Reading Program?

[jamieswife]

Hello!

I know the reccomended programs are "Reading Made Easy" and "The Reading Lesson"....is it okay to ask for opinions on these two here? I don't want to discuss other curriculums here but since they are reccomended I was hoping it was okay!

I want to order one of them but would love to hear first what others who've used them think!

Thanks!

[inHistiming]

We used Reading Made Easy last year wih my daughter. She knew all of the alphabet and could read some 3-letter words but was still having trouble with some of the vowel sounds. She has a vision problem and that had affected her learning before we corrected her vision. We loved the curriculum. We started at about Lesson 9 due to her previous knowledge. It was very helpful for her to use the index cards for her spelling words. She enjoyed reading the short stories and waiting to find out what happens the next day. By the end of the book when she was reading chapters she was very excited, and proud of herself. A big deal for a girl who had convinced herself she could not read and did not enjoy it unless it was mostly pictures. Now, she tells me that she likes to close her eyes when I read so she can imagine what the characters, etc. look like. Exactly what reading is supposed to be! The use of different shades of gray or dotted letters, circles for special sounds, all of those things were wonderful tools for teaching her to read. The only issue I had with the program at all was that toward the end those circles and different shades tended to "get in my way" my daughter said. That's when I knew she was reading well enough to be done with the program. Overall and excellent program. We will be using it with my 5yo son next year.

[jamieswife]

Thank you so much! That was great info!!!! Just what I needed!!!!



Sounds like your daughter gave you a crystal clear sign that she was ready to move on...what a blessing!

[my3sons]

I also like the format of Reading Made Easy. I think it is a phonics program that takes the child further... by the time the child is finished with it, beginning the Emerging Readers set on the Heart of Dakota site is totally a smooth transition. It makes finding another phonics program to do after it a non-issue. Many phonics programs kind of leave the child needing more before beginning reading early readers. Reading Made Easy seems to naturally bridge that gap. Enjoy teaching your child to read... what a special blessing that too many moms pass on to someone else to do! Even if it takes some time, and there are some "bumps" in the road once and awhile... a priceless memory!

[6timeboymom]

I've never used a distinct outline to teach reading, so I like to see what other people think, too! We've always done letter games, reading aloud, phonics games, etc things we just kind of make up on the fly. I did buy a book this year because my 7 year old is allergic to the printed word... :lol
and I thought it would help, but it didn't. I might look at the Reading mad easy now! thanks!

[amysconfections]

I have used The REading Lesson with my 5 year old son. He is doing great with the program. I had a hard time deciding between the 2 but I picked The Reading Lesson because of the CD Rom that came with it. He uses it to introduce the new sounds and then we sit down. It really is made so that even at 4 you could start learning to read. Since we started quite a few months before he was 5 I chose this. We usually do 2 pages a day. He turned 5 in July and now is reading words like Mother, Father, together without much help. I like the simple layout of The Reading Lesson. I did make flash cards with the words at the end of the lessons and we study them occasionally. You can also look at The reading Lesson online at www.thereadinglesson.com I hope this helps

[netpea]

Hi, We used The Reading Lesson with my son when he was 5. It worked very well with him. We are about to start using it with my daughter who turns 5 this month.