At what age did you start Explode the code book 1?

[Euromom]

My son will be 5 in two months , he knows all the letters sounds but he is not able to write yet , I was wondering if I should start him in ETC 1 or Get ready for the code set?

[mom2boys030507]

I really like the Get ready set for learning to write their letters. It also really helped my boys learn to hear beginning sounds of words. I am guessing your son would work through the Get Ready books very quickly.

 

Karen

[Wendy in ME]

We started with the Get Ready for the Code books for pre-k and moved to book 1 for K but my ds is a bit older for his "grade" because of December birthday. Right now at 6 1/2 and about to start 1st grade he is working through book 2. I think that with a 5 yo who knows all of his letters and their sounds, I would start with book 1. There isn't that much writing in it.

[tullyfamily]

If your son is reading a bit, start w/ book 1 and have him trace what you write w/ a yellow marker. (Just do a few pages so his hands do not get sore.) If he isn't reading yet, maybe work through the get ready for code books quickly.

[Loupelou]

I have had several use these books. I would start with the primers and advance to book 1. He may just fly through the primers, but it really helps them to pick the sounds out of a word and match things up correctly before they start the basic spelling.

[ChemMommy]

There's less writing in them and more emphasis on the sounds of the letters. The amount of writing in the ETC books goes up through the 1-6 sequence. If you use the books now, you may find you have to stop because his fine motor skills aren't there yet.

 

I used ETC1 successfully with 1st graders.

[nov05mama]

My DS will be 4 in November and we are starting with the Explode the Code primers right now. He has known his letters, etc for quite a while, so it was a natural progression to move to these...so to answer the question, he will likely start Book 1 when he is 5, since we will work through all 3 primers during this 'school year' and then will move onto the series itself next year.

You could always give it a shot with Book 1 and if, as you go along, you realize he's not quite ready, just step back and work on the primers for now. I think he would be fine going straight to it though if he knows the letter sounds already ;)

[Tabrett]

My dd was 5 when I did books 1-3. She would tell me what to write and I would write it in highlighter and she would then trace the answer.

Sometimes I would write out the answers on little strips of paper and my dd would paste the strips on the correct answer.

[linders]

I started oldest DS (now 9) on Book 1 when he was just-turned-5 (we never did the primer books). He knew letters and sounds at that point, and hated writing. We did Books 1-3 that year and for the most part, I wrote for him as he dictated. It worked great, he ended up loving to read (if he had had to write his answers, I doubt that would be so), and he writes fine now.

 

If you feel he is ready to read, I would try to separate the "reading" element from the "writing" element where possible.

[lulubelle]

I started my son when he was 6. We had him in preschool when he was 5 to give him an extra year of just fun.

[calandalsmom]

The primer books are just so fun. I wouldnt skip them. My kids have absoluetly LOVED doing those.

 

The pages they enjoy most are the ones which are somewhat like an "I spy"game.

[Staci in MO]

For my two boys, we started ETC Book 1 in 1st grade. My dd was ready to start Book 1 in K. She was writing well, knew all her letter sounds, and was starting to sound out words on her own when she started book one,

[Linda1951]

because I had taken her out of 1st grade .

[Guest]

My dd(6) did ETC 1 when she was 5 1/2. We started the primer books when she was 5 and just went through them faster.