I'm looking into this for my kindergartener.. Did you get the Explode The Code Online Homeschool License? It looks like they offer online and/or workbooks. Which route did you take?
We are using the workbooks here. My 5 year old has done the primers this year. He is almost finished with Go for the Code, and will start Explode the Code 1 in the fall. They have been great to help him learn the letters and work on his fine motor skills. My 2nd grader is finishing up book 5.
We did the workbooks...all of them....although we did not do the comprehension ones Beyond the Code because I didn't know about them until he was well past those books....lol. My son used the Primers and then ETC Books 1-8 and was actually sad that there were no more. He loved them. The online option wasn't available when we started but I probably would have gone the workbook route anyway. If you opt for online, check out homeschool buyer's co-op for a great price. We have used them (and continue to) for several items and have been very pleased.
I used the books, and I also used all of the BTC books. Personally, I don't think BTC is worth the cost unless you do them at the same time as ETC books 5-8 and you're doing everything at the recommended pace (all the books supposedly take 5 years to finish... meaning, K thru 4th). I didn't realize what they were or else I wouldn't have bought them (we waited until we finished ETC to start BTC). I prefer Early Reading Comprehension from Varied Subject Matter over BTC.
I have heard the website is lacking in some areas? We have used the Get Ready for the Code books and the kids thought they were ok.
I am currently using the workbooks. I started with the primers. My son is in 1 and my daughter is on A of the books. They really enjoy the workbooks. I don't use it online. I already have them online with something else. I like the WBs because when they are done I can ship them off to show off to the grandparents or daddy. This also gets rid of them by someone else's hand.
Thank y'all so much for your input. I think we are going to give the workbooks a try. I do have one more question.. did you need the Teachers Guide for books A, B & C? Just wondering if its a waist of money.. or if it really is helpful.
I didn't use teacher's guides for any of it, and in fact, I didn't know they existed until we were almost finished.
I got the teachers guides, but only use them for a few pages. Ones where it has instructions like circle a certain picture, color another picture, etc...
I was at a convention today, and am looking at the same program. The teacher guide seemed pretty basic. It just gives you ideas about how to reinforce the letter sounds. But any of us can come up with those kind of ideas. Not worth the $$$. The books look good though. A few people have recommended the web to me. I may try that if my DS goes through those first 3 books fairly quickly. (I think he might be able to do it without too much trouble, but we'll see!) Hope that helps a bit.
I've decided that I'm going to get the work books and the online to add to the workbooks. Right now they have an offer where you get 3 online seats free when you get $75 in ETC products... its worth a shot. Thanks for the help
