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I'm trying to decide which phonics program to use for my dd next year. (she will be 5 this summer) I'm considering Explode The Code with The Reading Lesson. Has anyone used both of these? Would you recommend combining the two, or do you think this will be too much?

I started with BJU for my oldest daughter, switched to Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons, took some time off, and ended up switching back to BJU. She usually picks things up fairly quickly, and is an excellent reader now, but teaching her how to read was miserable. We were BOTH stressed about it. (My fault, I know better now ) Anyway, I don't want it to be so hard with my little one!

Thanks for any advice!

I have never used the Reading Lesson, but I have used ETC. I think that ETC makes a great supplement. That is what I use it for. I never actually "require" my dd to do ETC, but when she is asking to do some homeschool, sometimes I will pull that out and ask her to do a few pages and she gladdly gets right to it. I actually just went ahead and signed us up for the online version of ETC last night. The ETC books have a lot of writing in them and my dd has not yet learned how to form all of her letters correctly. I figure the online version will benefit me in two ways. 1)she will not have to write anything, and therefore be practicing writing her letters the incorrect way, and 2)I can used the computer time with ETC as a reward of sorts for getting other tasks done that are not her favorite.

HTH

We tried a few phonic programs.We started off with Jolly Phonics but quickly discovered it was fine as a supplement or even as an introduction but it lept too quickly through and left ius both confused with "when two vowels go walking..."we had not yet learnt vowels and consonants..
We tried Bob books but he found those very boring.
We really liked ETC initally and we just had work books -I did not know they did online ..but we found two big hurdles with ETC.The first was the amount of writing required in the workbooks was too much .My 5 yr old was really struggling with handwriting and having to re write a page of sentances in book one was too labour intensive and meant the lessons lost their message and they moved too slowly. [Drill and Kill.]Second was the amount each workbook was costing me to ship from America.
We switched to The Reading Lesson and although it has some quirks -Im not sure there is the ideal system .I like it the most.We aim to cover 2 -3 pages a day with my 6 year old.When we started I would cover more because he already had some phonic knowledge but we are on lesson 13 now and its working well.I recently stopped for a week to give him some reader books to practice his sight words.

I love ETC! Get ready for the code starts with just teaching letter name and sound and you only trace the letter. I'll be using that with LHTH and just pick the same letter that LHTH is using that week. There is quite a bit of copy work when you get up higher, but you can choose to just choose the activities that have you circle or check the right answer. I'm not too familiar with the reading lesson.

Thanks so much! I didn't realize there was an online version of ETC, I'll have to check that out. My dd is doing LHTH now, so I might go ahead and get the first Get Ready For The Code book, to see how she does with it. The past few weeks she has really been wanting to learn to write, and to read.

So now I have another question Would you recommend the cd for The Reading Lesson, or just the book? I've looked at the samples online, and think we have another computer program that might be as good, but I'm not sure.

Thank you so much! Who knew when we started homeschooling that there would be sooooo many options/decisions! I'm so thankful we are homeschooling in a time when there are so many great choices. Having said that, it's so hard to decide! I appreciate ya'll sharing your thoughts/experiences with me! It helps a lot.

If you like online phonics programs, a favorite of mine is ClickNKids. I would be doing that with my middle child still, but dh wanted less computer for our kids (I think he and I are addicted to computers! so we didn't want that for our kids) So I've switched to Reading Made Easy with her new workbooks and LOVE it! I don't think all the workbooks are out yet...I'm "testing" it for her and I can tell you they are great! The good thing with that is it is perfectly coordinated with the phonics lesson you are doing. So, maybe that's another option for you that's similar to The Reading Lesson plus ETC. I'm just not sure when they'll be out though...should be soon.

If you do look into the online version of ETC, you can get it cheaper at Homeschool Buyers Co-op. They have it there for $35 and it doesn't expire until March 10th. I also had looked at ClickNKids, and at first I liked what I saw, but then when I looked at the online ETC, I liked it MUCH better. ETC online actually will give your child more or less practice on a skill until they demonstrate that they have mastered the information. With ClickNKids, they just keep moving the child forward through the lessons.

When you use ETC online do you use anything with it? Or is it a complete program by itself?

We just use ETC as a supplement. I do know some people that use it as a complete curriculum, but I would say that is probably a bit of a stretch. I think ETC does a great job of really cementing in some of the skills learned with reading, but not as good a job of "introducing" the concepts.

ETA: The online version is very much like the books, but with a little more "fun and flare." Basically the online version goes through the concepts in the same way as the books, BUT, if your child struggles with something instead of just continuing to move them ahead, it will keep them at that level with more practice. You can also manually override the system and move your child to whatever level you would like.

I am using the Reading Lesson right now with two of my kids, with the cd. Love the cd! It just seems to add a little to the program. What I do is, when my kids are done with their lesson, they go and play on the computer... a little reward, and they love it!
We were using the ETC books with it, but I stopped. It just was too much for us, and not really necessary at all. In the ETC books, there is extra handwriting if you were needing it, which could be good. But, my kids seem to be doing just fine with out it. I at first was skeptical, that one book could be so perfect for a phonics program, but not anymore. Carrie has arranged it perfectly! I think when they finish the Reading Lesson, they are supposedly reading at a second grade level, which is why Carrie has them go on to Emerging Readers and then into Rod and Staff for LA... Correct me if I am wrong.

Hope that helps!
LeAnna

Yes, once you finish The Reading Lesson your kiddo is at a beginning to mid-second grade reading level and is ready for the Emerging Reader's Set. You can, of course, use any phonics program you prefer instead.

Blessings,
Carrie

Oh wow I did not know that Carrie and Leanna.Thats was really re assuring and helpful.We are on lesson 13-Im really happy to think that DS will be reading at 2cnd grade level when we are done

The Reading Lesson is wonderful. My youngest is now starting Lesson 16, she can already read the The Early Readers Bible. I started letting her read a story from it after doing her Reading Lesson work for the day, now she has the Early Readers bible in her bed and has read it straight through. Reading did not come easily for her like it did her older brother. The Reading Lesson worked well.

Thanks to you all!! I've been trying to decide which phonics program to use for a while. Now I know what I'm going to do. You have all been very helpful!

Happy Homeschooling!