Saxon Phonics

[HappyLady]

Has anyone used Saxon Phonics for K, 1, or 2? What were your thoughts?

[duckens]

We have done Saxon K, and we are on Lesson 106 (out of 140) of Saxon 1. We will finish the last of Saxon 1 in Aug/Sept when we return to schoolwork. Dd6 is finishing her Kindergarten year. We are planning to use Saxon 2, and it is already purchased.

 

In general: Saxon is a workhorse of a program. It's workbooks are not colorful or fancy, but it does what it is supposed to do. It is secular. Dd6 is reading REALLY well for being 6yo. She would easily read a half-page here and there in the last chapter book we read (Uncle Pirate which is slated for grades 2-4). She can also read Usborne readers, and most words in the Usborne Oceans and Seas Encyclopedia. For us, Saxon has been extremely effective as a phonics program.

 

Saxon Kindergarten: I couldn't be happier with this program. Things that made the program effective for us:

 

--I put a post-it in the back of each little reader with a list of:

1) Mom

2) Dad

3) Sister

4) Cat

5) Friend (or Grandparent)

Dd6 read each book to a different individual each day and checked off name (NOT 5 times in a row on the same day!) By the time the dd6 had read the book 5 times to 5 different people, dd6 was competent and comfortable with those words. Then the book was put in a shoebox next to her bed for free-reading after bedtime. BobBooks were also added to the box.

 

--Saxon K runs the kids through the letter sounds almost daily. A week is spent on each letter of the alphabet. The child is reading CVC words by the end of the year.

 

Saxon 1: I am less pleased with Saxon 1, but it has still been effective.

 

Things I am not happy with about Saxon 1:

 

--After testing dd6 (with the review lessons every 5th lesson), she was able to skip the first 25 lessons because she had learned the basic alphabet sounds so well with Saxon K. We skipped the first half of Saxon Math 2 by "testing out" using the review lessons. This worked really well for math. It has been disastrous in Phonics.

 

There were no designated lessons on blends: bl, cr, pr, etc. Within 15 lessons (by lesson 40), we took a total break from Saxon Phonics 1 and played "Blends Games" every day for three weeks.

 

We had missed the blends in the lessons we had skipped. Blends had not been covered in the review lesson (dd6 aced those worksheets). So, for example, lesson 17 makes your child sit through, "This is a capital G. This is a lower case g, :001_rolleyes: " in one part of the lesson; then lists gl words (glue, glitter, glisten, etc) in another part of the lesson. :glare:

 

--Instead of the spelling words listed, I read words from the back of the TM, and we sound them out together to give dd real practice using the digraphs. I don't feel that the Spelling is beefy enough.

 

--I have also typed out words from the Reading Word List in the back of the TM for dd to have extra practice marking digraphs and reading words with the sound covered in the lesson.

 

--The program required reading a certain number of sight words. We are working on spelling them. I know dd6, and I know what she is capable of. Beefy.

 

Summary:

Saxon does what it is supposed to do. It has certainly done its job: dd6 is becoming an excellent and confident reader. We are planning to do Saxon Phonics 2, and I am planning to do the same series with dd2 in a few years.