I am planning my son's second grade year, and am unsure if he needs more phonics instruction. He reads books such as the Mr Putter and Tabby series with relative ease. We used McRuffy Phonics and Reading 1 this year and I would really like to get away from the all inclusive langage arts. Would a child at this level benefit from more direct phonics instruction, or would a spelling program such as Rod and Staff be enough? If he does need more phonics, I would appreciate it if you could recommend a simple one. This is my first child that I am teaching, and I did not learn to read this way, so I really do not know how extensive this all is. Thank you so much.

We have used McRuffy K this year and have loved it! The lessons do not take us long, and are enjoyable for my son. We use another handwriting program, so we skip the McRuffy handwriting included in the lesson plans. There is not a lot of writing required if you leave that out. We love it and will be using McRuffy for first grade.

Does McRuffy have enough writing instruction or does it need to be supplemented? We used it for K this year. Does it continue to just provide a writing prompt?

My middle son has speech issues. He has an articulation delay but has come so far since beginning speech at 24 months with five words. His speech therapist told me that it is fairly common for children with speech issues to need extra help with reading, and strongly suggested working on letter sounds with him early. I am currently looking for ideas or a program to help with phonetic awareness. His is poor. If you are worried, get him evaluated. It cannot hurt. ETA: wanted to add that like the previous poster my son's issues stem from lack of being able to hear fully and correctly. He had almost constant ear infections for many months. We had his hearing tested as well as visited an ENT and he ended up with tubes. He really started to talk more after he got his tubes and also blossomed socially. It opened up a whole new world for him. He still struggles with speech and making the correct sounds, though.

My son has been working through McRuffy Phonics K for his kindergarten year and has done well with it. We plan to continue with it next year, but I am uncertain if it will cover all areas of language arts. Do the first and second grade programs cover grammar? It appears that the second grade might, but I don't see it listed on the scope and sequence for first grade. Is there any direction on writing, or does it just give a prompt and tell you to have the child write about it? Reading comprehension? Thank you!

Does anyone know of a history program similar to Sonlight for young elementary students? I am going around and around for history for 1st grade. I would really like to just read some good books, but my husband wants a curriculum. I'm looking for something like Sonlight, but Sonlight's American History is for older elementary children. I am aware of Beautiful Feet's curriculum. Is there anything else? Thanks!

I have been looking at a lot of phonics programs for my future Ker and am wondering at what level do most K students reach in reading? It appears that some programs end with a student only learning short vowels, in others they have learned short and long vowels, and in others they have progressed beyond CVC words. I'm just wondering what is typical. Thank you!

Oh no, I would not dream of starting him off with the first grade work. I just wanted to know if the math and phonics included in MFWK is sufficient or if I would need to supplement. MFWK just looks like so much fun. Plus the character development looks great. I want my son to enjoy his K year, but I also do not want him to be behind if I decide to use something else for his first grade year.

He will be 5 years, 3 months when we begin. He knows all of his letters, their sounds, and can sound out some CVC words. He has also begun to write (though he needs some handwriting instruction because he is not forming the letters properly), can count, knows 1:1 correspondence, is able to sort.

Thank you for your replies. So the math focuses on colors, shapes, and patterns? Do they learn simple addition? I have never taught a K student before so I am unsure about what level of reading most programs end at. Is reading CVC words and some sights words pretty typical?

I am trying to piece together my son's kindergarten curriculum for next year and keep coming back to MFWK. The company website says that all kindergarten math standards are covered, but from what I have read it is a little light on the math. If you have used this program could you please tell me just how much math is included? Is more needed? Also, what kind of reading could a child that goes through the program be expected to be able to do at the end? Thank you so much!