Disclosure: I was compensated for my time and received this curriculum for free. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.

Homeschool Curriculum

Pearson Homeschool, the company that publishes Modern Curriculum Press’ Plaid Phonics program, sells several curriculum bundles for homeschoolers with subject areas including math, social studies, language arts, and science.

We have been enjoying working our way through the Plaid Phonics Level A (Grade 1). The teacher guide, while designed for a classroom instructor with many students, offers lots of fun hands on activities for each set of lessons as well as ideas for visual, kinesthetic, and auditory learners. The student book has very bright and engaging illustrations, tear out pages for convenience, and is designed to keep the interest of the young child. Mr. T likes doing “school” and he has really enjoyed Plaid Phonics, even though we are technically on break. I get excited every time we find something new that he loves enough to do without complaint and that works for his learning style! Plaid Phonics really takes the guess work out of teaching reading through phonics!

 

 

Plaid Phonics is a really good fit for Mr. T, with the exception of how bright the illustrations are. We tried several methods of covering the page until we found one that worked for us. I did contact Pearson Homeschool’s customer service about possibly photocopying the pages in black and white, but that is a copyright violation. However, the lovely representative who emailed me back within 24 hours (don’t you love good customer service!) gave me a link to the 2003 version of the workbook that is the same book, only in black and white.  If you have an easily distractible child, the black and white version may be preferable for you.

I am very impressed with how well Mr. T has progressed in such a short time. Not only is he beginning to grasp blending the sounds to make the words, he is getting extra writing practice in doing the worksheets! I also enjoyed having the Teacher’s Guide to use as a reference for activities and to familiarize myself more with the practice of teaching reading through phonics. It’s been a long time since I learned to read and I needed the refresher! The Teach headings explain each 2-page sections purpose, like teaching a phoneme, and gives you an activity to do with your student to help cement the concept.

Pearson Homeschool Plaid Phonics Programs

The nitty gritty: MCP Phonics provides instruction in:

• Alphabetic Awareness
• Phonological and phonemic awareness
• Decoding strategies and skills
• High-frequency words
• Spelling
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension
• Writing
• Study Skills
• Fluency

The Teacher’s Guide does reference using other Pearson Homeschool text books for some reinforcement activities but we had no problem using the ideas with the books we already have.  We will continue to utilize the fun games and activities included in the Teacher Guide as they are very hands-on, light-hearted, and easy. There are also activities included to help build a portfolio for your child which is great for homeschool families in states that require yearly portfolios.

There are assessment sheets and goal sheets included in the teachers book that are more than sufficient for checking to make sure your little learner has grasped the concepts in each unit. We actually did them verbally since Mr. T is still learning to write and gets tired easily. If your state requires testing for 1st graders, they may also be good practice.

Overall, I am very pleased with how easy Plaid Phonics has fit right into our routine and how simple it is making the process for me and for Mr. T. We will continue to use it as a valuable tool in our homeschool with the minor adjustments mentioned above. It is  so very thorough that I don’t have to worry a bit about “missing” anything. That is a huge benefit for this homeschool mom!

 

 

Using a Phonics Program with Apraxia

Until 2 weeks into using Plaid Phonics, I had never thought about using an actual phonics program as part of our speech therapy practice at home. Apraxia has so many nuances and is different for each child, but the amazing improvements we have had since beginning a phonics program are notable.  Even Mr. T’s SLPs have commented on the sudden improvement.

• A huge jump in the number of spontaneous consonants at the beginning and ending of words.
• A 20% improvement with consistency of CVC words
• He has almost completely stopped fronting his /g/ and /k/ sounds!

If you are looking for another way to supplement your child’s speech therapy at home, a phonics program might be a route to explore. We love what Plaid Phonics has helped us accomplish in this department.

Plaid Phonics Grade Levels and a Discount code!

Get 25% off any K-6th MCP Plaid Phonics bundle through August 15th using Promo Code BLG25

Kindergarten

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

Also, through August 15th, 2014, get 25% off with code BLG25 on

• enVisionMath Bundle Grades K6
• myWorld Social Studies Bundle Grades K6
• Interactive Science Bundle Grades K5

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*Pearson Homeschool products currently being reviewed, discussed here, and sold on www.PearsonHomeschool.com are not updated with the new Common Core standards and are copyright editions prior to the implementation of this law.*