MP Storytime Treasures vs. VP 1st Favorites

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

I am looking at purchasing one of these and can't decide between the 2, has anyone used one or both of these and want to review?

[chiguirre]

I've used and liked both. Here's a cut and paste from another post I wrote a while ago:

 

I have it and am currently using it with dd in conjunction with First Favorites from Veritas Press.

 

ST has a page of vocabulary before each lesson. It includes words that don't follow typical phonics patterns. The child copies them and uses each word orally in a sentence. There are 2 sentences at the bottom for copywork and the child defines a bolded word.

 

The second page of ST has a couple of comprehension questions to answer and the third page has a grammar topic usually. The 4th page is a fun sheet.

 

All of the units follow the same pattern, so if you like variety this might be a problem.

 

FF includes more books than ST. Each unit varies more than ST although all include some copywork and comprehension questions (some are multiple choice, some are fill in the blank, some are sequencing, some are full sentence answers). The worksheets are done with D'Nealian print script versus normal print for ST.

 

With both programs, but particularly with FF, the reading level of the books jumps around a bit. Little Bear is very easy for dd, but some of the other books are pretty challenging. They mix easy readers with picture books that aren't necessarily meant to be early readers. All of the books are lovely and dd has enjoyed them a lot.

 

Both ST and FF are consumable. ST is ring bound, so you have to take the pages out of it for you child to be able to write comfortably. I also tear pages out of FF so that they'll lie flat for dd.

 

These programs are very similar. If you have the budget to get both, they complement each other well, even when the stories are the same. If I had to choose just one, I think I'd go with FF for the variety of worksheets and the greater number of books covered. OTOH if Little Bear is a fairly challenging level for a child, I'd stick with ST which covers it more slowly and seems more progressive in the level of the readers they've selected.

 

If you have any specific questions, please let me know and I'll look at the books for you.