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It's perfectly valid to tell 2.7yo DD that a Jolly Phonics song is inaccurate, isn't it?

49 replies

vladthedisorganised · 07/01/2013 10:02

To wit:
"Vowels are in every word, every word, every word,
Vowels are in every word/ That we read or write"

No, no, no! I'm not a fan of Jolly Phonics (on aesthetic grounds mainly), but prepared to put up with ants on the arm causing alarm and cracking the egg like this - e!; on the grounds that she quite enjoys it. I'm not keen on spelling her name as Vuh-Luh-Ah-Duh Juh-Oo-Nn-Ih-Oh-Ruh, but that's the way it's taught these days and she at least knows the 'alternative' ("V-L-A-D spells Vlad!") as well.

But this! Aside from having sinister overtones (you can sing 'Our Dear Leader Chairman Mau is our overlord" to the same tune.. coincidence?) it's just plain wrong! Cry? Why? Hymn? Pygmy?

Yes, yes, if I'd posted this in AIBU I'm sure everyone would tell me I was overreacting, but it's perfectly OK to get her to substitute "every word" with "many words", isn't it?
Please tell me I'm not alone in my irritation!

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ilovepowerhoop · 07/01/2013 11:13

'Vuh-Luh-Ah-Duh Juh-Oo-Nn-Ih-Oh-Ruh' - it is not taught this way at all - there are no extra 'uh' sounds in phonics

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Crony · 07/01/2013 11:18

which words don't have vowels in?

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LunaticFringe · 07/01/2013 11:21

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Crony · 07/01/2013 11:22

eh?
what's Mao?

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IShallWearMidnight · 07/01/2013 11:25

rhythm doesn't have a vowel, although it does have a vowel sound. There's a proper term for the y used like this, but I can't remember it offhand.

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Crony · 07/01/2013 11:26

y is both a vowel and a consonant
so y is the vowel in rhythm

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JollyToddles · 07/01/2013 11:27

Crony - why

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Crony · 07/01/2013 11:27

although the second syllable 'thm' is interesting as there is no vowel sound there

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Crony · 07/01/2013 11:27

'y' is the vowel in why

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TuftyFinch · 07/01/2013 11:29

The Y is the vowel. In English Y is regarded as both a vowel and a consonant.

Crony, Mau Se Tung.

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TuftyFinch · 07/01/2013 11:30

Massive x post with crony.

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Crony · 07/01/2013 11:30

lol tufty Grin

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Viviennemary · 07/01/2013 11:34

Didn't know 'y' was a vowel. I was taught at school there were five vowels. But that was quite a long time ago.

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ilovepowerhoop · 07/01/2013 11:36
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Themobstersknife · 07/01/2013 11:41

Her teachers are gonna 'love' your DD. Not only is she going to be about two years ahead of her peers, she is going to be correcting the teacher! Wink

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vladthedisorganised · 07/01/2013 11:46

I stand corrected on the Mao.

However, I stand by the fact that the song is wrong. They're taught that A,E,I,O and U are vowels (as per the conventional curriculum), but then that 'a vowel is in every word that we read or write'.
If they were being very accurate, it would have been 'a vowel sound is in every word that we read or write'. Y is traditionally classed as a consonant but may function as a vowel, along with w (as in cwtch). The average preschooler might not come across "crwth" every day but they will certainly encounter "why". And even then, transcribed vocalisations such as "tsk" don't contain a vowel sound.

Interesting that there are no 'UH' sounds in phonics teaching - seems to be in contrast to the way my nephew's class are taught, but that's a different story.

My point is that I acknowledge that the 1980s way of spelling, for want of a better term - "ay bee cee dee" - is not taught in schools these days, where a phonics (not phonetic) method is - the letter N would be 'said' as 'nnnn' rather than 'en', as we would have done at school. If I had a phonetic alphabet on this wretched keyboard, my life would be so much easier.

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LunaticFringe · 07/01/2013 11:46

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vladthedisorganised · 07/01/2013 11:46

'class is' not 'class are', clearly.

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vladthedisorganised · 07/01/2013 11:49

毛泽东, if we're being strictly accurate Grin

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LunaticFringe · 07/01/2013 12:01

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LunaticFringe · 07/01/2013 12:03

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ThreeBeeOneGee · 07/01/2013 12:03

YANBU, just as IANBU to tell my children that the answer to 6 + 2 x 3 is 12 not 24.

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MirandaGoshawk · 07/01/2013 22:35

Er, wouldn't there have to be a bracket round the 2 x 3 to make that correct (12, that is) ? I am feeling very sheepish as maths not my strong suit.

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MirandaGoshawk · 07/01/2013 22:37

But to answer the OP, I too would tell my dch that nearly all words have a vowel Wink

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izzyishappilybusy · 07/01/2013 22:39

I hate Jolly Phonics, but we are stuck with it - I think it is confusing the hell out of my 4 year old.

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