I received the Interactive A Workbook and the hardcopy of the Teacher’s Manual. This is the first level of the reading curriculum for this program. The Interactive Workbook (online version) is $14.95. The Teacher’s manual is $19.95. If you want a hardcopy of the student workbook it is $12.25. This is a reasonable price for something this helpful. There is a set of 10 storybooks that go with Level A that it is recommended you buy along with the rest of the workbooks and teacher’s manuals. The price is $21.50.

This program uses the same basic method that any teacher would use to get these sounds and words into their students’ minds. For instance, lesson 1 starts with the letter p, m and o. On the interactive version you drag them down to the lines below to form the word mop. The next page has the letters a, t and s. This forms the word sat. Page 3 is a, p and t which is the word pat. Page 4 is handwriting practice with the letters m, o and p. The next page is “say and write,” which is the word mop to write and a picture of the mop. These lessons come with a script that you go through as your child does the word puzzles and practices pages. All letters are referred to by their sound, not their letter designation. This had already been a part of our learning prior to starting this unit. We had been doing flashcards and identifying each letter by its sound. As recommended, I did a test run on the lessons with an older child just to get the feel of it for myself before trying it out on the little ones. Level A is for student who have not yet begun to read and it basic words that can be sounded out phonetically. In fact, the wonderful thing about this curriculum is that the very first lesson begins with learning words, not just sounds. Many reading programs start out with the first several lessons dedicated just to isolated sounds.

The teacher’s manual provides training in the program so it is important that you read it thoroughly before you begin. There are also YouTube instructional videos you can watch that are mentioned in the teacher’s manual. There is a lot of information in this book to help you teach the program. It almost amounts to a college level course in teaching beginning reading. There is also a script for each lesson contained in Level A as well as suggestions for additional things you can do to supplement the lessons.

 This program could be used in a regular classroom but it is wonderful for homeschool use. This particular curriculum is made for one-on-one teaching but there is a classroom version available. The two little ones I am using this program for really like the flow of the lesson and are enjoying completing the work each day. Having homeschooled my grandchildren over the past 14 years, and having taught reading with several different curriculums over the years, I can confidently say that this is a good program and a good starting point for teaching your child reading.

—Product Review by Christine Hindle, Sales Support, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January, 2016