lamomto4
- Reviewed on Saturday, July 17, 2010
- Grades Used: pre-k & k
- Dates used: 2008-2010
I can't say enough great things about ETC! My son wasn't interested in learning letters or sounds AT ALL. Everyday was a struggle with him. He would cry & tell me he never wants to read. After trying a couple other phonics programs with no success, I bought the first primer book to try with him. He loved it! He even started asking to do extra pages each day. I've since used all the primers & am now doing book 1 with him. And He's doing great! These books have made teaching phonics to my son a joy.
Another plus is that the books are very affordable. No need to spend lots of money on expensive books & curriculum to teach your child to read. ETC is a great phonics program. We love it & I recommend it to everyone.
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iceprincess52
- Reviewed on Friday, June 04, 2010
- Grades Used: K
- Dates used: 2010
I am using ETC Online. It was a switch over from My Father's World. We were struggling with MFW and needed something that was more consistant in it's approach. This is it.
This uses books 1 and up. So your child must know their letters & vowel sounds, and is ready for blending.
First, My son hated the idea of learning to "read" after MFW. He saw it as a huge monster and was afraid of even attempting to try. Once he saw this, he thought he was playing a game. Soon he was in a race to get the most butterflies. (Butterflies, ladybugs, and bumblebees are color coded to show you how they mastered the lesson. Butterflies =good, Bumblebees=bad). If he didn't master it, it bumps him back down to start over again.
With in a month of starting he was READING! He was so happy that he did it! So the confidence has soared and helped him try harder stories now like Bob Books and things like it.
His favorite part is when he earned the games. As a teacher you can go in an set a certain number of lessons the child has to complete accurately to allow the "fun" button to turn on. Once there, there is a list of many links to online games to play. This is what he works for every day! (I don't let him know that they are available without ETC Online :)
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heavenlyhoney
- Reviewed on Friday, April 09, 2010
- Grades Used: K-2nd
- Dates used: 2008-10
I have been nothing but happy with Explode the Code. We use the entire series, beginning with the primers and going right up to book 8 (not doing the 1/2 books).
The primer books are really cute and are perfect for pre-K. I just started my 4yo on book a and he is having a great time learning to write his letters.
I generally do books 1-2 in kindergarten, books 3-5 in Gr. 1 and books 6-8 in Gr. 2. Once they get the hang of it, they can do it nearly independently and complete one lesson per week, which gets us through about 3 books per year. Many of the drawings and sentences are humorous and my boys don't ever complain about doing phonics. I also find this series useful for spelling and vocabulary. I haven't used anything formal for spelling; I find ETC works just as well.
The only thing I don't like about the series is the occasional use of ghosts in the pictures and sentences. Not necessary for young children, but that is my opinion, and they at least are cute bedsheet-type ghosts.
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prplhrtwife
- Reviewed on Thursday, March 04, 2010
- Grades Used: 1st
- Dates used: 2010
We have enjoyed the brief amount of time we have spent with Explode the Code. ANY failure in the program was MY fault for placing him below level so he quickly became disenchanted with not being challenged fast enough.
The pictures can, at times, take a minute to figure out exactly what they want the children to write. Beyond that, we absolutely LOVED these books. ETC contains a great mix of activities and definitely NOT writing intensive for children who struggle with handwriting. I highly recommend it for kids struggling with phonics and/or for kids who just aren't fans of "standard textbook" type learning for this subject.
If you're looking for something your children can learn mostly on their own, this is a GREAT CHOICE!!! However, if you have children that tend to advance through curriculum quickly, get read to (yet again) use only half the book and be moving them into the next one or even skipping a level!
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