There's a lot to like in this museum-themed phonics/reading program. This multi-learning style approach thoroughly covers phonetic constructs from basic letter sounds to silent consonants and everything in between. The student books are thicker than the teacher manuals with uncluttered, colorful pages and are chock full of useful, well-conceived activities to reinforce phonics instruction. Teacher Manuals provide detailed lesson plans and colorful icons throughout to let you know when to incorporate specific material. Handwriting (D'Nealian) is included (letter formation instructions in the Teacher Manual). “Tube" letters are supplied for young children needing boundaries until good writing habits are formed. Reading comprehension exercises, copywork, and spelling instruction are also welcomed into the mix of student sheets in the First Grade.
The high-quality components of this program are impressive. The 10 Kindergarten Primers are easy stories for beginning readers and the 21 Grade 1 Primers progress in difficulty. The books are all well-constructed with glossy covers and colorful illustrations. Complete instructions for introducing each book are in the teacher manual.
From music to art activities, there are all sorts of fun and interesting avenues used to teach phonics. Music is an engaging supplement to help children learn the rules. After purchasing the program, songs are accessed free through setting up a Veritas account. Lyrics and sheet music are included in the appendix. Also pivotal to the program are beautiful art masterpiece flashcards, along with the Pop-Up Museum/Game Board. Students complete real activities correlated to that instruction. For example, Level K students make apple prints when learning the letter “A," construct a monster mask for “M," make butter for “B," and so on. In First Grade many art activities are based on the Primer stories. As in the K level, these use different methods and media.
Grade Level Kits include everything needed — Teacher Manual, Workbook, Archives Game Cards, flashcards, puzzle pieces, games and game pieces. Both kits have been revised and have a whole new look with energetic, colorful graphics enhancing the same meaty phonics program. Some of the primers have changed in the kindergarten program while most have changed in the first grade to correlate with the Phonics Museum App (available for mobile devices for a monthly fee). Therefore, material from the first editions will not be compatible with the second editions. The Combo Kit includes everything you need for complete phonics instruction for both Kindergarten and 1st Grade. Additional Student Sets with and without primers are available. Although this is noted as having religious content, only the first couple of lessons in each grade and a couple of art cards reference God and/or the Bible.