I chose the Scaredy Cat Reading System Level One – Letter Names and Sounds for my review product simply because I wanted to start from the very beginning with it. This program is for both beginning and struggling readers, both of which I have at home. I can tell you, it works amazingly well for both types of readers.
The Scaredy Cat Reading System is fun and not overwhelming for the student or the parent to use. Lots of fun game activities keep the child intrigued and involved in their lessons, instead of allowing them to become bored and ready to quit. It honestly reminds me a lot of school work when I was a child, before children were required to sit at a desk for most of the day.
The Scaredy Cat Reading System Level One comes fully equipped with an extensive teacher’s manual which explains how the program works, what is needed for the program and it’s exercises/activities/lessons, and printables which can be reproduced for use with the lessons throughout the program. This guide prepares the teacher for what’s to come and gives a good start to being prepared to use the Scaredy Cat Reading System the best way possible.
The Scaredy Cat Reading System also introduces the Story of the Letter Master, which children must know to understand the purpose of the system. The Story of the Letter Master is introduced in Comic Book style to the readers. Included as a bonus is a CD with the story and other important level one songs.
Other things included with this program are the ABC Reader which is written in an easy form for children to absorb and understand. Letters are introduced in fun fonts and styles. Song lyrics are included in this reader for the student to follow along. Stories and bible verses are also provided for the little readers to see the words in print.
The student activity book for this program is HUGE. It’s jam-packed full of activities and lessons. Much like the reader, the activities come in differing fonts and styles to keep the student intrigued. Stories are kept simple for early readers and many lessons focus on letter introduction, allowing the student to really grasp each letter they are learning. Lessons are easy to teach and follow along with, allowing the student a firmer understanding of what they are learning throughout the program.
Additional things included with this program are Reversal Prevention Charts which come in a clear page protector for your use. Letter charts to cut out and use with your student. The games needed to complete the program and a game spinner for needed activities.
The Scaredy Cat Reading System is extensive and thorough. It doesn’t take long to put it together and put it in place in your educational programming. It’s a complete program and well-worth it’s investment at $75. Additional student books can be purchased for $30 each which is a steal considering the size of the book and the extensiveness of the program. Sample downloads are available on JoyceHerzog.com.
This is a program that we have enjoyed. I worked with both my struggling and my new reader on this, which they really enjoyed doing together. Several times a week, we’d pull out the reader and student book but what they really loved was the games we played. Even my advanced reader enjoyed joining in with us on those. This is something we will definitely be continuing to use in our homeschool.
