Phonics museum or MFW? HELP!!

[happyWImom]

I really need some advice! My dd is 6 and knows all the letter sounds, can read short words, but hasn't really been good about sitting down and reading. My ds will be 5 in the fall and has picked up a lot from dd. I am going to start MFW 1 any day now (as soon as it comes) and I have heard a lot of raves about their reading program in 1st grade. Then, today I get the Veritas Press catalog I requested and Phonics Museum looks sooooo cool! I've heard about it before, and wondered if I could use it for both kids, would that work? How basic is the PM kindergarten part, since they both know the letters and sounds, do would PM 1 be better for both? Or should I just burn all of my catalogs and not let myself go on any forums anymore and stick with MFW? PLEASE HELP!!:confused:

[ELaurie]

The K level PM spends a long time introducing letter sounds. I used it with ds 8 at a point when he already knew his letter sounds, and it was all review. If you decide to get the K level workbook, you might find that your dc can share it, with each doing some of the pages. You could photocopy pages they both want to do.

 

Once letter sounds are introduced, the vocabulary builds rapidly. For some learners, this is a great fit; for others, the pace is too rapid.

 

The graphics are engaging, but the readers are somewhat stilted, IMO. They also relate tales with which your dc are unlikely to be familiar, offering some detail, but not enough to provide characters that they can readily relate to (because of the limited vocabulary used in the readers).

 

My dc liked books like Henry and Mudge a lot better, and were motivated to read other books that they found intrinsically more captivating than the Primers.

 

I would encourage you to give some careful thought to the writing style introduced in PM as well. The printing style is italics; some view italics as the ideal style to facilitate a transition to cursive later on; others hotly contest this POV. I can only speak from my own experience; it was difficult for ds 8, named we later switched to a st-lye of printing with clean, simple lines.

 

PM also uses an integrated approach for teaching reading, writing and spelling. For ds 6, this would have worked fine; he is a natural speller, and the mechanics of handwriting come fairly easily to him. (However, he hated the Primers, nice as they were).

 

For ds 8, an integrated approach didn't work at all. As JW "wisely" ;) suggests in WTM, learnign reading, writing, and spelling as sequential skills was a much better fit for him.

 

He was ready to learn to read before he was ready to learn to write and spell; making the acquisition of phonics dependent upon the progression of his fine motor skills simply didn't make sense in his case.

 

I also felt that although the songs for learnign spelling rules were catchy, they made the rules more complex than they needed to be.

 

I think assessing your dc's learnign style, to the degree that you can at this stage, is the most important consideration.

 

I know otters here have used PM with great success, however, I ultimately sold PM, and used TOPG and decided to use TOPG, HWT, and AAS instead.

 

Have a wonderful year, whatever you choose!

[AngelaC]

I say burn the catalogs and stay off the forums!!! It is way too easy to want to do it all!

 

I used MFW with a ds and plan to use it again with my youngest this year. It doesn't have that "wow" factor. It really doesn't. However, my son liked it. He does not like surprises on school days and prefers to know what is coming. Since I've never used Phonics Museum, I do not know what kind of day you'd have doing this. Perhaps someone else will pipe up and tell you.

 

I vote for saving your money and buying some nice books for your shelf . . . maybe even a set of the Phonics Museum readers?

 

Believe me, I've spent so much money on the new and exciting, it's embarrassing. I wish I would have spent all that extra cash on great literature and reference books for our shelves. Something we would use again and again.

 

God bless your decisions:)

[happyWImom]

Thanks Ladies!

I needed to be brought back to reality. My husband says I spend more time "researching" than I do teaching! I just want to pick the "right" thing. But they learn anyway, don't they? I need to just take a deep breath and go with what I felt was right, and that was MFW. You're right Angela, I can use the extra money to get more books, and fancy isn't always better. I'll keep you updated on our progress.

[Donna T.]

Hi, Tammi! I used MFW First Grade to teach my oldest son to read. I was truly amazed at the results. I have never worried one moment about any gaps in his learning or whether or not he covered "enough" phonics. It's a very solid program. The lessons are not long, they are simple to teach, and were easy for my son to understand. I plan to start MFW First this fall with my youngest son. The Bible Reader is very sweet and the timeline that the child makes alongside it is alot of fun. Our first one is still up and both of my sons refuse to let me take it down to make room for my youngest son's!

 

I've never used VP.

[3lilreds in NC]

I like MFW 1 as well. I've used it with both my girls and it's an excellent program. They were both reading pretty well when we started it, but we've worked through it as a basic spelling program and it's been wonderful. It integrates beautifully with the rest of the LA program, too. I haven't seen PM myself, but I've not heard glowing recommendations. I thought it looked pretty cool too, but was assured that it was not "all that." I loved MFW for K and 1 and highly recommend them both.