By all means, go at your child’s pace. Teach the child, not the curriculum. Charlotte encouraged the reading teacher to “be content to proceed very slowly, securing the ground under her feet as she goes” (Vol. 1, p. 204).
If your child is just not getting it, it may be that he’s not yet ready to read. In that case, take a break for a few weeks then try again to see if he’s ready. If, however, he seems to be getting the concept all right and is just stuck on a certain word or word family, put it aside and try again the next day when he is fresh. Above all, keep the lessons short and pleasant. You are establishing a mindset toward reading and you want to convey that reading is delightful.