Customer Reviews

 
Katrise M. from Indonesia wrote the following on 02/11/2008:
I started teaching my very active 5 year old son to read with another popular phonics based reading program, but when I saw how distracted he was by all the songs and the busy workbook pages, I switched to the Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading. I am so happy with the results! My son is progressing very well and is already reading words and sentences. He likes the uncluttered approach and enjoys playing the suggested review/reinforcement games. I asked him recently if he wanted to return to the previous program and he begged me to let him stay with Ordinary Parents' Guide. I don't think there's any higher recommendation than that. The program provides a strong phonics foundation with just enough sight words to allow the child to quickly begin reading real sentences. Basic language arts lessons such as capitalization and punctuation are introduced naturally as part of the lesson in a way that my son understands quite easily. I heartily recommend this program to anyone wanting a solid reading program that's inexpensive and easy to implement!

 
Amy D. from Anchorage, AK wrote the following on 03/11/2008:
I have found "The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading" wonderful for our family. I'm a mother of 4 (ages 10, 8, 6, & 4), and my younger two, both boys, are learning to read this year. This book is an old-fashioned, phonics only curriculum. It does not include handwriting, spelling, or grammar. The author has the idea that children are often ready to learn to read before they have the fine muscle control to learn to write, which I've found to be especially true with my boys, so this book separates the reading instruction from the writing instruction. It has been designed to be used for two full years of instructions. It is orderly and well laid out. I am not sure about how well it would teach the letters and sounds to a beginner, since I my boys were just beyond that when I started, but I love the logical progression of the phonics. This curriculum is very basic, having only one book, and nothing else. No songs, cards, or game pieces to lose or forget about. No frills. No pictures, either, as to not be a distraction, as well as to encourage real reading instead of guessing. The 231 lessons are scripted, if you want to use it, and require no previous experience. The only preparation needed is for the occasional (and optional) game. The only supplies required are 3x5 cards and a pen, with some magnetic letters and magnetic board recommended. The lessons usually take about 15-20 minutes each, with some of them longer, and some shorter. It is easy to divide them into 2 (or more) days, especially for the younger children. The book is at the level of a Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade phonics program, but can easily be started with a 4 year old, or even a really bright 3 year old, just be prepared to go a little slower, with shortened lessons. Sight words are introduced at the rate of one every few lessons, starting with the 3rd blending sound lesson. There seems to be a good amount of practice for each lesson concept, and the lessons are well paced. The book encourages stopping at the end of key sections (letters, short vowel words, etc.), making sure the ideas are well understood before continuing on to new material. I also recommend other early reading books (like Bob Books, etc.) to encourage the skill of reading proficiently, since reading is a skill based on lots of practice. Occasionally the author has thrown in a word from a rule that has not been taught yet. It doesn't happen very often, but I think it's ok for my boys to occasionally come across a word they don't know how to read yet, since that will happen in almost every other book they read for the next few years. The only thing I don't like about this book is that the font used has the same straight line for the capital "I" that is used for the lower case "L". My complaint is that with the very early readers, comprehension is beyond them to try to read it both ways and figure which way is right. It is easily remedied by either drawing the top and bottom lines for the "I", until they are far enough along to understand it, or else continually tell them which is which, until they get used to it. It does take awhile, but both my boys have gotten it. The author makes sure to teach the other style of the lower case "a", with the straight side extending around the top, as well as the normal handwritten style, but this hasn't been at all confusing. I like the book for its emphasis on everyone learning to read, and in that regard, I think it does really well.

 
Melissa M. from Fresno, CA wrote the following on 05/14/2008:
In the beginning I was a bit intimidated with this book. It is just text! No pictures! Perhaps it was a bit of a self confidence issue, being a new home schooling mother. However, as we delved into this book I found myself amazed at the ease with which my daughter progressed in her reading. As it says in the description and other reviews, this book is a non-consumable and very much a no frills book. There is nothing here to distract a child. This is a great choice for families who will be teaching children at different stages of learning to read. Currently, my 6 year old is about 1/2 of the way through the book and my 4 year old is about 1/4 of the way through the book. The author does a great job of making sure the parent keeps a child moving at their own pace and never makes one feel like they are not moving fast enough. The goal is to get the child to read when they are ready not to read by a specific age or grade. On how I looks like a lower case l - We found that our elder daughter only noticed the variations in the printing of the I as a straight line in the beginning and she only required it to be explained a few times. In fact, we didn't really mind that it is included this way as she will encounter it printed this way in other books. When she asked, we went ahead and showed her that g's and a's can also vary in print. That way she'll know when she comes across them later. That said, I think perhaps it would have been more appropriate to include a section on variations in the printing of letters and then used an I that is consistent with a Kindergarten/First grade alphabet. The one problem we've had with the text is the stories that are included with the lessons. They completely intimidate my older daughter. I think it is the compactness of the text. She sees all those words together and completely freezes. We have found that if we copy it out onto paper or a dry erase board she can read them just fine. I would encourage parents to try this book, it offers a complete phonics program that guides the new homeschooling parent while also allowing for flexibility in teaching/learning styles. As far as price goes, this book is a BARGAIN! We will also be moving on to the First Language Lessons and the just released Writing With Ease program, both are written by Susan Wise Bauer, the author of Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading and many other great homeschooling resources. First Language lessons is a grammar course that can be started once a child is half way through Ordinary Parent Guide to Reading and Writing with Ease is a writing program that can be used in conjunction with First Language Lessons. We are excited to continue learning to read with Susan Wise Bauer!