Language Arts for Kindergarten?

[mommymonster]

My DS4 will be starting kindergarten in the fall and I am beginning to go through language arts programs for him. DS8 went to public school for K, and we afterschooled with OPGTR. 

 

I would like an integrated language arts program (phonics, spelling, handwriting, etc). I love the look of LOE Foundations, but the price tag is more than we can swing. Is there anything similar (integrated and aesthetically pleasing) that isn't quite so dear?

 

Also, I guess I should ask if anyone *didn't* like LOE? It would make it easier to walk away if someone told me how terrible it actually is... :drool5:

 

Thanks so much!

[carriede]

The Writing Road to Reading has all that. It's a teachers manual, and the student writes everything in a composition book or on loose leaf. Not pretty, but cheap (get the 4th Ed used)!

 

FWIW, I'm not planning on doing anything beyond phonics and a little handwriting for K until DS4 knows how to read better.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited September 10, 2023 by SilverMoon

[AimeeM]

We're using PAL reading for phonics, CHC for spelling and handwriting (I also have HWOT on hand, though). Nothing all in one, but I'm not terribly worried about that this year.

[mommymonster]

Thanks so much! I'll check out the Writing Road to Reading. I was under the (mistaken) impression that it was also a pricey program (with many books and whatnot).  

[prissygirls]

We love LOE. You do not need all the extra stuff. Just buy the Teacher Manual and the Student Workbook. You can make your own phonogram cards on index cards. I rarely use the game cards.

[FromA2Z]

We love LOE. You do not need all the extra stuff. Just buy the Teacher Manual and the Student Workbook. You can make your own phonogram cards on index cards. I rarely use the game cards.

I agree. We love it so much I was wracking my brain on how you could do it on the cheap. I know it can still be expensive w/ just the manuals depending on how fast your dc moves through it. I would check homeschool classifieds for used curricula. I'm starting to see level A pop up there.

 

I was fortunate to get in on the beta testing, but I can honestly say I would happily pay full freight for it.

[boscopup]

Writing Road to Reading only requires the one book, plus flash cards. If you get an older version, some of them contained the flash cards inside. Or you could make your own. Spalding is very easy to do very cheaply.

 

FWIW, many people don't do spelling in K. Spalding and LOE both use spelling to teach reading, so they are different in that respect from many reading programs. Which method of teaching reading are you wanting to do? Do you want it to rely on the ability to write or not? My oldest could not have done as well with such a method, as his physical writing ability was light years behind his ability to learn to read. He could barely write his name when he turned 5, yet he could read at a mid-2nd grade level at that point. My middle son's writing/reading gap has been less, but he still did better learning most of his reading without having to write yet. He wasn't really ready to learn to write until he turned 6 (2nd half of his K year). Now I use R&S Phonics and Reading for him, and it's fabulous. He's ready to write that amount now, and everything is coming together. My youngest does not have the reading/writing gap like the other two had. So he probably could have used something like Spalding (instead, he taught himself, so I just won't worry about it). I don't plan to do spelling with him next year, but might start it in first grade. He spells pretty well for his age.

 

I haven't really looked very hard at LOE, so can't comment at all on that. I really hated using Spalding and other O-G based programs, so I kind of avoided it because of that, I guess. O-G/Spalding is overkill for my natural readers (oldest and youngest), and my middle hated all the writing involved in Spalding. He's doing better with R&S, which does mix very strong phonics with a small amount of sight reading. That combo has really jumped his ability and his confidence. I teach the "sight words" phonetically - expaining them as we go, unless they're a rule breaker. That's working better for this kid, who tends to over-analyze word and get too hung up on the "rules" - they end up confusing him more than anything else.