Sue G in PA Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I'm at a loss as to what to do w/ my ds6 and dd4. Well, not completely, but choosing a phonics program is difficult. I have MFW K for dd4...she is right on target to do the phonics in that. Ds6 is sort of in the middle. He knows letters/sounds and can read CVC words fairly well. He is using ETC online right now (just started today) and he loves it. Best $30 I've spent yet. I look at ETC as more of a supplement, though. So, I'm looking at McRuffy and it looks like something he'd really like (full color, appealing pictures). My problems? 1. Is it worth the $ ($99 is a big chunk of change for us) if I already have early phonics readers and could just as easily buy Phonics Pathways or 100 EZ Lessons and use the phonics readers I already have? 2. If I decide on McRuffy, should I use K or 1st? My son seems to be past the letter sounds/recognition part so the first several lessons would be a waste in the K book. But, 1st grade seems a bit too challenging for him right now. Can anyone who has used this help me? I'm just at such a loss as to what to do with him right now. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 My dd is right about the same spot in her reading as your son, but she's 7.5 years old. She's a late bloomer with reading and we've tried it all OPGTR, 100EZ, PP and others. She just wasn't ready. I bought McRuffy K for her and she LOVES it. I started her just when the readers start which is Lesson 26 and we've just doubled up on lessons for now until we hit a hard patch. This may seem like a waste but it sure is helping to build her confidence and her fluency is much better. Is it worth it, to us absolutely. It's a full LA program, covers phonics, basic grammar/usage and spelling. It's not full on spelling but right now she has 5 words at a time that it focuses on, those words are ones from the current reader for those lessons. The grammar/usage so far has been basic starting with all sentences begin with a capital letter, and most end with a period. It also includes games to play for reinforcement and has story pages you can add in when reading the stories. She loves the lessons that ask her to think of her reader and act it out. She uses her stuffed animals, but they also include cutouts you can color and use to make stick puppets for that. I actually bought both level K and 1 figuring I'd just use whatever part of K we didn't use with dd when my younger son came up the ranks. I definitely think it's worth the money we spent because it's working and she enjoys it. I actually asked the author if I could start a Yahoo group for us McRuffy users. He gave me the go ahead. We're still a pretty small group but you're welcome to join and check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Hey Kel, thanks so much for your reply. That is so very helpful. I thought much the same...build his confidence. We tried OPG, PP (not 100 EZ yet) and he wasn't ready. I'm at my wits end. I thought I could use the beginning lessons of McRuffy K w/ my dd4 so it wouldn't be a total waste. Thank you again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parias1126 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I had first found the McRuffy posts on this forum. I went and checked out the website after trying everything else out there and it failing miserably! My 6 year old daughter was very resistent to reading anything when we started McRuffy at the beginning of this week. I have to say....MCRUFFY IS THE ANSWER TO ALL MY PRAYERS! Both my 7 year old and 5 year old told me everyday this week, "Mommy, we LOVE school!" Hearing this from my 7 year old whom I had so much trouble wiht last year and was at the public school filling out the registration to put her back in, is a dream come true! :D:D:D:001_smile::001_smile: I had purchased the 2nd grade and had to go back and purchase the 1st grade for my rising 2nd grader. It does seem a little bit advanced to me if it is compared to Hooked on Phonics or anything else we used last year (too many to list). Anyway, I bought Math and Phonics for both my kids and then went back and had to purchase the lower level phonics so I would say its the best $500 I have ever spent! :lol::lol::lol: McRuffy has really changed her. She is sitting here reading what I am typing! LOL Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Pam, Glad to hear it's going so well for you too. We love McRuffy here. My dd looks forward to school and my younger one (just turned 4) wants to know when he'll get to do the "Ruff dog" books LOL I'd start him now, but we have lots of fine motor skills work that we need to do first. He really can't write anything and his coloring is just scribble at this point. I am using the Prewriting book we got with McRuffy K with him though so he's ok with that for now :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbows Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I think its definitely worth its price. We used the K program last year for my DS who did not want to learn to read. He really enjoyed it and thought the stories were funny. He went from not even knowing letter sounds to reading books (although I didn't make him do all the handwriting) . He is still a pretty basic reader (still sounds out everything) and Im hoping using McRuffy for first grade will really cement the ideas for him. I know for my other kids who went to public school that first grade was a real turning point for them As to which level you should buy, have you tried emailing them? They are really good about responding quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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