mvilla
- Reviewed on Friday, April 16, 2010
- Grades Used: K-2
- Dates used: 2007 to present
I have used Abeka so far for dd who is currently in 2nd grade. While some may not like how everything is all laid out for you, I for one loved that aspect my very first year of hsing. Now that I've got 3 years under my belt, I feel I can bend the program to work for us. In the beginning I thought dd had to do EVERYTHING that was listed! That made her miserable and myself as well. Then I finally got a clue and realized I can do this however I feel is best for dd. Ever since I've had that mentality it has been smooth sailing...
Abeka Phonics is an excellent, let me repeat an excellent, program. My dd is a wonderful reader! Although in 2nd grade she is now ready chapter books (Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, American Girl etc) with absolute ease.
My ds wanted to go to "real" school for Kinder this year. I allowed him to. We are now weeks away from the end of our school year and he is still just reading CVC words only! By the time dd was done w/Kinder she was reading bigger and harder words than that! Needless to say I am keeping ds home next year for 1st grade and we are doing Abeka. He's frustrated he can't read more, I told him not to worry, he will be an excellent reader next school year!
Yes, Abeka can be repetitive but who says you have to do all the worksheets? If your child gets the concept, rip out the pages and move on! That's what I have learned to do. dd doesn't always just sit and do worksheets, sometimes I use those unused worksheets as a guide to play games. So although she isn't actually working on the problems we are still reviewing, but she is having a blast playing some game we have made up.
Bottom line, if you use Abeka, your child will be an excellent reader. MHO.
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mmattern
- Reviewed on Thursday, August 27, 2009
- Grades Used: 1st
- Dates used: 2008-2009
We love the Abeka phonics/reading curriculum! At the end of my dd's kindergarten year, I was concerned that she just wasn't "getting" reading (we were using 100 Easy Lessons). I decided to try Abeka for 1st grade because a friend used it and her dd read very well. DD quickly grasped the concept of marking the vowels and learning the special sounds. Within a few weeks she was able to read BOB Books (something that had been a struggle before)! After we finished up the 1st grade program, I am happy to report that dd enjoys reading and can read simple chapter books (Mercy Watson, Little House) with ease.
The materials I used were: Phonics 1, Language 1 and Spelling 1. I purchased the curriculum guide and one of the readers, but did not use them. The guide is basically a schedule of the workbooks, which I created on my own. The reader was ok, but not that great. We preferred to read real books (which she was able to do after a few lessons). I did find the special sounds flash cards and charts handy. These were great for drilling orally and taking in the car.
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hannahB
- Reviewed on Wednesday, April 22, 2009
- Grades Used: PreK
- Dates used: .
I learned to read with this great program! (am now in 9th gr) And taught my younger sis (now 1st gr) how to read with it too.
It is very thorough and starts kids reading fairly quickly. (age 4) I like the little readers that they have. It makes the child feel like she's accomplished something. I would see my sis beam once she read a little reader like "I just read a big book!!" They have a "blend book" to practice the phonics rules/blends. The penmanship workbook that goes with it correlates with phonics, which I liked. It does a great job teaching kids to read.
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familyschool
- Reviewed on Tuesday, March 24, 2009
- Grades Used: k-4 - 2
- Dates used: 2004-2009
I love Abeka for language, but I don't like this phonics program. The material is presented in a way that is confusing. There is not enough practice for new concepts. My child is an advanced reader and usually has no problems understanding or sounding out words. However, with this program I have had to add phonics practice form other sources. The concepts could be better taught using simpler words the children will/can recognize. I will continue to use Abeka for the rest of her language arts, but will not be using this phonics.
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