Trivium Academy Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I'm looking at phonics programs for my son for K. I want something with an audio component that he'll enjoy, visually stimulating, with games and great teacher support. Lesson plans are a plus so are manipulatives. I suspect that ds3 (4 in May) will be a wiggly worm and auditory- he loves audiobooks and music already (wanna hear him sing?) and will only stay still when he's doing something he wants to do. He can play with his cars for hours. The programs I'm looking at right now are (in order of my interest): Sing, Spell, Read Write THE WINNER! Thank you all so much! VP Phonics Museum Happy Phonics MCP Phonics THANK YOU! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I haven't used any of the programs you mention in your post. The only programs I've used that meet your criteria are Headsprout and Funnix. Headsprout has a 50% off special going on right now and that's a great deal. http://www.headsprout.com/cards/holidaypromotioncfa.html in case you're interested, here's the review I wrote of Headsprout: http://www.thehomeschoollibrary.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1016 and a review that I wrote of Funnix: http://www.thehomeschoollibrary.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1024 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Academy Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share Posted January 19, 2008 No computer software/online programs, sorry and thank you for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Hi Jessica~ You can hear some of the songs on Christianbook.com. Very easy to use, very colorful, songs, games..everything your looking for. They have a fun one for preschool that he may even like now. (jolly trolly) Teacher instructions are very clear. This is what I started out with before we found SWR. Now I use SWR cards to teach them the phonograms while we are doing SSRW for K. I use SSRW because I love the colorful workbook, songs, racetrack and readers. With my second son, I got the Phonics Museum..ohhh those readers where a little hard for young ones (IMHO) and a bit strange. The workbook was black and white (don't know if they updated this or not) It just seemed bland compared to SSRW. After they finished the Raceway book and they were reading well I just join them in w/ the older ones using the WISE Guide for Spelling. I am a recovered phonics junkie..you name it I did it with one of mine. But I always go back to that fun and colorful workbook! I just make them mark their words the SWR way and it's never bothered my last two. I am currently using that little Jolly Trolly w/ my 3 year old and a combo of SSRW and SWR w/ my 5 year old. Some of the games (like bingo) can be played w/ both. We all love the catchy songs too! HTH, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Academy Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share Posted January 19, 2008 What about the price? Esp. the levels, I think it sounds great but the price is steep. What about results? I don't understand why it's so expensive for just 1 level and I'll have to explain it to dh, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheilaZ Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I've used SSRW with my oldest. It is a great program with a lot of writing. He loved the songs. We played them in the van as we drove around on errands. He loved the games. It was a nightly activity for us. And at 12 yo, he is an excellent reader. While it was fine for my accelerated oldest child, it was a bad fit for my second child who was having trouble with all the writing. He hated the songs. He would not sing. It was too much writing and the games were not fun. :mad: So we tried MCP phonics since I already used their math program. Not enough stuff for him. (Unless they've changed the program, it is just the workbook. I have the TE's and they don't offer a lot.) So we switched to Hooked on Phonics and Explode the Code. Those worked. He enjoyed the flashcards. He looked forward to earning stickers. And he learned to read. Third kid...he isn't a writer either....so we are using HOP and ETC with him. Fourth kid....he's workign through the Get Ready for the Code books but I am considering starting him on SSRW. It really is a good program....but it is a lot of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I used SSRW with my oldest. It starts out very slowly, going over a letter each week, which he didn't really need at the time, but it was good for boosting his confidence, I think. I got it because he's a very visual kid and kind of needed a lot going on--we had tried OPGTTR and he was bored to tears. So it worked well in that respect--really colorful and with lots of short activities--not too long sitting still, not too much time on any one thing. But he actually sort of taught himself to read before I got a chance to do it, so we wound up trailing off with the program around halfway through because the readers had gotten too easy for him. I'm looking for a phonics program for my younger son now, and I haven't really considered going with SSRW again, though I'm not sure why, really...it might be more a matter of me not wanting to do the same thing again than any actual flaw with the program. Or it may be that I remember it as being pretty time consuming, and I don't know that I can do it with my older son around and a 2 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 x-posted....we skipped most of the writing when I was doing it with my oldest. He actually wrote well and early, but we were doing HWT at the same time, so I didn't need it. With my middle DS, we'd definitely have to skip the writing just because he's not nearly ready for that much. cost...yeah, it's expensive. You get a good bit of stuff for the money, but, honestly, it's probably more than you NEED just for a phonics program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Academy Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share Posted January 19, 2008 I've used SSRW with my oldest. It is a great program with a lot of writing. What typestyle is the writing? I'm looking for Dnealian. Can the writing be saved for later when the child is ready as for reinforcement? How is it a lot of work? I thought the TM was pick up and go? I didn't think of HOP, I'll have to look closer at it. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Jessica, I haven't used any of those, but I have looked at them all. I would use the SSRW. I almost bought it the other day then kicked myself and reminded myself the my littlest is only 3 and I will not try to teach her to read even if she asks repeatedly with really cute brown eyes. For my dd7, the LeapFrog videos actually got her farther than most K reading programs would have. After watching them through her brother's basketball practices for one season she was reading cvc and silent E words plus a few sight words. It is not how I intended to teach her to read, it is just how it happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 ETC is a lot better than MCP Plaid Phonics IMHO. We used both last year in K and started both this year in 1st. MCP is colorful, but the activities are not as much fun as ETC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 We are enjoying Phonics Museum very much. It took a bit to get used to but it's very good. We are working on the K book and going slowly because she's only 4. She knows her sounds and is starting to read a bit but has attention issues (beyond what is normal for her age). If you have specific questions about it feel free to ask. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheilaZ Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 What typestyle is the writing? I'm looking for Dnealian. Can the writing be saved for later when the child is ready as for reinforcement? How is it a lot of work? I thought the TM was pick up and go? I didn't think of HOP, I'll have to look closer at it. Thanks! The writing is ball and stick. It's very close in style to HWT is letter formation. Book #1 is pretty easy for little ones. It covers letter soulds and formation. But it is overkill on the writing the letters. Book 2 is the actual "learn to read" portion. The Ferris Wheel for blending letters is brilliant. I ended up making one for us to use with HOP. But each lesson has a word list of 20+ words to write. (The lessons will take a few days to complete.) After the first few lessons, we ditched a good bit of the writing, all the tests, and the whole spelling portion. (This was after we finished the foirst 6 readers.) The amount of daily work slowed down his progress in reading. It's not the sort of thing you can come back to. By the time he was able to really write and worry about spelling, we had moved on to Spelling Workout. The TE is pick up and go...but I felt that the day's activites were overplanned. Some "3 day lessons" would take 4 or 5 days to complete once you did all the games, writing, and review work. Now the pluses so I'm not just dissing the program: The readers are great. The songs are fun. (DH and I found ourselves singing them.) The phonics instruction is sound. The games are very helpful as reinforcement. Woooo....I wrote a missive.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra in CO Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Jessica - The only one of these I have any experience with is MCP. It doesn't sound like a good fit from what you describe. I think MCP would have been a great program for ME to have used - but I taught myself to read, mostly by watching The Electric Company when I was 4. MCP would have given me some practice with the rules, and would have helped this "natural reader" to do better. I can't imagine actually teaching reading with MCP though. Teaching phonics to someone who is already reading, yeah, that would be great. Of course, I'd recommend the two volumes of The Best of The Electric Company too :) That's been my favorite recent homeschool acquisition of all. My dh thinks it is just silly, but the rest of us love it. hth - Debra Mom of five Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Jessica, I don't believe that SSRW and Phonics Museum are even comparable. I have posted my love for SSRW repeatedly. I really enjoy teaching it. A friend had PM and "love" is not a word she would have used to describe it. She tried to give it to me and I wouldn't have wanted it even for free. ;) As far as cost, it was my first expensive purchase for homeschooling and still one of the wisest ones I ever made. Though, it is VERY far from being one of my expensive purchases any more. That is simply a drop in the bucket compared to textbook costs for high school. It is all relative. As far as justifying it......it covers everything you'll need except math. Take the cost and divide it by 10 months for the school yr and what is its cost per month? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 .it covers everything you'll need except math. What exactly does it cover besides phonics? How long per day do you typically spend on it? Do you use just the K or the higher levels too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Academy Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share Posted January 19, 2008 it was my first expensive purchase for homeschooling and still one of the wisest ones I ever made. Who can argue with that? Momof7 (and others I highly respect) recommended it, no one is flipping out about a $200 phonics program and I'm floored- it has to be GOOD . VP Phonics seems to be a tricky chance to take based on what everyone has said. An angel is letting me borrow her SSRW video to preview it, maybe that will sell dh. I'm so grateful I took the chance to ask about this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Academy Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share Posted January 19, 2008 Hi Jessica~ You can hear some of the songs on Christianbook.com. Very easy to use, very colorful, songs, games..everything your looking for. They have a fun one for preschool that he may even like now. (jolly trolly) Teacher instructions are very clear. Now I have to decide between Horizons Preschool (which I already chose for PreK) and SSRW's PreK. The inside views at ChristianBook.com are great and I'm in love but now I have a problem with comparing the PreK programs. Horizons PreK has everything: Bible, health and safety, science, math, phonics, language arts, hands-on arts & crafts, reproducibles, sing along CD (more Bible songs than anything else), music, physical education and social studies. But SSRW's PreK program looks fabulous too but seems to have less: This updated edition of the popular program covers colors, shapes, alphabet letters and sounds, object classification, story sequence, directional concepts, opposites, the seasons, and counting from one to 10. Kit includes activity sheets; "Alph-O" cards; sing-along-and-point strip and place mat; clock and shoe manipulatives; counting sticks; sing-along songs on cassette and CD; puzzles; award stickers; and teacher's manual. Eeek! I don't know what to do now. Now what? Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Your dh helped choose the Horizons didn't he? and it seems to be a richer program. Not a hard choice at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Academy Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share Posted January 19, 2008 Okay I looked at the K/Level 1 combo of SSRW and the SSRWPreK, I think you're right- Horizons would be better, esp. for exposure and simplicity. How blessed are we to be able to pick from so many different programs that aim to accomplish the same thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 SSRW covers phonics, spelling, and simple writing. It is a complete LA program. The only drawback I can think of off the top of my head is if you aren't able to "flex" a program and make it work for you vs following specifically the way it is written in the TM. My kids have all progressed more rapidly through the reading sections than the spelling (and writing b/c my little ones have all been squirmers that didn't like to sit still let alone write). I have simply let them go through all the different parts at their own speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux Et Veritas Academy Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I love the classic Hooked on Phonics. The repetition is so great in that program- and it incorporates a reading program into it. I used explode the code to supplement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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