mo2 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 (Yes, I know it's only been one day!) I haven't really had a chance to look at the actual lessons yet. We did the placement test, so I know where we're going to start and plan on starting this afternoon. Just curious what everyone's first thoughts on it are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowfall Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 DD only looked at the sample lesson, but based on her reaction, I didn't even download it. And I was so excited about it. :( lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I'm not sure what I think yet. I tested both my youngest and my 7 y/o and I will only try it with my youngest. My 7 y/o read the highest reading test perfectly. I ran through a couple lessons and I'm not sure it's our style. We've never done formal reading programs here, but I thought for the price, I'd give it a try with my little guy. One problem I'm having is that he knows all his short vowels very well (can read anything with a short vowel), but doesn't really know any long vowels due to the sequence of Phonics Pathways which we've been using (he's only done 2 long vowels). I'm not quite sure where to place him.... I'm taking a guess at lesson 16. He tested into level 60, but I just feel like there will be too many holes if I only do the critical components. He's only 5. I'm planning on doing 2 lessons this week and see how it goes. If it doesn't go well I'll just get rid of it. My other kids learned just fine without a formal program so I'm not heartbroken if this doesn't fit the bill. I'm interested to hear others' responses... especially placing kids who read some, but are young yet. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamamaloca Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I did the first lesson of beginning reading with my 4 1/2 year old, and did lesson 30 of Funnix 2 with my first grader. Beginning Reading is very similar to the methodology of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, but I don't have to be the one to sound like an idiot. ;) It was fine. I liked the lesson from Funnix 2, I think we'll likely keep using this, we were looking for something different for my first grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 We did 2 lessons yesterday and 2 lessons today. Both of my children (5 and 6) really love it. My 5yo got wiggly during the 4th lesson, but that is to be expected when the lessons are 30 mins. each. We are doing it just for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I did the first lesson with my ds5 this morning and it went very well. I don't know if I'll complete the entire program with him or if I'll just use it until he's blending and switch to Phonics Pathways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I ran through the first couple lessons myself (without a kid), and felt like I was being clicker trained. :lol: I'll probably try it out with the 4 year old sometime next week. He's at the early CVC word stage (a few lessons into the CVC word section of OPGTR). I'll give him a placement test before we start. I'm pretty sure my first grader will be above this, though he might like to do it anyway. He's funny like that. He reads about a 4th grade level, and we're firming up the phonics via OPGTR - just running through quick oral lessons, several lessons at a time to fill in holes in his phonics instruction. I wouldn't have paid $249 for this program (when OPGTR was what, $20?), but for free, it's not bad so far. We'll see how it goes. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Well, I did pay the hefty price for the program 6 years ago when I was teaching my son to read and it was worth every penny. This is a kid with lds and he had no trouble learning to read because of this program. He was actually reading well above average by the time he had finished. I also used it with my daughter (who has no lds) and it worked beautifully for her as well. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 My son turned 5 in November. So far he has had NO interest in anything "school" (not even gentle/laidback/hands on Oak Meadow school) so we're having another informal year of pre-K and will give K another try next fall. With that said, he really loves computer games, so I was able to catch his interest by telling him we were going to do something together on the computer. He was more willing to do that than any sort of let's do a craft, let's read, etc. type of thing. The fact that it seems more like a computer game than anything else engaged him right away. We did the first lesson and it went pretty well overall. He does not yet recognize all of the letters of the alphabet but does know many of them. On that one line where it said that in a classroom the kids should know all 5 letters but at home the kids should know at least 4 out of 5- he recognized 4 out of 5. (He missed the "r"). So I reinforced what the "r" was and then proceeded with the first lesson. (As an aside, I had also ordered the Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD which arrived in today's mail. I will let him start watching that tomorrow and hopefully that will reinforce his knowledge of the alphabet, which, in turn, I imagine will help him with this Funnix program, too). Anyway, he did well with the first lesson... he got a little bit silly/wiggly during some parts of it but I was able to refocus his attention pretty quickly/easily, and I think if I do future lessons at a more quiet time of day in general it should go pretty well. I don't intend to put any sort of pressure on this, I'm hoping to keep it laid back and fun, and if he's willing, I'll just keep going with it, a lesson a day. If he gets resistant, I won't push it. But this looks good, and it's very nice that it's free! So we'll see how things continue to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 Thanks for the reviews everyone! (As an aside, I had also ordered the Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD which arrived in today's mail. I will let him start watching that tomorrow and hopefully that will reinforce his knowledge of the alphabet, which, in turn, I imagine will help him with this Funnix program, too). I love the Letter Factory DVD. I've already decided I will never part with it....my grandchildren will watch it someday. (If DVD players are still around, that is.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I don't intend to put any sort of pressure on this, I'm hoping to keep it laid back and fun, and if he's willing, I'll just keep going with it, a lesson a day. If he gets resistant, I won't push it. But this looks good, and it's very nice that it's free! So we'll see how things continue to go! :iagree: That's where I'm at with my ds5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 I did Funnix 2 with my dyslexic youngest dd five years ago. She was halfway through 2nd grade and had just finished Headsprout parts 1 and 2. I had no idea where to go from there and had never heard of Funnix before. It worked very well for my dd. She actually liked it better than Headsprout even though it was far less gamelike. I posted a review of the program a long time ago: http://www.thehomeschoollibrary.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1024 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowfall Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 I am so jealous of all of you whose children loved it! DD hasn't loved Phonics Pathways, so we used the Progressive Phonics readers until we got to a point where we needed to move back to Pathways. I had hoped Funnix would be the answer, but she watched half the sample, got tired of it, and said she'd rather keep doing "Dewey" (Phonics Pathways). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2denj Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 My 4 yr old dd completed the first lesson tonight and absolutely loved it!!! She begged to do another, but I told her only one a day, to prevent burn out. I hope that her enthusiasm continues throughout the program. It was lots of fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I love the Letter Factory DVD. I've already decided I will never part with it....my grandchildren will watch it someday. (If DVD players are still around, that is.) We watched it today... it was great! My son (and my 4 y/o nephew) watched it and were really engaged by it. My son was singing along with the catchy little songs... it was really cute! I wonder, is there a similar one for numbers, that's at the same level as the Letter Factory? (not necessarily harder ones that pertain to doing actual math problems or whatever). We also did the second Funnix lesson today. He wasn't opposed to doing it to begin with but I bribed him a little and told him if he tried really hard to do it without being at all silly, he could have some free computer time afterward. He loves being allowed to play games on my computer, so he very willingly did lesson 2 with no goofing around. So far, so good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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