Memoria Press: Classical Phonics/First Start Reading - TOS Review

It's

REVIEW DAY

and today I am sharing with you

from

Classical Phonics/First Start Reading

&

the WORD for the day is...

ease [ eez ] 1.lack of difficulty: lack of difficulty in doing or achieving something

2.lack of awkwardness: lack of awkwardness, stiffness, or self-consciousness

3.comfort and affluence: a comfortable and leisured state free from worries, problems, and restrictions, especially those affecting somebody's financial situation

Many years ago when Cameron (13) was learning to read I used the then well-know phonics program.  You know the one with tapes, flash cards, books, more flash cards, and more tapes.  Needless, to say the whole process was not a fit for my active and "I-want-to-learn-without-making-mistakes-and-doing-it-once" kind of child.  All of the steps seemed to frustrate him and make him not want to learn to read if it meant so much work.  He was 4 years old. 

I am here to tell you that if we had had Classical Phonics and the First Start Reading workbooks my sweet boy and I would not have ended up in puddles of upset and irritation. 

Here is what we received from Memoria Press: 

• 1 Classical Phonics Book
• 3 First Start Reading Books A-C
• Teachers Guide 

I began Anna(5) with the First Start Reading Workbooks A & B.  She has been working through those quite easily and always has a smile by the end of our lesson.  Each lesson she learns a new word combination or sound, practices writing and reading them, then, most days, is 'rewarded' by being asked to draw a Picture to correspond with the lesson.  Book A has been quite easy for her because she already knew her letters so well. It has been great for her to have the daily writing lessons to improve her writing skills.  She has been so proud of herself for the new sentences she is learning to read and write.  I have been impressed with the ease that lessons are presented to her.  

We then have supplemented with the Classical Phonics: A Child's Guide to Word Mastery book to enhance the practice she needs with each lessons from First Start Reading.  Filled with phonics and site words, when she is able to read the list of words on each page she has mastered the words and is able to move on to the next page. 

The wonderful Teacher's Guide is step-by-step instructions to teaching your child each lesson.  The TG tells you when to instruct your child, when to have your child sound out the letter or word, etc.  For this momma who LOVES to have everything all laid out to simplify her life, I have really appreciated the hard work Cheryl Lowe put into the Teacher's guide to allow me to just teach my little her phonics lesson without having to spend so much planning time before.

To Purchase your own First Start Reading program for your little one:

First Start Reading $29.95

Books A, B, C, & Teacher Guide
OR
First Start Reading Student Set $21.00
Books A, B, C
HERE
Sample Pages BOOK A
Sample Pages BOOK B

"First Start Reading covers consonants, short vowels, 45 common words, and manuscript printing, accompanied by artist-drawn coloring pictures and drawing pages for every letter. Your child will begin reading in the very first lesson as he progresses through three student books and twentyfive phonetic stories, such as "Hogs and Pigs" and "Jog to the Jet." A Teacher Manual guides you through the program and provides helpful assessments and teaching tips.

Is there really a need for another phonics program? Well, we thought so! The first reading and printing lessons are critical, and although there are many adequate programs out there, we could not find one with the right combination we were looking for–a balanced, age-appropriate approach to phonics and reading and a serious focus on correct pencil grip and letter formation. In addition, many phonics programs today use the ladder approach (consonant vowel blending), which is fine, but we prefer the more traditional (vowel-consonant) approach combined with word families. And one more thing, mastery of the short vowels is the sine qua non of phonics programs, and few programs really give adequate practice in this very important skill. First Start Reading solved all of our little problems and made us happy. We hope you like it too."

Classical Phonics: A Child's Guide to Word Mastery $14.95
Cheryl Lowe

(based on Florence Akin's Word Mastery)

HERE
Sample Pages

"Classical Phonics is a deceptively simple little book our teachers and families use constantly in both Kindergarten and first grade. It consists of phonetically-arranged word lists for students to practice their growing phonics skills. In a word list there are no context clues, so the learner must rely on his mastery of letter sounds. For instance, if your child can pronounce each word in this list correctly – pot, pat, pit, put, pet – he knows his short vowel sounds, and you can move on to long vowels! If not, he needs more practice, and Classical Phonics is the most effective tool I know of to address the repetition that young ones need when learning to read. Classical Phonics can be used as a supplement to any phonics program and covers nearly all English phonograms and sounds taught through second grade. Classical Phonics is your handy tool for phonics practice and for building confident readers. *A must-have supplement for First Start Reading! "

I think you are really going to enjoy this phonics program.  It is so reasonably priced and easy to use you are going to be so thankful for Memoria Press and Classical Phonics and First Start Reading Program.  Enjoy!

You can find even more curriculums and studies from Memoria Press HERE.

"Memoria Press is a family-run publishing company that produces simple and easy to use classical Christian education materials for home and private schools. It was founded by Cheryl Lowe in 1994 to help promote and transmit the classical heritage of the Christian West through an emphasis on the liberal arts and the great works of the Western tradition. Memoria Press is currently developing a K-12 classical curriculum at Highlands Latin School in Louisville, Kentucky, where its popular Latin, logic, and classical studies courses are developed and field-tested."

From My Heart to YOurs,
Mindy B.
Revelation 12:11

Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge for the purposes of sharing my honest opinion and review.

You can read more Reviews from my Crew Mates at The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew HERE