If you’re a homeschooling mom, I’m sure that you are already looking at curriculum for next year. Knowing that some of you may be in the market for phonics curriculum, I wanted to give a review of the six programs that we have used. Yes, we actually have used six different programs. I admit to being a curriculum junkie, and I do have eight kids that learn differently. Laugh at me if you’d like, while you read my homeschool phonics curriculum review.
This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for items purchased through my links.
A little disclaimer
Before I launch into the review, I should give a little more background into my family’s dynamics. At one point in time, I had five kids aged five and under, with three older kids. The age difference between the five, respectively is: 9 months, three months, two years, six months. Four out of the five were from China, three out of the four were not really speaking in any language. This dynamic had a huge influence in what phonics program I used at a particular time. Okay, back to the homeschool phonics curriculum review (finally!).
Phonics Museum
The first phonics curriculum I used was Veritas Press’ Phonics Museum. I bought the kindergarten/1st grade combination kit which I used for my oldest three kids. I just had to buy a new student book when another child went through the program. The kit came with a teacher manual and student book for each grade, fine art flash cards, a game, and a set of books for the kids to read.
The program was very user friendly. The Teacher Manual was scripted, so it made teaching easy (not that I used the script). I usually just glanced over what we were supposed to cover and explained in my own words.
The exercises in the student book were easy to complete. I liked the simplicity of the pages which were in black and white. There was a variety of activities for the kids to do, which kept them engaged.
Pros and Cons of Phonics Museum
I would say the best part of the program was the CD and the flash cards. The songs on the CD are very catchy and my oldest kids (aged 20, 18, and 15) could still sing some of them. The flash cards contain pictures of fine art, which is consistent with the classical approach of Veritas Press materials. I laminated the flashcards and put them on a book ring. I would flip through the flash cards while we listened to songs on the CD.
The biggest downside to the program was the readers. Don’t get me wrong. The readers have valuable content (some are historically based), but were at too high of a reading level for new readers. I bought easier books such as the Bob books to help my kids get more reading practice at a lower level.
Another aspect of the program that I would have liked to have changed is the style of writing taught. The curriculum uses D’Nealian writing instead of manuscript. That may not be a big deal for others, but I had already taught them their letters in manuscript and wanted to be consistent.
Cost of Phonics Museum
Looking on the Veritas Press website, I see that the program has changed. The kindergarten level has been redone. The student workbook is now in color and easy readers have been added. They have also bundled Phonics Museum with other products to create both a Kindergarten and a 1st grade “Reading program,” which carries a hefty price tag ($299 for kindergarten, $409 for 1st grade). You can buy parts of the program separately.
If you just wanted to use the Phonics Museum on its own for kindergarten and 1st grade, the cheapest way to do that would be to buy the combo kit ($99) and add the kindergarten primers ($25). The one drawback to that, however, is that the kindergarten material in the combo kit corresponds to the old readers and not the new primers. You may want to, instead, buy the kindergarten kit ($179) and add the first grade student book with its primers ($69). I don’t think you can buy the Teacher’s manual on its own for 1st grade, so you would not have that. You may find that by the second year, you don’t really need it anyway.
They also offer a reading app for $99 a year. However, it is only for ios, so Android users are out of luck.
My Father’s World
I have to issue yet another disclaimer here. I only used the kindergarten program, and not to its fullest. Since I purchased it used for $25, I considered it to be supplementary and used it for some of my pre-kindergarten kids. With that said, I loved what I used.
The kindergarten program is comprised of 26 thematic units (one for each letter of the alphabet). That means that in addition to phonics, students will also receive instruction in science, math, Bible, and art. The lessons are designed for a five day week, but you can certainly schedule it to fit your needs.
Pros and Cons and Cost of My Father’s World
Like I said, I really liked the parts of the program I did use. The possible con to this curriculum however, is the price. The “basic package” for kindergarten is $287.39 and the “deluxe package” is $401.95. The difference between the two packages is the number of extra reading books included. If you wanted to save money, you could buy the basic package, and try to find the books that were not included at the library or a used book site.
You could also buy just the teacher’s manual and student book if you already had some of the other supplies or books. Just be forewarned that all of their Teacher’s Manuals are expensive ($124.50 for the kindergarten one).
Primary Arts of Language
Because I had used Institute for Excellence in Writing products before, I was excited when I heard that they produced a phonics program. There are two, actually three, components to the program. In addition to the Primary Arts of Reading package, students work through the Primary Arts of Language Writing program as well. The writing package includes the All About Spelling curriculum.
The program is unique in the way it presents letters. The review from Rainbowresource.com explains it this way: “Consonants, vowels, and letter combinations are presented together from the beginning and the order of presentation is organized around the poetry that is being read and memorized.” I highly recommend you read the review I linked above to get the full explanation.
Pros and Cons of Primary Arts of Language
I wanted to love this program. The file folder games included in the program are very engaging. The program elements are well done. With that said, I had a difficult time with this curriculum. I found it very teacher intensive. It was challenging to go from the reading program to the writing program to the spelling program in one lesson. In addition, the worksheets and readers have to be printed out, and the readers and the file folder games all have to be assembled.
To be fair, I was trying to use the curriculum with two kids at the same time. I had three older kids and one younger at that point in life, so I really needed a program that took less of my attention. Another mom in another place in life would probably fair better than I did.
The curriculum is reasonably priced and is marketed to be used for kindergarten, first, or second grade. To get both the reading and writing package (with the spelling included) you will pay $149.00. The premier package is $179 and includes printed copies of the student book, while with the other package you print them out as e-books.
All About Reading
I moved to All About Reading Level 1 after I was unsuccessful with Primary Arts of Language (PAL). It does have a number of components to it, but I found them easier to organize and implement than PAL. I also decided to use them in a way that suited me best.
When I used this program with kids number 4 and 5, I liked it. When I used it with kids number 7 and 8, I loved it. The lessons were short and multi-sensory. The kids used magnetic alphabet tiles to help them sound out words. The Teacher’s Manual is scripted and easy to follow.
There is no workbook per se in this curriculum. There is a student activity book which has some cut and glue activities, reading fluency sheets, and games. I found that I could use the activity book with more than one kiddo if I laminated pieces (if you want a laminating tip, click here) and placed them in page protectors.
You get three hardback reading books with this curriculum. The stories have simple but adorable pictures. My kids loved reading them, and they gently increased in difficulty. My youngest girls rejoiced when the day called for reading a story from the books.
Pros and cons of All About Reading
I think the reason I loved All About Reading the second time around was that the two kids I was teaching were closer to the same skill level. The first time I used it, I had one kiddo that was catching on much faster than the second one. That has nothing to do with the program, it’s just the reality of the situation. I actually used Level 3 when the second one was a little older, and it improved her reading fluency greatly.
As I mentioned before, the lessons are very short. It’s very easy to fit them into your schedule, and if your child is doing very well, you can choose to do more than one per day. Because the lessons are also multi-sensory, the program will work with different learning styles.
Probably the only “con” I would mention is that really no writing is incorporated into the program. That is not the fault of the creators as the curriculum is focused on reading, not writing. Still, just be prepared that you will have to supplement with other books to get the writing component.
Cost of All About Reading
For the Level 1 kit, the cost is $134.95. If you plan to use the program again with other children, it is a great investment. Because the student activity book is reproducible, that is a one-time cost. Plus, you get the three hard back readers which your kids will want to read again and again. To top it off, the program was revised in 2019 and is now all in color!
To be honest, the only reason I didn’t move my youngest two kids on to Level 2 is because I found a less expensive program that I liked just as much. I will reuse Level 3 with child #7 as I already own it and she needs more instruction than child #8.
Before I move on to the next program, please let me know in the comments section if you would like me to do a more thorough explanation of how I organized the materials for the program.
Primary Phonics
Primary Phonics describes itself as a “ systematic, phonics-based early reading program.” It has six levels plus a kindergarten level. Each level has its own set of readers, a workbook, and a reading comprehension book. In addition, if you think your child needs extra practice before moving on to the next level, you can purchase “more” materials. The “more” materials have the same components as any other level.
Teachers can purchase two teacher’s guides which will cover all six levels (kindergarten has its own guide). In addition, there is an “intervention” guide for teachers to use to help struggling or dyslexic readers. The guide covers levels one through six.
Pros and Cons of Primary Phonics
What sold me on this program were the reading comprehension books. I’ve never seen a program that works on reading comprehension so directly at a young age. After the student reads a book, he completes two pages in the comprehension book. At level one the student is asked to circle which picture, out of three, comes first in the story. He also may be asked to draw something from the story. The tasks vary as the levels increase.
You can use this program as a supplement to another program, or as a stand-alone curriculum. The teacher’s manuals guide you through how to teach the concepts. Teachers can decide the pace for their students. You can easily have your students complete more than one book per school year (the workbooks are 80 pages each).
I used this program with five of my kids, and they all loved it. If I had to find a con, it would be that it might not be enough for some kids. I did supplement it with the two programs I’ll cover next. Also, there is no instruction in the workbooks themselves. That might be a con for some teachers. Everything is black and white as well, so if your child needs color, this may not work for them. Or, you can have them color the books themselves.
Cost for Primary Phonics
Each teacher’s manual is $18.75, but only two are needed for levels one through six. The workbooks are $6.25, the comprehension workbooks are $3.95, and the 10 readers for each level are $19.95. As you can see, this is an extremely economical program. The only components that you will need to purchase for each child is a workbook and comprehension book.
Explode the Code
Explode the Code is a classic. The program has seven levels to it, along with “1/2” books for your kids to use if you think they need more practice before moving on to the next book. The second edition of the series contains more instruction in the workbooks, but it is limited. There are teacher’s manuals available, though I only used them for the post-tests at the end of the books. You can easily skip that if you didn’t want to buy the teacher’s manuals.
There are three additional levels for early learners. “Get Ready for the Code,” “Get Set for the Code,” and “Go for the Code” teach kids sight and sound recognition of consonants.
To work on reading comprehension, you can purchase “Beyond the Code” books. There are four books in this series. Each book contains several stories with which the student interacts. Because I liked the Primary Phonics comprehension books so much, I only bought one of these books and didn’t end up using it.
Pros and Cons of Explode the Code
Explode the Code is an excellent supplementary program. The exercises are easy to complete and students quickly learn how to complete them independently. One of my sons loved the books so much he completed 30 pages in one day (he’s a bit of an overachiever at times).
The one slight issue with the curriculum is that it is difficult at times to figure out what a picture is representing. We will sometimes have to go back into the lesson to figure it out.
Cost of Explode the Code
Each book costs $6.85. You can get various bundles as well. Two books and a teacher’s manual is $19.95. Books 1-4 with teacher guides is $39.95. All the books are consumable, but very reasonably priced.
A few more supplements
I also supplemented with these Evan Moor Phonics books:
As well as Bob books:
You can find many free printables that you can use with the Bob books on Pinterest. If you’d like the convenience of a ready made workbook, here are a few:
Hopefully you found this homeschool phonics curriculum review of some use as you plan this next year. Please comment below if you have any questions!