heehee... as long as you realise that I can only share with you what I know... and that I'm in no way a professional psychologist. Heh.
Wow, you're very blessed to have such a wonderful neighbour... that certainly helps.
Sight Words - you might be able to find lists on the internet, but they may not be comprehensive. However, it would definitely be a step in the right direction.
Readers - I actually bought the "Go Phonics" system which is based on the OG scope and sequence of things to supplement my materials for my OG lessons. They've got pretty good progressive readers. I like their games and their readers, although if you need a complete program, including lesson plans and worksheets and everything, that is a good resource. I shipped everything over from the States and it cost me close to 700 in all, including shipping and GST. But my girl and student enjoy the games.
Complete list of spelling rules - Hmmm, not sure if that information is readily available on the internet... don't think so though, cos then it would make all those courses and training resources obsolete. Haha. So I doubt anyone would want to post a very comprehensive thing on the net, available for free public use. Besides, there are sooooooooooooooooooooooo many of them.
Heehee, boys are playful. Well, most boys anyway. That's just part of being boy...
Hmm... will check out Phonics Pathways as well as Don Potter's materials. Heh, before my children's difficulties, I must say I never knew there were such specific rules... guess since it all came naturally to me, I never stopped to think about it. Yes, we are all learning as we go... afterall, we just need to be one lesson ahead of the child... haha.
Oh ok... I get it. Much like how we learnt the language when we were kids. Nobody ever taught us "phonics" as it's known today... you just kinda picked up the patterns along the way yourself, without really knowing you were doing it. I think the closest I ever came to "learning phonics" was when my father taught me to see that words came in chunks, and that you could break those chunks up so that spelling was easier. I still remember - the word he used was "chocolate"... so he said, just remember "choc" "co" and "late (pronounced lert still)... not exactly right phonics instruction, but I still got it. Haha.
I think the whole word approach is based on building up the visual memory bank... which is also part of OG. For kids who have trouble blending, you need to also build up their visual memory bank, so that they will be "alerted" when a word "looks wrong". And that takes a great deal of repetition...
So glad that you've found something that works for your son... the ladybird peter and jane is in part whole word recognition I suppose. But because my girl uses phonics as well, it helps her to decode when she can't remember the word just by looking at it... and in a way, that's what reading is all about... a mix of the two.
Thanks... I have as much to learn from you as you from me... thanks for sharing too! It's been refreshing sharing with you too!