Annie Laurie Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 (edited) I've looked at Abecedarian, Abeka, Horizons, Pathway Readers and workbooks, WP's LA program, CLP's Adventures in Phonics, and Explode the Code. I just can't seem to make a decision on this. Background: Ds will be 5 in a couple of months and is reading on a solid 2nd grade level. He has not had much in the way of phonics, beyond letter sounds and simple blending. I'd like him to have a thorough phonics review. He loves reading, he reads in bed at night voluntarily, and I don't want to ruin that for him. I want to keep it fun. He really likes workbooks and has advanced fine motor skills so can handle writing. We have ETC and he doesn't want to do it most of the time. He gravitates towards colorful workbooks. We have AAS but I feel that it would be too slow as far as phonics rules at this point. Any recommendations? Edited February 26, 2009 by Annie Laurie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 We have been using Horizons this year, so I can at least tell you about that program. It moves at a very fast pace and covers lots of phonics skills in the K program. It begins with a letter a day, moving into silent e and blends. There is a scope and sequence that would give you the complete list of phonics covered. My son was all ready reading, but really only short vowel words and some sight words. The pages are colorful and include quite a bit of writing, especially at the beginning. The language arts included is wonderful. It also includes some spelling of words, as well as teaching alphabetical order, capitalization, punctuation, nouns, etc. There are some simple crossword type puzzles and word finds. There are readers for the program. There is one story for each lesson. I have liked these because they go beyond the lesson itself in words used. It is designed to read to the student, then stop and let them sound out the words they've learned. I do the opposite. He reads and I help him sound out what he can't. His reading has soared. You need the teacher's manuals, though. I found pictures that I wasn't sure what word was intended without looking it up. That is all I've needed it for, though. If you want more information, I'll be glad to help. We're not all the way through the program, so I'm not sure what great things may still lie ahead. It seems to be a very advanced Kindergarten program, which is what you probably want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 (edited) Oh thank you, that was a great review. I'll definitely lyk if I think of any specific questions, thanks for offering to answer them. He would definitely like the colorful aspect and I like what you said so I think I'll go look at the samples again. ETA: Do the phonics workbooks have a similar feel as the math workbooks do? Ds found an old Horizons K math workbook dd hadn't completed and he loved it. I noticed you're using both. Edited February 26, 2009 by Annie Laurie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 ETC. Dd went through 100 EZ Lessons at 5 and then we began the ETC books. We went through book 6 and just this week we began AAS. Not your normal route but dd was reading very well after 100 EZ Lessons and I just didn't want to do another whole program when she was reading well. ETC was just right to begin and not bore. Now, it looks like AAS will pick up very nicely and cover any "holes" she may have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Oh thank you, that was a great review. I'll definitely lyk if I think of any specific questions, thanks for offering to answer them. He would definitely like the colorful aspect and I like what you said so I think I'll go look at the samples again. ETA: Do the phonics workbooks have a similar feel as the math workbooks do? Ds found an old Horizons K math workbook dd hadn't completed and he loved it. I noticed you're using both. I don't think they feel quite the same. I could scan some pages (that we haven't done) for you if you want me to do so. Just pm me an email address to send them to if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claussenpc Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 A note about ETC online... My children loved this until they reached a level they had to type in the answers. My 6 and 8 year olds just do not have the key boarding skills to type the answers in fast enough. They became very frustrated - unable to earn good scores and progress.....our use of ETC online has gone down hill ever since. My children's love for the product plummetted. Just our experience.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 Would ETC online be an option? I had thought about doing that as a supplement to AAS, (since I already own AAS), but am not sure how the implementation of an online program would work for me. Something to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 ETC. Dd went through 100 EZ Lessons at 5 and then we began the ETC books. We went through book 6 and just this week we began AAS. Not your normal route but dd was reading very well after 100 EZ Lessons and I just didn't want to do another whole program when she was reading well. ETC was just right to begin and not bore. Now, it looks like AAS will pick up very nicely and cover any "holes" she may have. I think we'll follow a similar sequence and use a phonics program and then do AAS when he's a little bit older, 1st grade or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 I don't think they feel quite the same. I could scan some pages (that we haven't done) for you if you want me to do so. Just pm me an email address to send them to if you want. That is so nice of you to offer but I don't want to put you through all that trouble. I took a look at the AOP website and they had several pages from each book up so it gave me a good idea. I think he would like either that or WP's advanced K LA, I'm just trying to figure out if WP would be too slow for him. I like the idea of WP's games though. But it looks like the pace of Horizons might be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 A note about ETC online... My children loved this until they reached a level they had to type in the answers. My 6 and 8 year olds just do not have the key boarding skills to type the answers in fast enough. They became very frustrated - unable to earn good scores and progress.....our use of ETC online has gone down hill ever since. My children's love for the product plummetted. Just our experience.... Thank you for mentioning that, the typing would be an issue here too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 That is so nice of you to offer but I don't want to put you through all that trouble. I took a look at the AOP website and they had several pages from each book up so it gave me a good idea. I think he would like either that or WP's advanced K LA, I'm just trying to figure out if WP would be too slow for him. I like the idea of WP's games though. But it looks like the pace of Horizons might be better. I didn't even think about some phonics games we have. Learning Resource has a book called Phonics Game Board Book that includes 6 different games covering different phonics rules. My son loves games as well. Here's a link: http://www.learningresources.com/product/teachers/shop+by+category/publications/game+board+books-+phonics.do Good luck making your decision! Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 I didn't even think about some phonics games we have. Learning Resource has a book called Phonics Game Board Book that includes 6 different games covering different phonics rules. My son loves games as well. Here's a link: http://www.learningresources.com/product/teachers/shop+by+category/publications/game+board+books-+phonics.do Good luck making your decision! Amy Thanks for that idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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