Looking forward to first grade, I need a curriculum that will teach phonics, grammar, language, all of that good stuff. My 6 yo reads pretty well. We completed the Reading in 20 Easy Lessons a few months ago. Since then, I've tried Explode the Code. Although he does well with the lessons, but he's very bored with it, and the pictures can be confusing. He really dislikes it, and I don't want him to transfer that dislike to reading in general. I desperately need suggestions on what curriculum to use next. Any advice?
We used Horizon Phonics instead of Explode the Code. I did not bother with the readers for Horizons and just used the workbooks. Dd really enjoyed that phonics program. The sheets were colorful and kept her attention. Occasionally there was picture I did not get but that was very rare. We also used Plaid Phonics for 2nd grade (it was scheduled with Sonlight). That was a pretty good one too but I think she like Horizons better.
You might check out All In One Homeschool, also known as Easy Peasy. You can get full curriculum for everything and it is all free. I use it with my son who is in 6th grade and I know people who use it for all different grades!
I just discovered Creative Teaching Press's Advantage series, for 1st the have a Phonics book and a Reading book (they also come in ultimate editions for the same price and include some flashcard things in the back). You can buy the as a book or an ebook...IDEA went with ebooks that are also available on currclick.
I love Christian Light too. We are about the complete their Learning to Read program. The LA and Reading are made to go together. You can view samples on their website. Their customer service is great too. A real person answers the phone, speaks English, and knows the product! Amazing by today's standards.
