Review: Spencer Learning, Ultimate Phonics Reading Program (TOS Review) #hsreviews #phonics #phonicsapp #dyslexia #strugglingreader

For this review we used The Ultimate Phonics Reading Program by Spencer Learning.  I used it with my beginner reader, who is almost 6 years old and in Kindergarten. 

This program was simple for my 5 year old to use on his own, though it was a bit dull. This is not a flashy program, it’s words and sounds, and the voiceover for the program is a bit robotic sounding. He didn’t really mind it though, and enjoyed doing it.

The program is geared towards struggling readers of all ages, and I tried to have my almost 8 year old use it, but he wasn’t interested in it.  I will try again with him though, his opinion of things change from day to day.  (If you have been here before, I’m sure you have heard me mention him).  It can be used for beginning readers, however.

The lessons are fairly short, which was great for my little ones attention span!

The program is downloadable, which is great because you do not need the internet to use it.  It is also not a subscription, so it’s a one time purchase!  It can be used with multiple students, though it does not have separate log ins, nor does it keep track of lessons or any type of scoring.  You would just have to know what lesson you were on and go to it. 

It has a search feature, so if your child needs help with certain letter combinations, or certain words, you can find the lesson that includes them and go straight to that lesson. 

There are free placement tests online, though we did not use them, because my son is a beginner, so we just started with lesson 1.

The first lesson starts out with letters and their sounds, then the 2nd lesson goes right into words!  For the words, they have letter tiles that go sound by sound, and then you can hear the entire word pronounced by hovering the mouse over the each tile and then the full word. 

They also have sentences for the words, and each word is pronounced when you hover over it.

The lessons could be supplemented to make them more hands on, by using letter tiles or something similar, to build the words, as well as see and hear them in the program.  It would be nice if there was a feature in the program that allowed you to move tiles and spell words, but it can easily be added in outside of the program.

You can download and try the program for free for 2 weeks, at which point you would need to make a purchase to receive the license code to activate the program past the trial period. 

The program is pretty straight forward, and not hard to figure out or learn how to use.  Here is a great demo video on the program (which is also available for viewing on the website).

You can see in the video demo that there are also a few tricks with right clicking that can further the program (though young children would most likely need assistance in that regard).

Social Media Links:
Facebook:  http://facebook.com/spencerlearning
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/spencerlearning @spencerlearning

Review: jollyliteracy.com–Can Do Cubes (TOS Review) #hsreviews #literacy #reading #phonics #interactivelearning

My youngest two really enjoyed using Can Do Cubes by jollyliteracy.com (just2ducks LLC) for this review. 

If you read my Jolly Phonics review you probably saw that I mentioned the Can Do Cubes!   Here is the review I promised on those!

Can Do Cubes are wooden blocks, about 1 cubic inch in size.  The blocks have a different letter on each side.  They come in sets and are labeled with small numbers as well.

Cube 1 has letters s, a, t, i, p, n
Cube 2 has letters c, k, ck, e, h, r
Cube 3 has m, d, g, o, u, l
Cube 4 has f, b, ai, j, oa, ie

etc…..

We only used the first 4 sets for this review.  There are 8 sets (27 blocks) in Stage One, and Stage Two includes 32 blocks, but the setup is different than Stage One. 

We used the Can Do Cubes with Jolly Phonics.  I had my son sound out the letters for the words on the pages, he would slide the blocks closer together with each sound to visualize blending the sounds together.

The set comes with a booklet for each Stage of blocks, it also comes with an instruction DVD that shows you how to implement the blocks.  This was very helpful! There is a sound pronunciation guide in the booklet, and also on the DVD, a good tool to have!

Additionally, it comes with a CD with printable materials and a teacher’s guide. My youngest (almost 3 yo) has wanted to use the blocks every time she has seen my 5 yo use them!  The printable materials CD had some pages that were more her speed!  She was so happy to use them!

The printable sheets we used had a picture of an object, and a square with a letter in it (the starting letter of the name of that object), they then matched the block with the square and said the letter name and sound, they would also say the name of the picture.  There is a space to write the letter as well (we aren’t there yet). 

These cubes are really great for hands on learning, especially for those kinesthetic/tactile learners!   They are recommended for use by the Dyslexia Action Institute. 

You could make games with them, roll some blocks and then see what words you could make!  You can say words, and have them find the letters to build the word. Use them for spelling tests or other activities in place of writing or in addition to writing… build it first, then write it!  They would work great with these Read, Write and Build Mats from Homeschool Creations.

I love that they also use letter combinations, not just individual letters.  This helps them learn the sounds that letters make when they are together!  It includes combinations like ck, or, ai, ie, nk, ng, th, qu, etc…

There is a sound pronunciation guide in the booklet, and also on the DVD, which is helpful! 

Your imagination is your only limitation for these blocks! 

These blocks are $95 plus tax (shipping is included).  They even have grammar cubes available (at the same cost). 

I would highly recommend them for the tactile learner in your family! 

Social Media Links:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jollyliteracy
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jollyliteracy
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/jollyliteracy/

Review: jollyliteracy.com–Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar (TOS Review) #hsreviews #literacy #reading #phonics #interactivelearning

For this review we used Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar by jollyliteracy.com and just2ducks LLC.

We received the following items:

Jolly Phonics Teacher's Book in print letters

Jolly Phonics Student Book 1, 2 and 3

Jolly Grammar 1 Teacher's Book in print letters

Jolly Grammar 1 Student Book

Jolly Songs in print letters

We used mostly the Jolly Phonics Student Book 1, Jolly Songs, and the Jolly Phonics Teacher’s Book.  I used this program with my 5 year old/Kindergartener. 

He really enjoyed the Phonics book, however, he found it difficult to print in lowercase letters, as his writing is not on par with those skills as of yet.  I would have liked to have seen the early books in capital letters, since those are easier letters to form.  Due to this issue, we did the program mostly verbally, using Can Do Cubes (review to follow).  The Jolly Songs were a fun little addition to help him remember the sounds the letters make.  All my children enjoyed listening to this CD in the car, and guessing which letters the songs went to.  Each Jolly Phonics page (in book 1) has a new letter sound, and review letter sounds.  It has a color picture and action to go with the letter sound to help remember it (this also corresponds with the song).  There are writing lines for the new letter and the review letters.  There are color pictures to pick the pictures that start with the sound of the letter, and there are 4 words that contain that letter sound.  The words have dots under each sound made by the letters, to guide in sounding out and blending the sounds.  By the end of the book your child is writing and recognizing words. 

I have a hard time with phonics books that require writing to read, my boys have always been advanced readers but not as advanced in writing.  I have always improvised with programs, using stamps, magnets, etc… The Can Do Cubes were great in this aspect (more on them later).  I have found that capital letters were a lot easier for their early writing stages, but many early writing books start with lower case, as does this book.

I do LOVE that they did not introduce the letters in ABC order, but in sound frequency order, so that they are learning to sound out words by the third page.  In that same concept, letter s is the first letter, and was a VERY frustrating one for him to write, my 7 year old still struggles with S, so that was hard from the beginning.

Jolly Phonics book 2 introduces capital letters, it is more word based, as opposed to just letter sounds and combinations. Book 3 introduces bigger words and more writing, including sentences.

Jolly Grammar book 1 introduces a lot more dictation, focusing on spelling, as well as grammatical concepts, such as nouns, verbs and adjectives. 

All the books include color pictures, to keep your child’s attention.  There are multiple activities for each concept to include all types of learners. 

I really wanted my 7 year old to try this books, but alas he is stubborn and was not interested (this is a constant struggle).  I will definitely try again, however. 

All in all, as far as a reading/phonics program goes, I think this is a solid program.  The writing aspect will vary from child to child.  If you have a child that is able to write at the same time they are ready to start reading, this is a perfect match!  If you have kids like mine, who are ahead in one area, and not the other… it makes a program like this one difficult to implement exactly as it was designed. 

The multi-sensory aspects of this program are definitely a strong point!  I love that there are hand motions, and songs for each letter/letter combo.  The writing (if your child is able) is also a great way to absorb it.  I love that they are ‘reading’ by the 2nd page, which really helps build a child’s self esteem and confidence, which in turn encourages them to continue with the program and keep learning/reading!

Social Media Links:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jollyliteracy
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jollyliteracy
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/jollyliteracy/

REVIEW: Talking Fingers, Talking Shapes: A Supplemental Curriculum for Early Literacy (TOS Review) #hsreviews #talkingfingers #phonics #lettershapes

For this review we used Talking Shapes: A Supplemental Curriculum for Early Literacy by Talking Fingers, Inc. 

Previously we had reviewed the iPad app version of this program, however, this program was for our PC. 

My 5 year old used this program.  He enjoyed it a lot.  He worked on it in sections, to fit his attention span, during the review period. 

The program is story based, and introduces letters and sounds in relation to objects to help remember their shapes and sounds, and help learn to write them.  It was designed to work with touchscreens, unfortunately the writing portion did not work with our touch screen.  I notified them of this problem, and they are working on it. He was able to use the mouse, but, it was difficult for him to draw the letters with it, and ended up really just scrolling over the letters several times until it drew itself.  So because of this the writing portion of the lesson wasn’t very beneficial.

There were games and activities after each story where they would build words with the letters.  I really feel like this program has helped him learn to put sounds together and give him a stronger understanding of this concept.  He knew most letter sounds before starting, but wasn’t really putting them together or doing much for reading in regards to CVC words.

In the beginning he would ask for my help quite often, but towards the end of the review he was doing it all on his own!  WIN!

I wish they used a different object for T then tree, b/c although it does start with T, it doesn’t have a strong T sound (I made this comment on the last review too).  Otherwise, the objects used to go with the letters, were quite fun and creative. 

This program was very similar to the app we reviewed previously, however it has been built upon.  It takes it quite a bit further (if I’m remembering correctly).  After completion of each level, the next book is unlocked and becomes accessible to the student.

 

The story is based on two girls (Pat and Nat) who invented the written alphabet based off of stories they have told and wanted to write down and preserve.  The place is held where you leave off, so there is not need to complete an entire story or lesson in one sitting. 

The stories focus on the introduction of rhyming words.  So the first book is words like Cat, Fat, Hat, Sat, etc..  The 2nd book is Hen, Pen, etc.. The 3rd book is Pig, Wig, Jig, etc.  The 4th book is Fox, Sox, Box and so on 

My 5 year old enjoyed doing the app, sometimes he did quite a bit, other times not so much, but he never complained when I reminded him to do it.  It was hard for us that it could only be used on the desktop/laptop though.  We have 3 kids that have computer work, and juggling the computer time can be difficult, it’s nice when we can use the iPad to spread it out. 

This is NOT a full curriculum and is designed to be a supplement.  It’s not designed to do one book/lesson all at once, but to be spread out over time.  I think this is a really fun way to supplement for early learners.  It would be perfect for PreK-1st grader range. 

Social Media Links:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TalkingFingers/
YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/user/talkingfingersvideo
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ReadWriteType/with_replies

Review: ABeCeDarian Company: ABeCeDarian Interactive A Workbook (TOS Review) #hsreviews #reading #phonics #readingprogram

For this review I used AbeCeDarian Interactive A Workbook from the ABeCeDarian Company with my 5 year old (kindergartener).  We used the program an average of 3 days a week, and used it mostly on the iPad (iPad 2 version, with Google Chrome).  We also received a digital version of the Teacher Manual to use with this program.

Overall this is a neat program.  It’s a bit confusing to get started at first, you definitely need the teacher manual, as it explains bit by bit how to work this program, including a dialogue to follow, and pictures of what the pages should look like.  Start with the teacher manual, or you will be completely lost as to what to do!  It is laid out very easily though in the manual!

The program itself is very slow to load initially.  Be patient.  I also had issues logging in, there is a CAPTCHA, those things can be such a challenge!  I’m not sure the purpose of it, there has to be an easier way! 

Each time you go to the page, it starts at the beginning, you click through the directions and then the table of contents page comes up and you click which lesson you want to go to (it would be really nice if it had a place holder instead!).

I discovered that the way the pages look in the manual are not the same as in the digital program.  If using a tablet browser, it’s best to have it in portrait position, and if you click on the lesson title in the bottom right corner you can scroll through the missing parts of the page (as it’s listed in the manual).  I did not discover this until much later, and honestly portrait position makes the letters appear a little squished, I preferred to use it in landscape with my son.  I was told they would be making a NEW manual specifically for this program soon.  After having these issues, I pulled it up on the laptop and feel that the viewing of it is much better there, but if you don’t have a touch screen, the writing portions could be difficult this way.

The writing portion of the program is a bit finicky, I was told they are working on this problem.  It’s not smooth to write, and if my child rested his hand at any point while writing, it would shoot a line across the screen.  It was a tad frustrating for him.  We did find using a stylus helped a lot with the writing portion.

You navigate from page to page by clicking the upper right corner, this also is a bit finicky but I discovered that it works best if you click precisely in the corner where the white screen meets the blue border. 

So, as you can see there a few ‘bugs’ with the program, but over all, I found the concept of the program easy to use, I really liked the pull down tiles for spelling words in each lesson, that was probably my son’s favorite part.

Here is a screen shot from one of our lessons

I also found this great YouTube video from ABeCeDarian that really lays out how to use the program, I found it super helpful and wanted to share.

Part 1

Part 2

Overall I think there is some room for improvements in this program, I actually think it would work better as an actual app, as opposed to in the web browser, but I think the concept and lesson layouts are great. 

The subscription is $14.95 for a year and you can add additional years for $4.95 each year.   The teacher manual is $9.95 for a printed version, the digital version is available for free.  I read the manual from my iPad, while my child worked on another device. 

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Review: MaxScholar (TOS Review) #hsreviews #dyslexia #learningdisabilities #ortongillingham #phonics

For this review we used MaxGuru, MaxScholar Reading Intervention Programs from MaxScholar.  MaxGuru includes grades K-12. The MaxScholar program has several components.  These consist of MaxPhonics, MaxReading (the two main components), MaxWords, MaxMusic, MaxVocab, MaxPlaces and MaxBios.

My two oldest children, ages 10 and 7, used this program. 

My 10 year old mostly used the MaxMusic section.  This was his favorite part, though I insist he try all the choices, he came back to music every time.  MaxMusic takes modern music and turns it into a grammar lesson, they highlight parts of speech throughout the lyrics of the song in one game.  In another game they replace the missing words, and another time they repeat back the notes that are played.   The only problem with this program is that he wanted to spend all day doing it!  I caught him a few times logging in on a Saturday, just for fun.  While I wish he had been a little  more rounded in his use of the program, I am happy he enjoyed this, and I feel like it helped him in grammar as well.

He wrote the notes down to play one song, and I’m going to have him actually write the music out on a staff for it.  So this lesson was extended into his actual piano learning, which was great!  I guess technically this could count as music for reporting purposes too! 

He also enjoyed the guitar game in the MaxMusic

My 7 year old started out with MaxPhonics, but found that it was too young for him.  MaxPhonics, focuses on letter sounds, writing letters, all pre reading stuff.  My 7 year old still struggles in reading, but he is beyond the basics.  I think this program would be more suited for my 5 year old.  He then went on to MaxReading, he enjoyed this section; however, it had audio for the stories (which was nice since he isn’t fully reading yet), but after that there was no audio.  I helped him with the highlighting, read him the questions and answers at the end.  He could not have done the program on his own.  It was a great test of his listening comprehension though.  I feel like there really wasn’t anything for the “in between” stage of reading, where my son currently sits.  Unless I’m missing something.  When we first logged in, he went to take a placement test, but the test was set to the highest level, I contacted them, and they immediately changed it…but that test was for MaxReading, there was not initially a test for MaxPhonics.  I see there is one now (pictured below), and so I had my son take it.  It was a lengthy test, he kept asking if he was done yet, and it seemed to just ask the same questions over and over again, and when all was said and done, he still started at the beginning, which was too easy for him.  So I’m not sure about the test. 

There is also a parent section where you can see your child’s progress.  However, it doesn’t seem to be accurate, and I didn’t find it all that helpful, I have no idea what it means really.  I can’t tell what they are lacking in, what they actually did or anything like that.

10 yo:

The only available information under the detailed report for this child was under the MaxMusic section, which lists the songs he has done.

7 yo:

There was no information under the detailed report for this child.

We used this program 3-5 times a week (depending on the week), sometimes my oldest would do one lesson, sometimes he would do more.  My 7 year old and I would work through one story on MaxReading each sitting. 

My 7 year old (the picky one) didn’t mind this program, it frustrated him that he couldn’t do it on his own, but I do think he liked listening to the stories.  He really wanted to get 100% on the highlighting though, and even with my help, I think the best we got was 86%  He is a perfectionist.

As previously mentioned the 10 year old spent all his time at MaxMusic.  It would be nice if there was some way to make assignments, or they had to do one Reading lesson before spending time elsewhere.  A more detailed parent report would be nice too. 

Overall, I do think this is a fun program, it has a lot of potential.  I don’t get the highlighting, my kids didn’t either, that is frustrating.  The other learning games are a great way to learn and have fun.  This would work well for those with learning disabilities that need a different approach to learning.  There are a lot of features that my son didn’t really utilize that I looked at that I thought were great!  You can register for a free trial to check it out and see if it is something that would work for your child before purchasing.

Part of the issues I had may be solved in an individual license, we were given our trial as a school license, so we did not have ‘teacher’ access, only parent.

Social Media Links:
    Facebook: MaxScholar, https://www.facebook.com/MaxScholarLLC/?fref=nf
    Twitter: @MaxScholarLLC, https://twitter.com/MaxScholarLLC
    Pinterest: MaxScholar LLC, https://www.pinterest.com/MaxScholarLLC/
    Google+: MaxScholar, https://plus.google.com/+Maxscholar/posts
    LinkedIn: MaxScholar, https://www.linkedin.com/company/2884620
    YouTube: MaxScholar LLC, https://www.youtube.com/user/MaxScholarLLC

Review: Talking Fingers, Inc. (TOS Review)

For this review, my (almost) 7 year old and 5 year old both got to try out Read, Write & Type by Talking Fingers, Inc.  After watching my 7 year old for the first time play, my 5 year old was begging to play as well! 

During the review period, both children used the program 3-5 times a week  They progressed to level 2 out of 10 levels.  The program works on Phonics, Reading and Spelling in a fun way.  They can print certificates as they complete levels through out the program, but my kids didn’t care so much about doing that.  They could be beneficial if you have to keep a portfolio for your homeschool, though.

The kids have to rescue the letters, and they are taken through exercises that require sound identification (beginning, middle and end of words), spelling, typing, and other related activities. 

Both of my kids liked this program, they never complained about having to do it (which is quite common for my 7 year old to do, whether he likes something or not).  The lessons were fairly short, but sometimes they chose to continue on and do more than one lesson in a sitting. 

It was definitely a hit with my kids, though my 5 year old had some frustration with the program, as it progressed, it became a little over his current level.  Obviously the lessons get progressively harder as they go on. 

As a parent, I loved that my kids loved the program.  I could see noticeable improvement in my children in phonics, reading and spelling after using the program.  I wish the parental page gave a little more details as to what they are or are not doing well in (more specific), it just gives a percentage score for each focus area.  I also had hoped that typing skills would have been more of an emphasis, but that’s not a deal breaker for me.  Just be aware, that this is NOT a typing program.  My kids did not learn how to type on here, they were hunting and poking to type their answers.  Though there is some typing instruction, that is definitely not what they were getting out of it.   It does help get them familiar with the keyboard though, which is a great thing.

Another frustration for me was that the program did not work on Chrome, which is our preferred browser, I was able to use it on Microsoft Edge, with came with Windows 10, but I was not able to make a shortcut on the desktop to it through that browser, so log in was a bit more complicated for my younger children.  There were also a few computer glitches that seemed to work themselves out, though when I notified them, the help desk was very helpful and attentive.  However, they wanted to know what level or lesson we were on, and I could not figure out where to find that information, as it is not listed on the screen when they are playing.  As I stated though, the problems worked themselves out.  

This program is recommended for ESL students, and though we are not ESL; I felt it was very beneficial for my children who are beginning readers/spellers. I think it was most ideal for my 7 year old, but my 5 year old definitely benefited and enjoyed it as well.

The recommended age is 6 to 9 years old.  My 9 year old tried the demo and it was definitely too easy for him (though he did enjoy it, he would have finished the whole program in the blink of an eye).  A 9 year old ESL child or lower level reader could definitely benefit from this program, older than 9 and they may find it to ‘young’ of a program for them. 

Online Subscriptions for home use are for 5 year terms, and price varies from $35.00 to $100 based on the number of users.  There is a FREE demo to try out, I would recommend trying it to see if this is something that would work well for your child. 

Social Media Links

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TalkingFingers/
YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/user/talkingfingersvideo
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ReadWriteType/with_replies @readwritetype