Alphabet Island

[RainbowSprinkles]

I found another program last night that looks interesting. Has anyone here used it and can tell me some about it? My ds5 is a visual, hands on learner. The other program I'm strongly considering now is McRuffy. But I'd really like some reviews on Alphabet Island. I can't find any samples on the program.

[BatmansWife]

I have it. I used it years ago with my first child. She is now almost 18. It teaches each letter as a character living on Alphabet Island. It's pretty cute and teaches some concepts quite well (such as silent E's, when to use the hard or soft C and G, how to remember the vowel sounds, etc). I know my dd really enjoyed using this program. I never completely it with her, because she was already reading well when we started it. Level 2 is supposed to be used through grade 9. I think that's silly.....you think you're getting a program to last for years and years. But, after the level 2 workbooks you are just to use the Eagle's Wings Comprehensive Handbook for Phonics and Spelling. It's basically spelling lists. It was really overwhelming and confusing to me; I don't care for that book at all. Overall, the stories, songs, workbook activities are nice. I tried it with my ds but it just wasn't something he liked. I think the main reason we stopped using it was because I remember it being pretty time consuming. There's a lot to this program and it does take some time. I considered using it with my youngest, but then I found McRuffy. I don't know if this helps at all.

[RainbowSprinkles]

Thank you, that does help. The main reason I think ds will like it is because they turn the letters into characters. He likes to think in that way. Like the number 8, he likes to picture as a snowman.

[LynnG in Arizona]

I ordered Alphabet Island and ended up finding it confusing, disorganized, and overwhelming. I really think it was the graphics/font or the way the program is organized. I know some people love it, but I disliked it so much that I ended up not even trying it with my daughter. In my eight years of homeschooling, that has rarely happened.

 

I've ordered McRuffy Phonics and am getting ready to start that. MUCH better - clean, simple, colorful graphics and materials that are well organized and logical. I think we're going to both like it.

 

Just my opinion. I decided to post because, like you, I couldn't find any sample of Alphabet Island and had to end up ordering it to even get a good look at the curriculum.

 

HTH. :)

[RainbowSprinkles]

Hmmm... Sounds like McRuffy is the way to go! I think I might try to find Alphabet Island used, just so I can get a look at it. :-)

 

Thank you both for your help! :-)

 

 

I ordered Alphabet Island and ended up finding it confusing, disorganized, and overwhelming. I really think it was the graphics/font or the way the program is organized. I know some people love it, but I disliked it so much that I ended up not even trying it with my daughter. In my eight years of homeschooling, that has rarely happened.

 

I've ordered McRuffy Phonics and am getting ready to start that. MUCH better - clean, simple, colorful graphics and materials that are well organized and logical. I think we're going to both like it.

 

Just my opinion. I decided to post because, like you, I couldn't find any sample of Alphabet Island and had to end up ordering it to even get a good look at the curriculum.

 

HTH. :)

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Alphabet Island:001_smile: I used it with my 16 and almost 15 yo boys 10 years ago (we all loved it), am currently using it with my 7 yo dd (who LOVES it)band will be using it with my next 2 children when they get to K. This is one of the curricula I've never changed over the years because I've never found anything I like nearly as well.

[RainbowSprinkles]

Thank you for your reply! What is it that you love about it? I'd really like to know more as I can't tell much from their website. I like that they make letters into characters and it's story based. Does it have games too?

 

 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Alphabet Island:001_smile: I used it with my 16 and almost 15 yo boys 10 years ago (we all loved it), am currently using it with my 7 yo dd (who LOVES it)band will be using it with my next 2 children when they get to K. This is one of the curricula I've never changed over the years because I've never found anything I like nearly as well.

[Devotional Soul]

Christianbook.com has some samples of Alphabet Island here:

http://www.christianbook.com/alphabet-island-phonics-complete-program/susan-mortimer/pd/396601#curr

 

There's some reviews from homeschoolers here:

http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/reviews/curriculum/reviews.aspx?id=17

 

I bought Alphabet Island Level 2 because I had a feeling my ds would like it. I did not know that he would love it sooo much. He has really bonded with all of the letter characters and stories about them like imaginary friends. When it first arrived, he insisted on hearing all of the stories and he would play with the letter character cards for fun on his free time. Just from listening to the cd and hearing me read all of the stories for phonics rules, his reading level has advanced. I'm going with it because he thinks it's fun. I plan on getting level 1 for when my 3 year old is older, since he is so familiar with the letter friends and their sounds. Alphabet Island has made learning to read a fun and memorable experience for my kids. They can relate to the letter kids and their stories, and they remember it well because it's like a personal relationship. There is some character values like helping others, which is nice as well.

 

The bummer about this fun program is that the tm is not the easiest to use. The lessons are given in units that can last as long as you like (1-4 weeks is suggested). So it is very flexible, but harder to implement if you need a daily or weekly schedule. The tm is scripted, but doesn't have any bold or italicized print to make it stand out for a quick glance, which makes it almost like it's not scripted. The table of contents doesn't have everything in it. I actually went through it all and made a table of contents so that I could find stories upon request and know how many workbook pages there were per lesson. The workbook is turning out to not be enough practice, so I'm adding in ETC. Another thing to know is that it is all with lower case letters. There isn't much about capitals, so I added in that the capital letters are the moms or dads of the letter characters. This has helped my ds transition into using more lower case letters after two years of preferring capitals. We spend a week or two focusing on a story and then practicing reading and writing words that are related. There are no games, but lots of activities with the letter character cards. The ones that make more than one sound are double sided, to be flipped for certain words.

 

We used McRuffy for K and really liked it. It is much easier to use and is very organized with daily lessons and weekly tests and readers. We started McRuffy 1st and it started going too fast for my ds. Since all aspects of LA are together, his dislike for handwriting and lack of interest in grammar was really slowing down his reading progress because the workbook pages required much more writing than in K. We had to start stretching one week into two, and then my ds became resistant, so we took a break. Then came Alphabet Island and that was the end of McRuffy 1st grade. I planned on coming back to it later when he was more ready, but he told me to sell it, lol! Homeschool is so great for customizing to learning needs. I personally prefer McRuffy for ease of use, but my ds much prefers Alphabet Island for 1st grade (he did like McRuffy K, though). We also had some personal vegetarian issues with the meat-eating references in McRuffy (Super Pork, Ham Dash, hot dogs, etc.), which started to make my ds dislike McRuffy. Most people won't be bothered by this, but my ds really was. I think it's an awesome curriculum, but my ds just wanted something different for this 1st grade transition time, and AI is it. Alphabet Island would work as a supplement to any reading or spelling program, just for fun. Just the cd alone teaches so many phonics rules. I've seen it for sale used at homeschoolclassifieds.com. So, that's my McRuffy Alphabet Island novel post. HTH!

Edited August 3, 2010 by Devotional Soul

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

Thank you for your reply! What is it that you love about it? I'd really like to know more as I can't tell much from their website. I like that they make letters into characters and it's story based. Does it have games too?

My children loved the letters and the songs about rules made it very easy to learn and remember the rules. Level 1 is easier to schedule than Level 2 because it has 38 lessons instead of units with lessons. It makes it more flexible but not as easy as something that has a set schedule for every day. I just made my own schedule for level based on the recommendations. It's mainly so I have an idea about where I should be if I want to get through it in a year, I don't HAVE to stick with it.

 

One example of how it works is that the vowels are either boys or girls, and their gender affects some consonants. Here is the song about Clever C and when he makes certain sounds depending on which vowel comes after him. Kangaroo K is his pet kangaroo.

 

Clever C learned hopping from his pet kangaroo

and acts like one with the boys it's true

but when he's with the girls he changes his tune

and acts so silly they hope he leaves soon.

 

C say "k" with the boy vowels and "s" with the girl vowels.

[RainbowSprinkles]

Devotional Soul and Cheryl in SoCal, thank you so much for your replies. I think I will go ahead with McRuffy and supplement with Alphabet Island for the fun stories. I think my son would love this! Thanks again :)

[Earth Angel_79]

I bought it last year thinking my kiddos would like the letter kids (I think I was nostalgic for the Letter People from kindergarten myself ;)), and we even started it, but it literally lasted less than a week. Tooooooo teacher prep intensive for my "unschoolish" brain. I wish it had been formatted more simply as I think the concept was great.

Funny though, I remember that little ditty about "C" listed by a previous poster. Kinda wish I had the little ditties just for myself, I think they would help immensely for teaching spelling rules.

[Hunter]

Has anyone used this with older students for remedial spelling?

 

This sound like a Spalding type curriculum. Is it?

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

Has anyone used this with older students for remedial spelling?

 

This sound like a Spalding type curriculum. Is it?

How old are you talking? It's pretty obvious that it's for younger children so I think any child over around 3rd grade would balk at it. Even though it includes spelling it's not what I would consider a spelling curriculum because it won't take you very far. I'd use something like AAS instead. Not only is it not "babyish" but it will take you all the way through spelling.

 

I'm not familiar with Spalding so I have no idea if it's similar.

[Tohru]

A good friend of mine's 4yo dd loves Alphabet Island, but I never thought to ask why.

 

Has anyone used this with older students for remedial spelling?

 

This sound like a Spalding type curriculum. Is it?

 

As far as a remedial program, this book is really good for both phonics and spelling. Our library carries it because a lot of volunteer tutors seem to use it.

[Hunter]

Cheryl, the program is advertised through grade 9, so it wasn't obvious to me that it is for younger children :-0

 

Jadedone, thanks for the link.

 

As I have researched it more I see that it has 65 phonogram cards. I think it is very likely that it is based off of Spalding. AAS and SWR are also both based on Spalding.

 

Mnemonics can be silly, but I got attached to them in my Ancient Greek studies and have never turned my nose up at them in my studies of other subjects since then. They work.

 

I found a used $3.95 copy of the handbook at Amazon. I have since read that the handbook can stand alone, so I ordered it.

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

Cheryl, the program is advertised through grade 9, so it wasn't obvious to me that it is for younger children :-0

 

Jadedone, thanks for the link.

 

As I have researched it more I see that it has 65 phonogram cards. I think it is very likely that it is based off of Spalding. AAS and SWR are also both based on Spalding.

 

Mnemonics can be silly, but I got attached to them in my Ancient Greek studies and have never turned my nose up at them in my studies of other subjects since then. They work.

 

I found a used $3.95 copy of the handbook at Amazon. I have since read that the handbook can stand alone, so I ordered it.

You can use Eagle's Wing's Phonics Handbook with older children but I wouldn't use Alphabet Island with older children. If you order the full Alphabet Island set it comes with the handbook so maybe that is why it says through grade 9. Still, I wouldn't consider it a full spelling program through grade 9. If a complete and phonetic spelling program is what you are looking for I would use something like AAS or SWR.

[LinRTX]

I have used Alphabet Island for years.--I actually used it first as Letterland, but the company had to change the name.

 

I taught all 4 of mine to read using it. All were reading at a fairly advanced level when we finished.

 

The first level of the program is very straight forward and holds your hand through everything. The second level requires more teacher planning. I think this is because every child learns at a different speed. So while the first level is broken down as to what to do each day, the second gives you the information in units and you decide how much to cover at a time. I love the program

 

Linda