Explode the Code

[blessed mama]

I am considering Explode the Code for my 4 yr old twins. Anyone have experience with this curriculum and suggestions?

[Waratah]

I looked at the books at my local homeschool store yesterday. I am going to use book 4 for my 9 year old dyslexic son. I think it would be a great foundation for any child though. I also learned that they offer it online so that might work for you also.

You might want to check out www.homeschoolreviews.com they have lots of reviews for all sorts of curriculum.

Hope this helps!

Waratah

[blessed mama]

Thanks for your input! That is awesome to have a homeschool store that you can browse through the books before committing to a purchase! ..thanks again!

[Waratah]

:hat Welcome!

[threeaces]

Last year I tried all kinds of reading material for my five year old- I am not sure if it was the material or her (LOL)but nothing was working. This year I started with Scaredy Cat Reading System. She did learn all her letters and sounds but she was still struggling when it came to sounding out words. I thought that program was a bit weak. A friend showed me Explode the Code. At first I was a little turned off by the pictures but my daughter loves it. We started with book 1 and 1 1/2 at the end of January, we are now almost done with book 2. We also signed up for the online. I have found the whole thing very affordable and easy for me to teach - little to no prep and my daughter loves it. Here is what I know of the program:

I did not use these books since she did know her letters and sounds but if you need to start there, they have Get Ready for the Code, Book A and then there is book B and C.

We started with Explode the Code Book 1, the half books are if you need more practice, the way we have done it is after we do lesson 1 in book 1, we then do the extra practice lesson 1 in book 1 1/2.

They also have books called Beyond the Code, these have more stories and exercises with the stories. My daughter really has enjoyed these. We take 1 week to do a story, we do some of the pre-exercises on the first days, on the first day I read the story to her and the other days she reads the same story to me and then does some of the exercises with that section.
While doing Beyond the Code 1, we have continued doing Book 2.
She would not have been able to read the Beyond the Code 1 until she finished book 1.
I have found the cheapest place is either at Christianbook.com or Amazon

We started the online program at the same time we started the books, I find that it really reinforces what she is learning and she enjoys playing the games. I think you really need the books to go with it. If you had to choose one I would choose the books first. With the books they are really spelling and printing. The online does not have anything that you can print out.
I got the online program through homeschool buyers co-op.org for 42%off. It is free to join and they always have great deals - if you order they charge a small fee (few dollars) when you place orders.



Hope this helps

[blessed mama]

thank you for your feedback threeaces! i will check out the online program as well!

[Lucy]

4 of my kids learned to read at 3. One didn't read until he was 7 and the Explode the Code Series was his lifeline. That was the most wonderful thing I have ever done with him and NOW he is a superb reader. I used the entire series with him and by the time we were done, he was OFF and reading!:hug:yeah
You get to a place in math that reading the question is imperative to solving the problem. His math skills were exceptional until we got to that pesky read the problem place. That is where I could really tell that the ETC WORKED.
I loved it.

[MidwestMama]

I don't currently homeschool but we supplement a lot at home. The Explode the Code series is awesome!! My child also read very early but I still wanted to provide a good phonics base to make sure there was a solid foundation. These do the trick wonderfully, and you can do as many or as few pages in each lesson as it takes. Recommended!!

Cris