Vowel Charts & Homeschooling Young Children

"After we go through the alphabet sounds chart, the next to do is to isolate the 5 vowels because vowels are very, very difficult to distinguished for young children. As easy as it is for us because we've been doing it for years and years, a lot of children they hear the A, E, I, especially of the first three and they smush them up and the Ee, just Ee sounds kind of like the same thing to them as especially when they're reading. So we're going to teach them to isolate the distinct differences between these 5 letter sounds. So we'll start by having them repeat after you. Say A-aa like an apple. E-ee like an elephant. I-ii like in igloo. O-oo like in octopus. U-uu like in umbrella. Now be very, very strict with this, don't allow them to go uu if they mean O. Don't allow them to, if you hear the slightest sound that doesn't quiet sound like the vowel you want, make them do it over, say it again, make them do it over. Drill it into them. The more you do in the very beginning the more it won't be an issue down the road and they won't be reading the word R E D as rad or rid, they'll read it as red. So, what I do is I start and have them say each one and I have them do each one perfectly and then I go back and I say, now what does this sound say? A-aa if I get a good aa like an apple, I like it. E-I get a good ee. Ii is good. Oo-I tell them oo like if you were at the dentist office, ooo, keep your mouth open, you can even draw a little face there, that's the open mouth; oo. And then Uu, sometimes if they forget I say, pretend you're hitting the stomach, uu. Then I jump around and then I say tell me this one. A, U, E, O, I, U, E, O, and then I go a little bit faster and faster if they can keep up with it until they get it like that and they see the letter and know the sound and they don't have to think and they don't mush it."