ABeCeDarian Company Review -TOS CREW #hsreview

I have always loved to read.  I think it comes naturally to me.  My children like to read but would rather I read to them than have to read the book themselves.  While this is probably natural for children I was excited for them when we received a package from ABeCeDarian Company to review.  In our package we received their level A-1 teacher and student workbooks, A-2 teacher and student workbooks, B-1 teacher and student workbooks, a set of 10 storybooks for children to read aloud(these correspond with the level A workbooks), and a collection of 11 Aesop fables.  The Aesop fables are geared to go with the B level workbook and only include the sounds/words that the children can already sound out/read.

This is the great packet we received to review.

We primarily used the level B-1 with the set of 10 storybooks and the Aesop's Fables.  The entire program is geared towards a Kindergarten through early 2nd grade readers.  I used it primarily with my first grader who thought she couldn't read because she still had to sound out the words.  After finishing the program I have to say(with lots of excitement) that she now tells people that she CAN read!  Yeah!  She still has to sound things out at times, but she is much more confident of herself and no longer gives up as easily over words that she does not know!

Level B-1 includes a teacher's book which can be purchased for $25.50 as well as the student book which is available for purchase for $10.25.  If you order over a certain number(50) the price drops on the student books to $1.50 per book.  This would be a great deal if you planned to use it in a school setting or with a homeschool group/coop.

In some situations, you can get by without buying the teachers books to go with the student books.  I feel that you do need the teacher book for this program  It would just not work the same way if you only had the student book.   There is so much extra in the Teacher book to help you as well as your student that I think it is definitely worth the cost.

The set of ten storybooks costs $21.50.  They are sold as being part of the Level A program, but you also will be using them in the B level.  If your child tests at a point that they should start at the B level like my daughter did then you should still purchase the storybooks as they are needed.  In the teachers manual it will have your child reading these stories.  If you do not have them it says to skip that part, but I think the extra reading materials are beneficial.

The Aesop's Fables was a favorite of all my children.  They enjoyed hearing either their sister or me reading the stories to them.  The cost for the set of eleven fables in one book is $2.50.  This book of fables has been adapted to only contain sounds/letters that your student should be able to read at that level.  They are the same great stories, but at your child's level.

I am very pleased with what ABeCeDarian has been able to do for us reading wise and am looking forward to seeing what others have to say about it as well.

Since we didn't use the two lower levels this time(I probably will use them this fall with my now kindergarteners) I really am not going to discuss them.  If you want to learn more about those levels and what they were like or what reviewers thought of them please make sure to visit the main Crew blog post.  Lots of great reviews are available for you there.

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EGM Educational Systems LLC, READS Homeschool Review #hsreview

I had never heard of the EGM Educational Systems LLC until they offered up their READS program for review.  I of course had to look into it for my kiddos.  I am very glad I did!

Elaine(the founder of this program) wanted to make something that would help reading comprehension in children as well as help them to become more confident and stronger learners.  READS is designed to help children in grades 1-4 and costs $19.95 for the bundle described below.  You can purchase additional bundles that include everything except the parents manual for $17.95 for any other children you have who might benefit from the program.

Our READS came all nice and neat in this bundle.

READS (Really Easy And Dynamic Strategy) includes:
a parent's manual
question cards on a ring
reward chart and stickers
reading guide strip with a magic finger
speedy speller
reusable sealable pouch

The bundle all "un-bundled"

The question cards on a ring were used by my kids to help understand the stories we were reading.  We used them not only for our stories and books for school(both read alone and read aloud) but also for books that we read as a family.  Several of the questions were ones that we already asked our kids, but some were ones that I hadn't even thought of.  Our oldest was already picking these elements out of the stories as we read, but knowing that they were going to be asked these types of questions helped our other slightly younger children listen better to the stories and pick out the most important parts.  No longer do I just get "I don't knows" out of certain littles!  This makes me as their teacher and mother very happy!

I have found that my children do well with reading strips.   It helps them to focus on the correct line in their reading and we're not so helter skelter all over the place with our eyes.  We had never tried a magic finger before so this was new to us.  Of course, all of the kids wanted to be the first to try it out.   A few had too much fun playing with the finger and forgot that they were supposed to be reading, but the two in the higher grade did really well focusing and using the magic finger.

I think my favorite part as the parent is the Speedy Speller book.  Almost every letter has it's own page full of words for your little one to learn.  We have our own spelling curriculum, but I've very much enjoyed using this for other words that my children should know by sight.  I think this will be used as a sight word study for my kids this next school year just to help them learn all these words.  Also included are common abbreviations that all children should know such as the United States of America state abbreviations and also their state capitals.  You also are provided with common abbreviations for days, months, weights, and measure.  An added bonus is that it shows both metric and US measurements.

Make sure to visit the main Crew Blog Post so that you can read other reviews of this amazing product.  A total of 40 Crew reviewers were able to try out this bundle.

Disclaimer:  I was provided with  a copy of this curriculum for free in association with the TOS Schoolhouse Review Crew.  I was not compensated in any other way besides this curriculum.  All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own and not influenced in anyway.  I was not coerced to write a positive review but rather wrote my own thoughts(or those of my children) on the curriculum.  I am disclosing this to be in compliance with the FTC Regulations. Pin It Now!