the day.

I know they work on Phonics every day at school.  So far, I haven't been called into school for a special meeting, so maybe he saves all his gems for me.  Or maybe his voice doesn't carry (if you live within a block of my house, you know how likely this is).

In the meantime, Marina is sitting next to us, tearing every page out of a book.

Woe is me.