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If you are looking for a solid phonics curriculum to use with your kindergartener, then Classical Phonics and the First Start Reading Program by Memoria Press is a great option. Even though my kindergartener started off the year with another curriculum, when we were sent the Classical Phonics resources, we jumped right in using them at the end of February, and my daughter has already told me that she doesn’t want to go back to her old curriculum! Here’s our family’s honest review.
About Memoria Press Classical Phonics & First Start Reading Program
The Classical Phonics book is a great resource that can be used from kindergarten through second grade. It provides phonetically arranged word lists for repetition and practice. It also includes assessment lists so you can determine if your child has mastered the phonics sounds before moving on to harder concepts. If you’re worried about gaps in your child’s phonics studies, then this little book would be a great resource for you!
The books in the First Start Reading Program use a systematic a time-tested word family approach to phonics instruction and includes phonics, reading & printing.
- Book A: Introduces 10 letters and their sounds and helps kids create simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words right away. Includes 25 lessons, review & assessments.
- Book B: Introduces 6 more letters and their sounds with corresponding CVC words. Includes 26 lessons, review & assessments.
- Book C: Introduces the rest of the alphabet with CVC word families. Includes 33 lessons, review & assessments.
- Book D: Introduces long vowels with silent e, digraphs (sh, th, ch, wh), and blends. 12 Lessons.
- Book E: Introduces long vowels with vowel teams, soft c & g, and the three sounds of y. 8 Lessons.
- Teacher Guide for Books A-D: These manuals include scripted out lesson plans, if you choose to use them. This is my fifth time teaching a child to read, so I’m confident in teaching each lesson without a teacher’s guide. But if you’re just starting out, it will help you immensely.
- Teacher Guide for Book E
How We Used It
Since we were more than half-way through our kindergarten year, my daughter started with book D from the First Start Reading Set. Some of the material at the beginning was a review for her, but she enjoyed the success. We complete several lessons a week. I’m a relaxed homeschool mom at this age, so when she’s in the mood to learn, we progress quickly through multiple lessons. On other days, we don’t do any official school work.
At first I was worried that the black and white, with no bells and whistles curriculum wouldn’t appeal to my five year old. But maybe it was just this simple aesthetic that she enjoyed. Nothing flashy or over the top. Just simple phonics instruction and review.
My daughter improved in her letter formation through the constant practice of manuscript writing to create new word families. She also enjoyed reading sentences and illustrating one of them.
In the First Start Reading Program, we completed Book D and will most likely finish Book E as well. With the Classical Phonics book, we skipped to my daughter’s level of ability and used the book from there. Every couple of lessons, she read through several pages of this book and I could tell if she was ready to move on to a new concept.
Recommendations
This is a solid curriculum that will give you the confidence you need to teach your children how to read. Often, this is one of the most nerve-wracking responsibilities of new homeschool parents. But with a curriculum like Classical Phonics and the First Start Reading Program, you can successfully navigate kindergarten and into first grade.
The lessons are short starting in Book A and gradually include more instruction, writing, or assessment by the time you get to Book E.
Here’s lesson 1 in Book A:
Lesson 1 in Book E included 8 pages, with instruction, review, reading, printing, assessment, and practice.
Books A-D are recommended for a full-year kindergarten course, or half year first grade. Book E is recommended at the end of kindergarten, the summer after kindergarten, or the beginning of first grade. Flexibility is key and customizing the instruction to your child’s needs.
Don’t miss out on additional reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew on a variety of materials available from Memoria Press.
