Need help choosing phonics curric. for Kindergarten!

[emilyporter3]

I will begin homeschooling my son (K)this Fall for the first time. I'm really struggling with a phonics program. There are so many out there and I've read a gazillion reviews and still can't decide. I'm very stressed/fearful about teaching a child to read. He loves to be read to and I've read to him a lot since he was a baby. So he's interested and I think really ready to learn. Please help me make this decision! I kind of have my list narrowed down to OPG, 100 Easy Lessons, or Abeka. What is your favorite phonics/reading programs?

Thanks in advance for helping this newbie!

Emily

[mazakaal]

OPG is my favorite reading program. I couldn't stand 100 Easy Lessons. Some people love it. It really didn't work for my ds. I've never used ABeka for phonics. I did use Phonics Pathways and Alpha Phonics (each with a different ds) and they were good, but I do like OPG better. The main difference is that OPG is scripted and the other two are not, and that OPG seems to have more sentences, not just lists of words. I also prefer the order in which Jessie Wise teaches the phonics rules in OPG, though that's a more minor issue for me.

 

I've also supplemental all of the programs with Alphabet Island Phonics because it helps my dc to remember the phonics rules. Each letter is a character with personality and the characters behave differently in different situations. Through their behavior, the child learns the phonics rules. For instance, the 'CLIFF Z' letters (c, l, f, z) don't like to be on the cliff (at the ends of words). They're afraid, so someone is always there with them. Clever C has his friend Kangaroo K with him, and the other letters double at the ends of words. They have little stories and sometimes songs to help the child to remember the rules.

 

So as long as you don't mind the scripting in OPG, I would recommend that one. And if your dc have trouble remembering the phonics rules, you may want to look into Alphabet Island Phonics.

 

Blessings,

Megan

[emilyporter3]

Thanks so much for replying Meagan! With using OPG how quickly were your children reading? I've got this public school timeline in the back of my head and I feel a little pressure to make sure he's reading on a comparable level.

[lynn]

Abeka. It is one of the best programs. It is used in most private schools because it really works giving children a foundation to reading and spelling. I taught 3 of my 4 children (dd is only 2) to read using Abeka and the three of them are strong readers and excellent spellers today and I believe it is because I used Abeka.

[Chris in VA]

I've only used Phonics Pathways, which is the original Well-Trained Mind's recommendation, before Jessie wrote OPG. Since she based OPG on PP, I'd go with OPG.

[Colleen]

Although it's not mentioned as often as some other programs, Valerie Bendt's Reading Made Easy is one of the resources I've most valued in my nearly eight years of homeschooling. I've used it to teach my four oldest boys to read and it's worked like a charm with all of them.

 

RME is sometimes compared in approach to 100 Easy Lessons, but from what I've seen of the latter, RME is far more straight-forward. As far as The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, one look at the samples sets me on edge. It's information overload and needlessly complicates the material. To that end, RME is far less intensive as far as phonics "rules" are concerned ~ one more added benefit to the program.

 

Teaching a child to read needn't be a worrisome, daunting task. I realize it's more challenging with some children, but you may very well find the pieces fall into place quite easily. One key is to set aside your preconceived notions as to when a child "has to" be reading independently. You may start teaching your son to read and he'll take to it like a duck takes to water. Or, more realistically, he may need some time to process as you move forward. Rushing will only create stress for both of you.

 

By the way, I've started each of my boys with RME when they turn five. We spend about six months with it, after which they move right on to easy readers such as the Frog & Toad books. Let me know if you have additional questions, and best wishes to you as you start the journey. Enjoy!

[angela in ohio]

My dh did much of his graduate-level research on teaching reading, so I let him shop for a phonics program for our next ds after that. He chose Alpha Omega's Horizons Phonics. I used a miss-match of things for the older two, and I noticed the effects later. So I wanted something comprehensive for him, and I am SO GLAD we have been using the Horizons. He is picking up difficult concepts so much faster and more easily than two older my dd did.

[Dinsfamily]

The main difference is that OPG is scripted and the other two are not, and that OPG seems to have more sentences, not just lists of words.

 

 

We've only used 100 EZ Lessons and I've enjoyed it. I may not understand the definition of scripted fully because I think it is scripted. It tells you exactly what to say while teaching.

 

Things I really like about it are that the lessons are really short and the differentiation between long, short, and silent vowels. My visual son gets it. Later on, they switch to just the normal alphabet, but it is nice for the learning stage.

 

With that said...it is not a complete phonics program. It is a learn-to-read program. We are just using it because ods wants to read. In K we will start the WRTR so he will get a solid foundation in phonics. If you're looking for a complete program for K, I'd choose something else.

[Quiver0f10]

Although it's not mentioned as often as some other programs, Valerie Bendt's Reading Made Easy

 

I haven't used this, but I recently researched phonics programs and if I were to choose today, I would go with RME. It looks wonderful, thorough, easy to use and inexpensive.

[kalanamak]

I I'm very stressed/fearful about teaching a child to read. He loves to be read to and I've read to him a lot since he was a baby. So he's interested and I think really ready to learn.

Emily

 

I'm only replying because you said you were stressed/fearful. HTH.

 

My kid loved to be read to, took out books and "read" them to the stuffed animals, knew his sounds, etc. and had all the "reading readiness" I'd read about, but he was not retaining one little bit of something like 100EZ or PP. We had completed Plaid Phonics K in K4, and while I did pull out the phonics book every couple of months for a few days, he wasn't ready to really do it until he was about 5.7 years old. In the meantime, we got through pre-ETC (consonants) and Plaid Phonics A (short vowel sounds). I'm not sure that was necessary, but I wanted him to get used to sitting down daily and doing some "bookwork" and listening to instructions, etc.

 

So, even if he loves to be read to, etc. please don't panic if he doesn't like/dive into/retain/progress with a phonics books like OPG, PP etc. K5 is young, and back when I was in school there was absolutely no reading instruction in K at all. Not sounds, not letters, nothing. And look! I can type, too.

 

I think there is a developmental level that makes reading instruction possible or not, and if a kid doesn't have it on his 5th birthday, there is no need to panic. Even WTM has a squib about "putting it away" for a couple months if he isn't taking off.

 

P.S. we are liking PP very much.

P.P.S. the best advice I've had is that the "sounding out 3 letter words" is the slowest part. Helped me through more than one session.

[Aloha2U]

I am very excited about starting Spell to Write and Read with my one and only ds4. Have you considered it?

 

BHI won "Phonics Company Excellence in Education Award!"

 

The Old Schoohouse Magazine recognized BHI for the outstanding curriculum, Spell to Write and Read, a unified language arts program for all ages and learning types. Homeschool blogger says "SWR is used in public and private schools, in many homeschools, and is a favored choice for ESL (English as a Second Language) tutoring for dyslexics, and adult literacy programs. Students who have failed with other spelling and reading programs find success with SWR."

 

Check out BHI Books for SWR Materials

 

Check out this Homeschool Blog by Britta McColl (endorsed SWR Trainer)

 

Check out Morning Star Learning for SWR Materials

 

Check out the SWR Group at Yahoo!

 

I hope these links may help you!

 

:001_smile: Melissa

[BlsdMama]

We've used 100 Easy Lessons, Alphaphonics, and Ordinary Parent's Guide. By far, our favorite is OPG.

[girligirlmom]

Not on your list is Reading Reflex nor Ruth Beechick's 3R's. I also use OPG once it came out along with Sonlight LA. I know it was a lot but it was my with my oldest ds9 and I usually try everything out on him. Dd7 mostly taught herself at 3 so she mainly read to me the Fun Tales, Bob Books although I did use the letter tiles to see where she was at.

 

Now with ds4.75 I am again using Reading Reflex, 3R's and OPG but I modify it by using letter tiles almost exclusively in the beginning. I also have the flashcards.

 

I really like Ruth Beechick's explanations of teaching reading. Your dc does not need to know all of the letter sounds, just some to start. Then you put them together. I always start with "at". Then we make as many words as we can with "at" - cat, bat, fat, sat, mat, rat. I spell some and I have my dc spell some so he is both spelling and reading from the start. I don't use the names of the letters as much as the sounds you say when you see the letters since the names do not help a child learn how to read or spell. I give this as a test to see if the child is ready to learn to read.

 

If he is not ready, I wait a few months and try again. If he is still not ready, I wait a few more months and try again. Third time was a charm for ds 4.75. Once he got through all the "at" words we moved on using OPG or RR as a guide. I pull the letters in the lesson over to the blank board and ds and I take turns spelling words. I spell a word and he says it. Then I tell him the next word and he spells it. He has read two of the "Fun Tales" which are similar to Bob Books.

 

I bought the letter tiles Peace Hill Press - OPG combo set . I have two magnetic boards so the letters are on one and the other is blank.

[Nakia]

We tried 100 Easy lessons and hated it!! We love Reading Made Easy. It was wonderful, and before we were even done, Anna was reading on her own really well. :) I plan to start it with my 5 yr old soon.

[CarynB]

We also hated 100 EZ but love OPG. To answer your question about how long until they are reading...the first lessons cover alphabet recognition and sounds then they move into reading short words right away. The book can be completed in 1 school year if you have a strong reader otherwise I would plan to use it for 1 1/2 to 2 years. At the end they should be reading on a 4th grade level.

 

My dd loves it (especially after we tried several other phonics programs) and I LOVE that each lesson is S-H-O-R-T!!!!! Sometimes we do 5 lessons in a day(this isn't the "norm" but we're almost done with the book now so she's moving very quickly!).

 

Hope that helps!

[TN Mama]

I have only briefly checked this out (today!) but thought I'd pass along Tanglewood's free reading program. You can download here:

 

http://www.tanglewoodeducation.com/bksrd.htm

[Mom2boys]

Not to muddy the waters, but I loved K12 phonics. We also own OPG and are pleased with it.

 

For what it is worth, both my boys took off in their reading ability at age 6 1/2. At that age all the pieces just clicked for them. My oldest was a sight word reader, and to this day cannot sound words out phonetically. He just can't hear the sounds. My youngest thrived with phonics. So both took a different route to becoming readers, but both arrived at the same place at the same time. The best approach will be the one that works for you and your child, and you probably won't know what that is without good old trial and error.

 

Good luck! :001_smile:

[Tess in the Burbs]

I hated the look/feel 100 EL but after trying something else that did not work, we ended up trying 100 EL and well, the kid learned to read! We also read Bob books along with it. After 100EL we move onto OPG to cement advanced phonics. Both kids have learned to read this way.

 

I think it gives a solid foundation slowly enough in the beginning and without too much struggle by the time we do OPG that it continues to build confidence.

[moosemomma]

I used OPG with both of my boys. My 7yo ds reading at mid second grade level. We are starting in second grade in the fall. After completing sections one and two of the book I started my son on Bob books. We did the Bob books in the morning for 15 minutes and OPG in the afternoon. By the end of kindergarten, my son could read CVC, CVCe, and words with digraphs and consonant, and vowel pairs blends. During first grade, variant vowel pairs, r controlled vowel words, and started two syllable words and studied contractions.

For next year, I plan to finish the book (about 50 lessons left)- that should put him at a fourth grade level in reading.

 

My son was a visual learner and sometimes whined and cried when he saw the blue book. I only used the "blue book" three times a weeks (MWF). On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we played games for reading instruction. I found many free online resources to make simple file folder games. I used the dolch kit at http://www.theschoolbell.com/Links/Dolch/Contents.html

and ideas from http://www.fcrr.org/Curriculum/studentCenterActivities.htm

for most of my ideas. However, I am always on the look out for ideas for game time.

 

We went slower than most people I know using the program, but in the long run it didn't slow his reading. He is still a half a grade level a head in reading.

 

My 5yo has gone through the first 26 lessons of OPG in less than two months. Currently I just use the magnetic tiles and make words with him for our MWF time. By fall, I expect he will go through the lessons faster than his brother. This is the main thing I liked about OPG - I could speed up and slow down depending on how my boys were doing. I even took breaks with my oldest and just read twice a day for a two weeks to a months to just process a difficult section of the book.

 

Jill

[JudoMom]

Can you check your library to see if they have any of the books you are interested in? When I was deciding I was able to check Phonics Pathways and 100EZ out from our library and that helped me make my decision about what to buy.