Hi Sarah, thanks for all these thorough videos. Reading can be so overwhelming to teach. Do you have any thoughts on "the ordinary parents guide to teaching reading?" -thanks!
I have NEVER heard about this program! I wish I had known about this 3-4 years ago. I went from AAR to pinwheels. I love pinwheels but it's a new program and doesn't teach all the sounds as of now. I will be getting this program for review and also teaching new sounds. Thank you for this review. It's like you knew I was looking for a good program.
Hmm, what sounds does PW not teach? PW 1-4 are pretty comprehensive and the Wand finishes off the vowel chart. I agree, though, it takes a while to get though all the phonograms.
@@homespun.childhood I absolutely love Pinwheels. We are finishing it in about a week. The wand is set up a lot differently and I don't know if I have the experience to teach it like pinwheels teaches it.
I am asking bc Don Potter offers so much Greta stuff and so does Samuel Blumenfield with alpha phonics. I was thinking of using alpha phonics with the LOE game book
Alpha phonics does not provide explicit instruction (for example, the first set of words includes 2 words with nasal m and n - am and an, but there is no discussion of why the /m/ and /n/ change the sound of a). They also do not teach the updated methods for working with sight words (do a quick search on 'heart words.'
Not sure about Don Potter's work - it's pretty old-school phonics without a lot of support. He says it's explicit instruction, except I can't see any teaching aspect from the samples. The stories are not actually stories, but a paragraph worth of decodable words. I'm sure some kids do ok with this program, but I suspect it would leave a lot of kids frustrated and result in some children struggling with spelling and multisyllabic words in the upper elementary grades.
@@homespun.childhood thank you for your advice. What about a program like Christian light education learn to read ? I am a Christian so I do like that it has God in it. But is it a solid phonics program
@@samanthagraveswalters8443 I see you never received a reply about Christian Light. It is a very systematic phonics program and builds extremely well on itself. My favorite ever! But my reason for eventually moving on from it was the amount of work and writing. You can of course adjust that on your own, but I still found it to be a lot.
It's not systematic or explicit. It teaches reading from a whole language perspective and using word families - which means it's not reflecting the decades of research on how children learn to read.
No - Recipe for Reading and Explode the Code are made by the same publishers, so the material looks similar. I just pull in appropriate (decodable) sections of ETC as needed for extra practice or review.
Hello! I stumbled upon your channel while looking for new programs. We did AAR1 for a week and it wasn’t enough for my new reader (6yr with some articulation and speech motor planning issues). He found AAR boring and would zone out. His words were “I don’t want to just stare at a board with letters” 🤣 I found your review of pinwheels and fell in love! Our SLP mentioned receipt for reading the other day. Would you say the 2 would work well together? Or be over kill? The both look very similar. Do you happen to know how the workbooks and readers might match up to pinwheels? I did see the order of introduction is slightly different. Thanks!
Pinwheels follows a much different pacing than many programs. You can pair PW 1/2 with the RFR K and 1 workbooks. However, after that it is tricky to pair because PW teaches CVCe words last and pretty much every other program teaches them after basic consonants and vowels. I wouldn't do both programs in their entirety. If AAR was not enough, the I would say PW because it's more comprehensive. If your child needs more practice opportunities than are built into PW, you can add in workbooks like Explode the Code and fluency practice. I have a lot of info on how to supplement and add in extra practice in my Foundational Reading Instruction course: www.homespunchildhood.com/foundational-reading-course
Thank you for this detailed video and all of the helpful content you’ve put out via TH-cam, IG, etc. I am learning so much, and it’s quite good but very overwhelming. My #1 (in K, 6yo) just finished Alphaphonics. I see your comment above about this program’s shortcoming and I can now agree with your assessment. #1 can read independently (at least Level 3 reading and above, eg Princess in Black, Dodsworth) but she has trouble with multisyllabic words and words with special rules. She also needs a lot of work in handwriting with correct letter formation, stamina, pencil grip. Would a good spelling program like AAS help fill some of the holes/gaps or should I go with one of your recommended foundational reading programs? Thank you for your input!
Hey, AAS would be good for spelling, but it wouldn't necessarily help with multisyllabic words and consolidation of reading skills. You might consider Pinwheels 3, Recipe for Reading, or UFLI. It's hard to give more personalized recommendations without really diving in. I do offer consulting for these situations if you want to really get into the details. I also have a course, Literacy Assessments for Homeschoolers, that would help you pinpoint where to review and pick up with a different program. www.homespunchildhood.com/
Hi! I have been looking for a program to fill in some gaps my child has from a previous curriculum. My child can read and just needs some reinforcement in some areas. I have been looking into this program and Treasure Hunt Reading. Do you feel like this would be a good program for filling in gaps? Thanks for the advice.
Yes! Recipe for Reading is a great program to fill in gaps. You can usually snag a copy on eBay and pair it with their workbooks and whatever decodable readers you have. n
I’ve never heard of this program before! Thank you for making this video. Edited to add…do you feel this program is stronger than All About Reading? Or are both programs of similar merit? Thanks!
@@homespun.childhood wait! in programs, they use slashes for the sounds and not these “[]”! it’s called “breaking the rules of the ipa”. should’ve used ipa symbols instead!
Could you skip a reading program? Or skip those lessons? If they can read and spell CVC words, you could skip those lessons or do the review ones. I have a literacy assessment course that walks you through figuring out where to begin instruction, if that is something that might help. You can find more about that here: www.homespunchildhood.com/literacy-assessments-course
What program would you recommend for kids who are older who used a bad reading program ? I use the good and the beautiful and it really gave my son a bad foundation. What program do you recommend?
Are they reading any books at this point? If so, what kind? Recipe for Reading is a solid option for older kiddos who need to fill holes and redevelop a foundation. But, it's hard to give specific advice without knowing more. If you are unsure of where to restart, I have a Literacy Assessments for Homeschoolers course that walks you through how to assess (in a low-key way) your son's skills and pinpoint where to review and begin instruction. I also offer literacy consulting - unfortunately, I have a lot of experience working with kids coming from TGTB (you are not alone in that!). In my consulting sessions, I work with parents to create an intervention plan and select an appropriate curriculum.
Hi, yes, I don't think Happy Phonics is robust enough. It does not include explicit, systematic instruction. It includes word family practice, which I don't recommend.
Thank you for sharing and reviewing this program. This seems so well rounded. I’m a no fluff type of teacher in my homeschool. My 8 year old (2nd grade) son is very dyslexic. We use AAR, AAS, and LLATL. He is progressing but both of us just dread AAR.. not sure why that is.. the stories are sooo long and we’re just over half way through level 2. The only thing that’s held me back from abandoning AAR, is that the “rules” are so easy to remember and I know it’s a recommended program for dyslexia. This seems set up to where we could even start at the beginning, which would be very easy and good review, and then progress more easily.. would you agree?
Without additional information, I would say yes, Recipe for Reading might be a better fit. You might also consider Pinwheels, by Rooted in Language, however there are a lot of moving pieces with PW and that's not for everyone. Honestly, this is the type of work I do in consulting - I work with families to come up with an instructional plan based on their child's skills/needs and the preferred curriculum styles of the parents. www.homespunchildhood.com/literacy-consulting
Depends - did they use a different foundational reading program? If so, which one? If they are a child that learned to read relatively easily on their own but does not know the phonics rules etc., then yes, I would recommend this or UFLI along with a spelling routine. If they already used a solid reading program and know the rules of phonics, then I would recommend something different. I have a bunch of info on spelling in my spelling highlight on IG: instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3ODQ3MzYzNjM4OTI4ODgx?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Hi Sarah, thanks for all these thorough videos. Reading can be so overwhelming to teach. Do you have any thoughts on "the ordinary parents guide to teaching reading?"
-thanks!
I have NEVER heard about this program! I wish I had known about this 3-4 years ago. I went from AAR to pinwheels. I love pinwheels but it's a new program and doesn't teach all the sounds as of now. I will be getting this program for review and also teaching new sounds. Thank you for this review. It's like you knew I was looking for a good program.
Hmm, what sounds does PW not teach? PW 1-4 are pretty comprehensive and the Wand finishes off the vowel chart. I agree, though, it takes a while to get though all the phonograms.
@@homespun.childhood I absolutely love Pinwheels. We are finishing it in about a week. The wand is set up a lot differently and I don't know if I have the experience to teach it like pinwheels teaches it.
Can you review Alpha phonics. And Don potters blend phonics
I am asking bc Don Potter offers so much Greta stuff and so does Samuel Blumenfield with alpha phonics. I was thinking of using alpha phonics with the LOE game book
Alpha phonics does not provide explicit instruction (for example, the first set of words includes 2 words with nasal m and n - am and an, but there is no discussion of why the /m/ and /n/ change the sound of a). They also do not teach the updated methods for working with sight words (do a quick search on 'heart words.'
Not sure about Don Potter's work - it's pretty old-school phonics without a lot of support. He says it's explicit instruction, except I can't see any teaching aspect from the samples. The stories are not actually stories, but a paragraph worth of decodable words. I'm sure some kids do ok with this program, but I suspect it would leave a lot of kids frustrated and result in some children struggling with spelling and multisyllabic words in the upper elementary grades.
@@homespun.childhood thank you for your advice. What about a program like Christian light education learn to read ? I am a Christian so I do like that it has God in it. But is it a solid phonics program
@@samanthagraveswalters8443 I see you never received a reply about Christian Light. It is a very systematic phonics program and builds extremely well on itself. My favorite ever! But my reason for eventually moving on from it was the amount of work and writing. You can of course adjust that on your own, but I still found it to be a lot.
Would love a review on Simply Charlotte masons Delightful reading kits!
It's not systematic or explicit. It teaches reading from a whole language perspective and using word families - which means it's not reflecting the decades of research on how children learn to read.
Do you recommend using this with Pinwheels as well?
Thank u for this review
My pleasure 😊
Thank you for this review! Does this explain how to use alongside Explode the Code? We already use and love explode the code for my 3!
No - Recipe for Reading and Explode the Code are made by the same publishers, so the material looks similar. I just pull in appropriate (decodable) sections of ETC as needed for extra practice or review.
Can you review From Phonics to Reading by Sadler
I'll add it to the list :)
Would you recommend these or ETC workbooks with UFLI? Or neither?
Hello! I stumbled upon your channel while looking for new programs. We did AAR1 for a week and it wasn’t enough for my new reader (6yr with some articulation and speech motor planning issues). He found AAR boring and would zone out. His words were “I don’t want to just stare at a board with letters” 🤣 I found your review of pinwheels and fell in love! Our SLP mentioned receipt for reading the other day. Would you say the 2 would work well together? Or be over kill? The both look very similar.
Do you happen to know how the workbooks and readers might match up to pinwheels? I did see the order of introduction is slightly different. Thanks!
Pinwheels follows a much different pacing than many programs. You can pair PW 1/2 with the RFR K and 1 workbooks. However, after that it is tricky to pair because PW teaches CVCe words last and pretty much every other program teaches them after basic consonants and vowels.
I wouldn't do both programs in their entirety. If AAR was not enough, the I would say PW because it's more comprehensive. If your child needs more practice opportunities than are built into PW, you can add in workbooks like Explode the Code and fluency practice. I have a lot of info on how to supplement and add in extra practice in my Foundational Reading Instruction course: www.homespunchildhood.com/foundational-reading-course
Thank you for this detailed video and all of the helpful content you’ve put out via TH-cam, IG, etc. I am learning so much, and it’s quite good but very overwhelming.
My #1 (in K, 6yo) just finished Alphaphonics. I see your comment above about this program’s shortcoming and I can now agree with your assessment. #1 can read independently (at least Level 3 reading and above, eg Princess in Black, Dodsworth) but she has trouble with multisyllabic words and words with special rules. She also needs a lot of work in handwriting with correct letter formation, stamina, pencil grip. Would a good spelling program like AAS help fill some of the holes/gaps or should I go with one of your recommended foundational reading programs? Thank you for your input!
Hey, AAS would be good for spelling, but it wouldn't necessarily help with multisyllabic words and consolidation of reading skills. You might consider Pinwheels 3, Recipe for Reading, or UFLI.
It's hard to give more personalized recommendations without really diving in. I do offer consulting for these situations if you want to really get into the details. I also have a course, Literacy Assessments for Homeschoolers, that would help you pinpoint where to review and pick up with a different program.
www.homespunchildhood.com/
Hi! I have been looking for a program to fill in some gaps my child has from a previous curriculum. My child can read and just needs some reinforcement in some areas. I have been looking into this program and Treasure Hunt Reading. Do you feel like this would be a good program for filling in gaps? Thanks for the advice.
Yes! Recipe for Reading is a great program to fill in gaps. You can usually snag a copy on eBay and pair it with their workbooks and whatever decodable readers you have. n
Would I be able to use this and not AAR? This sounds affordable but just as good. What’s your opinion?
Yup! It’s a solid program.
I’ve never heard of this program before! Thank you for making this video. Edited to add…do you feel this program is stronger than All About Reading? Or are both programs of similar merit? Thanks!
They are both strong programs!
@@homespun.childhood wait! in programs, they use slashes for the sounds and not these “[]”! it’s called “breaking the rules of the ipa”. should’ve used ipa symbols instead!
What if my child knows all the letters/sounds could we skip that part?
Could you skip a reading program? Or skip those lessons? If they can read and spell CVC words, you could skip those lessons or do the review ones. I have a literacy assessment course that walks you through figuring out where to begin instruction, if that is something that might help. You can find more about that here: www.homespunchildhood.com/literacy-assessments-course
What program would you recommend for kids who are older who used a bad reading program ? I use the good and the beautiful and it really gave my son a bad foundation. What program do you recommend?
Are they reading any books at this point? If so, what kind? Recipe for Reading is a solid option for older kiddos who need to fill holes and redevelop a foundation. But, it's hard to give specific advice without knowing more. If you are unsure of where to restart, I have a Literacy Assessments for Homeschoolers course that walks you through how to assess (in a low-key way) your son's skills and pinpoint where to review and begin instruction. I also offer literacy consulting - unfortunately, I have a lot of experience working with kids coming from TGTB (you are not alone in that!). In my consulting sessions, I work with parents to create an intervention plan and select an appropriate curriculum.
Yes my son doesn’t read. But he has holes in his foundation It’s hard to tell without testing him
@@samanthagraveswalters8443 I think you would find my course helpful. Let me know if you have questions. www.homespunchildhood.com/courses
@@homespun.childhood I meant he does read. I can’t believe I didn’t catch that typo lol
Hi, are you familiar with Happy Phonics?
Hi, yes, I don't think Happy Phonics is robust enough. It does not include explicit, systematic instruction. It includes word family practice, which I don't recommend.
Thank you for sharing and reviewing this program. This seems so well rounded. I’m a no fluff type of teacher in my homeschool.
My 8 year old (2nd grade) son is very dyslexic. We use AAR, AAS, and LLATL. He is progressing but both of us just dread AAR.. not sure why that is.. the stories are sooo long and we’re just over half way through level 2. The only thing that’s held me back from abandoning AAR, is that the “rules” are so easy to remember and I know it’s a recommended program for dyslexia.
This seems set up to where we could even start at the beginning, which would be very easy and good review, and then progress more easily.. would you agree?
Without additional information, I would say yes, Recipe for Reading might be a better fit. You might also consider Pinwheels, by Rooted in Language, however there are a lot of moving pieces with PW and that's not for everyone. Honestly, this is the type of work I do in consulting - I work with families to come up with an instructional plan based on their child's skills/needs and the preferred curriculum styles of the parents. www.homespunchildhood.com/literacy-consulting
I could have written this. My 8yo is also struggling in AAR. ❤
Do you recommend this for a fluent reader but lacks spelling?
Depends - did they use a different foundational reading program? If so, which one? If they are a child that learned to read relatively easily on their own but does not know the phonics rules etc., then yes, I would recommend this or UFLI along with a spelling routine. If they already used a solid reading program and know the rules of phonics, then I would recommend something different. I have a bunch of info on spelling in my spelling highlight on IG: instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3ODQ3MzYzNjM4OTI4ODgx?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=