CLE Learn To Read program opinions?

[Gentlemommy]

It's more religious than i like, but other than that, it looks pretty perfect for what I am looking for...phonics, easy to implement, simple, thorough. anyone here use it? thoughts?

 

 

*sorry for my lack of capital letters and short post...feeding the baby and typing one handed :huh:

Edited November 3, 2016 by Gentlemommy

[Insertcreativenamehere]

We already used CLE math and language arts for my older boys, so I started CLE Learn to Read with my kindergartner last year. It didn't go over well, to be honest. I do think the program is well-structured and very thorough, but as much as I liked it, it just wasn't a good fit for her. I don't know exactly what it was. She did learn how to read, but she didn't like the program. It had quite a bit of writing and that's probably a weak area for her. It was perhaps too slow on the phonics but required more writing than she was developmentally capable of doing at that point.

 

We are now doing All About Reading and she LOVES it. 

 

Each kid is different, though! 

[Zoo Keeper]

I have used CLE's LtR with two different children; it went well with both of them-

 

BUT

 

we used it in first grade. It was written with a first grade student in mind. (CLE slots the program in first grade, not in K). The amount of writing expected is way too much for your average K student.  Both of my children who used it had already been through a phonics program ( first half of Phonics Pathways) in K.  I used LtR as more of a phonics/spelling/handwriting program to cement the phonics they had already been exposed to through Phonics Pathways. 

 

 

[MotherGoose]

I used it with 2nd dd. It worked for her because her handwriting skills were on par with it and she liked writing. Wouldn't have worked with 1st dd because her reading skills were grades ahead of writing skills. For 3rd child, who is now an infant, I'll evaluate how reading and writing skills align, and choose then. It's a fine program, but assumes that reading and writing skills are in line, which is not always the case.

[MotherGoose]

We tried it. It's well written, thorough and is definitely an intensive phonics program - and my daughter absolutely hated it. It is a LOT of work. If you do the lesson as written it easily takes up to an hour. In fact, CLE themselves recommend breaking it up into two thirty minute sessions each day. And that's before the Language Arts workbooks get added in! (which happens halfway through the program and adds another 2-3 pages of work per day). I'm sorry, an hour a day just for phonics doesn't even remotely come close to being developmentally appropriate for any 5 or 6 year old. There's so much work and drill - several different flashcards to drill, 3-4 pages of seat work each lesson etc... My daughter started to hate reading because of it. And not because she couldn't do it, but because it was just so much work. You can certainly skip the flashcards, but it's still a long lesson. Some people break one lesson into two days, which is fine, except it'll take you forever to get through the program that way. Others say they skip some of the questions, which again is fine - but I'm not interested in spending my money on a program that I'm going to have to alter that much.

 

There are lots of people who like it, and those who do seem to love it. But, we were definitely not a fan.

We definitely skipped some of it :)

[Ellie]

It's more religious than i like, but other than that, it looks pretty perfect for what I am looking for...phonics, easy to implement, simple, thorough. anyone here use it? thoughts?

 

 

*sorry for my lack of capital letters and short post...feeding the baby and typing one handed :huh:

 

You might want to try something different.

 

Although it has some phonics, it has a definite sight-reading flavor as well, given that the children must memorize words and phrases. Other true phonics methods that are simple and easy to implement might be AlphaPhonics, PhonicsPathways, and Victory Drill Book.

[KrissiK]

I'm using it and loving it! My first three kids learned to read in kinder with A Beka phonics. Great program. Them came #4. I tried 3 different phonics programs with her in kinder, and she struggled and struggled. She never learned her letters. So, in first grade I started CLE and within a year she became fluent. For her, she needed the emphasis on sight words, sounding words out was hard for her. She'd get to the end of the word and forget what she was reading. She's now in second grade, and actually, she still has trouble with all the individual letters, but she's reading chapter books from the library. And she understands everything she reads.

[mykidsrmyjoy]

I'm using it for the second time this year. My DD is 5 and I'm treating it as kindergarten, not 1st grade. We do a 1/2 lesson a day, which takes about 30 minutes. I plan to start the LA program and the Reading 1 program next year and use that for 1st grade, instead of trying to fit it all in this year.

 

There is a fair amount of writing, but it doesn't seem too much for her, although I think it would be if we didn't split the lesson up. I occasionally will skip over some of the writing and have her put a small magnetic letter under the picture instead of writing the letter sound on the line. Overall, with some minor tweaks, I think it's a good, solid program.