mumkins Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 I'm looking for something to teach phonics with. I don't like all the weird coding like in saxon. I'm looking for something that'll keep the kids attention and intrest. I need it to be very thorough so that they wont be left with any gaps. I want them to be strong readers. I'd prefer it to have readers to go along with them. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart'sjoy Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 My only experience has been with alphaphonics. possible negatives: black and white no pictures teacher led need to add sight word flash cards positives: inexpensive/ nonconsumable covers "everything" My kids were reading 3rd and 4th grade books with ease when we were done very efficient use of time, no fluff great for copywork and narration as reinforcement for those ready for writing We used it with BOB books and Now I'm reading. I understand you can now buy readers that line up with alphaphonics. Rainbow resource would likely have online samples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindyinTexas Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 We use Abeka phonics. It can be overwhelming if you use all the bells and whistles, but is a complete phonics program. All the workbooks correlate to the readers and the phonics flashcards. My non-reading public school child went from tears, to an excellent reader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildwood Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Have you looked at Horizon Phonics? It's thorough, colorful, and has coordinating readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 You're proably going to get a lot of different suggestions. :tongue_smilie: I've decided to use ABeCeDarian and BOB books. Oh, and some of the free books/activities from Progressive Phonics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyNellen Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Phonics Pathways plus Bob books is what has worked 4 times in a row here. Thorough. Simple. Cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narrow Gate Academy Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Phonics Pathways plus Bob books is what has worked 4 times in a row here. Thorough. Simple. Cheap. :iagree:We've used this for both of my girls, and my 5yo son has now started working through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Another vote for Phonics Pathways, Bob Books, and I also throw in Primary Phonics books for extra practice. We only went about 2/3's of the way thru PP before dd's reading took off to the point (5th-6th grade level) that we felt phonics could be covered thru spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 I second Alphaphonics. Alphaphonics is simple, thorough, and quick. Black and white yes, but it only takes a few minutes a day and you progress at your own speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 We used ABeCeDarian, and I just picked up OPGTR. Both don't have the "weird coding" like some of the other books I've looked at, OPGTR just has the section the child reads in a larger font. Both need other readers, though, we have BOB Books and Biscuit phonics plus some of the readers by Nora Gaydos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomesteadMommy Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 We use Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. It's worked really well for my children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacnchs Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Alphaphonics sounds exactly like OPGTR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindermommy Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 We used ABeCeDarian, and I just picked up OPGTR. Both don't have the "weird coding" like some of the other books I've looked at, OPGTR just has the section the child reads in a larger font. Both need other readers, though, we have BOB Books and Biscuit phonics plus some of the readers by Nora Gaydos. Aurelia, Don't mean to hijack, but do you mind me asking why you switched from ABCD to OPGTR? I am considering ordering ABeCeDarian and you were one of the few I've found using it and loving it. It seems to be so thorough... Thanks! Ronda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC5 Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 My son and I like OPGTR. As a previous poster said, it does sound a lot like the description given for Alphaphonics. About the sight words: You can make your own sight word cards as you go along, using index cards. Or you can buy them from the publisher, Peace Hill Press. We're more than half way through the book and haven't had to make many sight-word cards. My son's favorite lessons are the ones with games. They are very simple for me to prepare (less than five minutes), and they're fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 We are using (and will finish it in 2 weeks) OPGTR. It is simple, straightforward, and thorough. It is not, however, flashy. There are some games interspersed throughout the lessons, which we enjoyed, and, in the beginning, I wrote the lesson's words on the whiteboard, which added some fun to it. For readers, we used BOB books, then Nora Gaydos readers, and then easy readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Dot taught herself to read with starfall.com, Between the Lions, and the Letter Fractory DVD. We bought OPG, but it wasn't a good fit for her. We're using CLE language arts this year and it has enough phonics built imto the spelling sections that I've decided to not bother with a seperate program at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I think we are different than most. DD spelled her way into reading. Spelling was much easier for her for a long time, and then one day she took a huge leap in reading and hasn't looked back. We used the actvities in Montessori Read and Write until she could orally take apart any word and could build simple words with a movable alphabet. We then moved on to All About Spelling. I love both and plan to use them with all of my kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfb5oieu4894 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I tried so many things, but the easiest and most effective for us was Jesse Wise' Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. You absolutely cannot go wrong there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Well with my struggling reader dd, I tried many of them. OPG wasn't a good fit, the worm in Phonics pathways creeped her out so we didn't get far with it. She was doing ok with CLE's learn to read but I don't like that they do that weird coding so now we're trying McRuffy SE phonics and reading. It's colorful, fun (even has games to play) and from what we can tell doesn't use the weird coding. There are 30 cute little readers that come with the K set and the writer of the curriculum Brian Davis is wonderful about answering questions and does so quickly, usually within 30 minutes of me emailing him. I think the cost is good considering all you get with the program. I also like that it's all inclusive LA, there's the phonics, penmanship, spelling, etc all in the one program. You can choose to buy the penmanship workbook, but if not the TM tells you what to write on the paper for them to use as copywork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I used The Reading Lesson with my now-seven-year-old, and it worked well. She responded to the fast pace of the lessons, and after about 1/3 of the book, she was reading so well that we abandoned the rest of the book and have relied on Explode the Code workbooks and a variety of readers, K12 and Saxon that my MIL gave me and some old first-grade readers that my dad used eons ago when he was in first grade as well as things like Rookie Read-About science books. My dd is entering 2nd grade and is now reading chapter books such as The Stories Julian Tells and Donavan's Word Jar (yes, I know that's not the conventional spelling of Donovan. ;) ). I started using The Reading Lesson with my now-six-year-old, who is entering first grade. He did not respond well to the fast pace of the lessons and I found myself going far more slowly with him, and having to go back and re-do lessons as he forgot what he'd learned previously as we moved ahead. About 1/2 way through the book, I switched him exclusively to the K12 and Saxon readers combined with ETC workbooks and he made a leap. He seems to need context and "real books" to make the connection. However, I was concerned about his continuing confusion over vowel sounds and his poor blending skills. For example, in his ETC book today, he was unable to sound out Dick (the name). He kept saying "Dink," or "Deck," or "Dac-k." He reads fine when he can guess the words from context, but he is unable to sound out new words due to what I consider to be a poor base in letter sounds and blending. It got Phonics Pathways out of the library and we just started it today. I have perused the entire book, and my son had a blast with it today, and I wish I would have just used it from the start. I knew about it, but for some reason chose something else. I'm thinking of having my second-grader work through the material later in the book just to get the phonics and spelling rules well grounded. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Phonics Pathways plus Bob books is what has worked 4 times in a row here. Thorough. Simple. Cheap. :iagree: I also used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons withy one of my dc. It worked really well for her.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Love, love, love, love The Phonics Road to Spelling and Grammar. Completely covers learning to read, phonics, spelling and grammar through the years. After using 100EZLessons with 3 dc (and having significant phonics gaps and weak spelling) I love, love, love PR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekmom Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I tried OPGTR, but it wasn't a good fit for us. The black and white pages with no illustrations bored us to tears. My husband is an artist, and we ALL need lots of color/visual stimulation!! (The great room in our home is actually painted 3 different, bold colors, and we love it!) My kids did very well using a combination of things: Hooked on Phonics (love that there is no writing component - easy to use and fun, interesting readers) Happy Phonics (great supplement, lots of games and activities to make learning to read more fun) Explode the Code books (excellent reinforcement) Victory Drill Book (a must for fluency) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 (edited) Aurelia, Don't mean to hijack, but do you mind me asking why you switched from ABCD to OPGTR? I am considering ordering ABeCeDarian and you were one of the few I've found using it and loving it. It seems to be so thorough... Thanks! Ronda We mostly switched because Ariel isn't a big workbook fan, so OPGTR is less painful. I love the way ABCD covers the material, though. We may/probably go back to it, since we've finished through B-1 and I still have B-2, and right now we're just using OPGTR for review as she's going through a growth spurt or something and everything she learned seems to have fallen out of her head and she refuses to review the "old" stuff we have already used. :tongue_smilie: Edited July 7, 2009 by Aurelia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumkins Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 Thanks everyone. I'm really feeling led to McRuffy. I'm just trying to get over the sticker price as I have 3 to buy for, so $300 on phonics in a huge chunk! But it really does look like everything I'm looking for in a phonics program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I have looked into a lot of programs and used MFW K, (way too simple) OPGTR (too boring), ETC (fun but not enough review). I looked at WRTR and Orton-Gillingham. I have decided to go with McRuffy for DS. It sounds a lot like MCP Plaid phonics, but that program is for schools and McRuffy is for homeschoolers (and if you get the TM for MCP Plaid, McRuffy is less expensive. It has games and looks to be pretty fun. I also love the idea of all LA being covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lahmeh Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Both of my dc used Headsprout online and can read wonderfully. They send you readers which my dc adored. I think there is a discount right now through Homeschool Buyers Co op. Your child even gets a colorful map with stickers to put on after they have completed a lesson to track their progress. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 We've tried a bunch of stuff. Right now we are using OPGTR and that seems to be the ticket for this mama/DD combination. :) My dd doesn't seem to like workbooks. I got her subscriptions to ReadingEggs.com and we tried out other similar trials, but the repetitiveness bores her. I don't want to distract her with pictures she'll feel compelled to color or talk about. So OPG is working! I got a bunch of ETC workbooks in case she does ever want to try them out. We don't read from the book all the time though, I write the words and sentences on a whiteboard. She loves to spell so sometimse SHE writes the words. Same with the computer, we fire up Wordpad and either she or I type out the sentences. Sometimes we use letter tiles. Kinda fun to add variety this way. Oh and Leapfrog DVDs got her up and running in just one viewing on how to read and spell the simple stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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