Hi LeAnna,
I've used the reading lesson with my two daughters. I used it with my oldest when she was almost 5 - before starting kindergarten. She took to it really well and even though we have only gotten through lesson 13 (we stopped for a while and then she started kindergarten at a private school) she is reading really well. She is currently in kindergarten and can read way more than what she is being taught at school. I would say on at least a 1st grade if not 2nd grade level. I credit that to what she learned through the reading lesson and what she has picked up on her own. Plus I read to her a lot. I also started this with my second daughter when she was 3 1/2. We only got through lesson 8 and then we stopped because life got pretty busy and hectic. Even still, she is reading at almost the same level as her big sister.
They are now ages 6 and 4. I plan on finishing the reading lesson with them over the summer. I think if done consistantly, you should easily be able to finish it in a school year. When we are done, we are just going to start into the emerging readers that are in BLHFHG. After that we will start DITHOR.
I haven't used any other reading program, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I really like how it has worked for us. At the beginnig of each lesson their is one page of instructions for the parent, so it isn't overwhelming. Also, within the lessons, the font is quite large. This is nice because it is easy for the kids to see and there isn't too much on one page. Also, there are pictures on some of the pages.
We got the CD with ours because amazon was having a sale at the time. I really like the CD. It has all the lessons on it that are in the book. It makes it fun and reinforces what the lesson teaches. They type some of the words they are learning and it will ask them certain sounds and they have to click on the correct letter or blend of letters that makes the sound. They earn trophies as they finish each lesson. My kids really like it and they have learned from it. They recommend doing the lesson on the cd and then in the book. That is how we did it and I think it helped a lot.
Hope that helps a little. I would be happy to answer any questions you have. Go to
www.thereadinglesson.com to see sample lessons. Also, there are some reviews of The Reading Lesson on amazon and on homeschoolreviews.com That's what helped me decide to go with The Reading Lesson.
A part of me wants a more workbook approach. In which I was thinking of Sonlight. But, the other part of me wants something a bit more fast paced. I can't remember if I have asked this before, but I don't remember getting an answer back for it... How long does it typically take to get through the Reading Lesson? If we start in K, will be done by 1st? And then where do we go? 
