mlbuchina Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I am desperate to find a phonics curriculum that will make learning to read for my dd6 at least tolerable. Preferably without both of us crying in frustration. Has you used Happy Phonics by Diane Hopkins? Are your dc reading after using it? Thanks for any imput. I hate feeling so... unable to help my baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delighted3 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I bought Happy Phonics for the games to help my kids learn the phonograms for Spell to Right and Read. I think it is too disjointed for a reading program by itself. That is just my opinion because I haven't actually tried to teach a child to read with it by itself. I do have a suggestion for you. I am teaching my youngest to read with the "I See Sam" readers and we haven't had any tears. Here is the website with info about them and lots of free placement tests, info on how to use them and such. http://iseesam.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=8_9&zenid=ec0403d5bd70f7abafc96869deb32862 If you are interested after looking at the free resources and other info, you can print the first 2 sets here for free. http://www.teacherweb.com/CA/PomeloDriveElementary/Mrssakamoto/printap2.stm HTH, Joy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 I bought Happy Phonics for the games to help my kids learn the phonograms for Spell to Right and Read. I think it is too disjointed for a reading program by itself. That is just my opinion because I haven't actually tried to teach a child to read with it by itself. I do have a suggestion for you. I am teaching my youngest to read with the "I See Sam" readers and we haven't had any tears. Here is the website with info about them and lots of free placement tests, info on how to use them and such. http://iseesam.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=8_9&zenid=ec0403d5bd70f7abafc96869deb32862 If you are interested after looking at the free resources and other info, you can print the first 2 sets here for free. http://www.teacherweb.com/CA/PomeloDriveElementary/Mrssakamoto/printap2.stm HTH, Joy Thank you, Joy. I will definitely look into those links. Anything to help her... I'm feeling desperate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I don't think it's enough to stand alone. However, it is very fun and much more thorough than I expected. My older dd who is reading still learns from the higher level part. The girls love playing the games and it is a great little program. Just not a full program. I think if you paired it with maybe AAS it would be enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manamana Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 :bigear: I am considering Happy Phonics also because my DD6 needs more fun and games in her phonics learning. We have been using OPGTR and she complies but it is not enjoyable for her and has been a little to hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted June 18, 2011 Author Share Posted June 18, 2011 Thank you for the input, everyone. @Delighted3 thank you so much for the link to the little books. I have printed out a few, and she LOVES them! They seem to be giving her the confidence she needs to know she can read a whole book on her own. @LittleIzumi and Manamana I wondered if it would be stand alone, or a good supplement. OPGTR is too dry for her, and I think she would benefit from the games and activities. Thanks again for all your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 My dd also loves more.starfall.com for phonics. They have a CVC word generator that changes the first or last letter & blends the sounds with an image of the meaning that she plays with whenever possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Indeed Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Tried it, it was ok. It is still phonics, no matter how "fun" you try to make it, you are still learning rules. My favorite reading program is "Reading Made Easy" by Valerie Bendt. I have taught 3 of mine, and 4 others to read with this program. LOVE it! It really keeps the love of reading in while teaching the "how". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 I am desperate to find a phonics curriculum that will make learning to read for my dd6 at least tolerable. Preferably without both of us crying in frustration. Has you used Happy Phonics by Diane Hopkins? Are your dc reading after using it? Thanks for any imput. I hate feeling so... unable to help my baby. We're using it as a stand-alone program. As we progress, I just have DD2 check out early readers from the library to practice. She finds most of the games very fun and has asked to play them outside of school time. I definitely recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in GA Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 I got Happy Phonics about 2 years ago and the way it was laid out and organized drove me insane !! It was almost impossible to keep track of all the games and which ones to do when and what to do in the book while you're doing that game, etc. If it was organized better, it might have worked. As it was, my daughter did enjoy a lot of the games, and I'm not sorry I bought it, but no way would I use for an actual curriculum. The games do make a nice supplement, though. We would spend maybe 5-10 minutes a couple times a week using them. Good luck! My youngest just turned five and I really don't know what to do with him .... although whatever I get, I probably will supplement it with Happy Phonics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in GA Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 I got Happy Phonics about 2 years ago and the way it was laid out and organized drove me insane !! It was almost impossible to keep track of all the games and which ones to do when and what to do in the book while you're doing that game, etc. If it was organized better, it might have worked. As it was, my daughter did enjoy a lot of the games, and I'm not sorry I bought it, but no way would I use for an actual curriculum. The games do make a nice supplement, though. We would spend maybe 5-10 minutes a couple times a week using them. Good luck! My youngest just turned five and I really don't know what to do with him .... although whatever I get, I probably will supplement it with Happy Phonics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manamana Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I was looking at Happy Phonics and then came across IEW's Primary Arts for Language Reading which looks very good. It provides a structure to using the various games they've developed and also includes a Phonics Farm sticker chart that helps track phonemes learned. I'm impressed with what I'm seeing in this program and like that it gives me resources on how to teach reading. I'm also interested in the writing program that includes the use of All About Spelling which seems to be an effective program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 Tried it, it was ok. It is still phonics, no matter how "fun" you try to make it, you are still learning rules. My favorite reading program is "Reading Made Easy" by Valerie Bendt. I have taught 3 of mine, and 4 others to read with this program. LOVE it! It really keeps the love of reading in while teaching the "how". I really like the way this looks. I wonder about the "print clues" she uses, though. They look like they would be distracting, or that it would make it hard for the student to read anything that didn't have the print clues. Is that something that the student could become dependent on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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