Has anyone used Explode the Code online program?

[ChristusG]

I'm teaching my kindergartener to read. We're on Book C of the Get Ready, Get Set, Go for the Code series (they are prequels to the Explode the Code book series). I was looking online to order Book 1 and ran across this: http://www.explodethecode.com/ . It looks interesting. It's like $55 for a year. I was just wondering if this works, if kids like it, and if it is worth that price.

[Bayt ul-Hikmah]

:lurk5:

[Sandy in Indy]

I've used it...or my ds has. He really liked it at first. I think I should have done something else for the second year...

 

If you decide to go for it, purchase it through homeschoolbuyers coop. I don't remember the exact price, but it was around $40.

[Renai]

I've used it...or my ds has. He really liked it at first. I think I should have done something else for the second year...

 

If you decide to go for it, purchase it through homeschoolbuyers coop. I don't remember the exact price, but it was around $40.

 

It's $30 https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/index.php?option=com_hsbc_epp_order&Itemid=896, but I haven't used it.

[The Governess]

I've used it....dd loved it for a month or two, and then got bored with it. It's the same activities, over and over, just with different words. Another thing I didn't care for was that in order to get an answer right for some exercises you had to be able to know what word a picture stood for, and sometimes the pictures just aren't that self-explanatory. Also, if she took too long to find a letter on the keyboard (or got up to use the bathroom, or ask me a question, etc.) it would mark off points because she was too slow. And then it would set her back a level and she would have to repeat some exercises over again.

 

We were also doing the workbooks at the same time (although at a different level), so it was probably overkill. I did like that it gave her a break from the writing she had to do in the workbooks.

 

So, overall, I thought the idea was nice but we just didn't use it enough to justify what I spent.

[jplain]

We tried it, and then canceled within the trial period. DD got bored after a few lessons. Speed was an issue for her too...if you don't go fast enough, it holds you back. I could override, but that was tedious. She'd sometimes "cheat" by looking at the picture and then search for key words in the sentence rather than reading all of the text. In the workbooks, I do those pages with her, and I cover the pics until after she's read both sentences.

 

The online program we enjoyed is called Reading Eggs. It is really fun. There's a two week free trial, and at the time we did it, they would extend the trial another two weeks if you completed a survey at the end.

[melmichigan]

We tried it. My DD6 did the first "book". She was excited at first but it quickly lost it's appeal. She still likes the workbooks, so we use those.

[ChristusG]

Thanks for the advice! I do not think we will subscribe to it. It does not sound like it is worth it.

 

Thank you jplain for the Reading Eggs suggestion. My DD tried it out this morning. She enjoyed it. I think it will be a good supplement for the Explode the Code series!