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reading program

Essential Skills Advantage {Crew Review}

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If you’ve been looking for a great online program for teaching children to read, look no further than Essential Skills Advantage.  Essential Skills Advantage is for students in grades Kindergarten through 6th.  It’s a great way to learn reading and language skills for young students.

Essential Skills Advantage offers a full Premium Membership program for your students which teaches important skills for reading and language development and comes with bonus content.  Cost for a Premium Membership is $9.99 a month.  Essential Skills Advantage is now offering a sponsored version of the program for free.  You can sign up for this free version at www.ESAlearning.com.  The free version includes most but not all of the features of the Premium Membership.  It also has adds which keep it free.
For a limited time, you can sign up using the code TOS50 to receive this program for 50% off of the original price.  This code is good until October 1st and will remain applicable for as long as you are a member of the Essential Skills Advantage program.  That makes the program $4.99 a month instead of the usual $9.99 a month.
This is a wonderful program for all young children.  My three school aged students were given access to the program for this trial.  All three enjoyed using and learning with the program.
To use this program, you need the internet with a Java script enabled browser.  Sound is necessary as well.  And finally, you need Flash Player 10 to use the program.
Each parent/teacher is given a special URL for sign-in.  You will need to bookmark this for repeating visits.  You simply go to the URL and then you or your student can select which level they will be working on.  Once you choose the level, you will be taken to another page where you will be able to log-in using that students username and password.
Once logged in, the student can then select what they wish to work on.  This will take you to another page of selections for learning.  At the bottom of the page, is a bar that fills up as your child works through the program.  This shows the child how much work has been completed and how much is left to go.  There’s also a star that can be clicked which also shows just how much the student has completed within the program.  This is a great visual for both the student to see how far they’ve come and the teacher to see what the student has completed and what needs more work.

This program promotes learning to read, spelling, phonemic awareness, comprehension and so very much more.  Lessons are thorough and designed to fit the grade level they are created for, yet they are also fun and keep your child interested.  Children truly gain so much from using this program.

The program is easy to use.  It’s a lot of clicking through pages to get started but this goes quickly once you have logged in a few times.  The program is fun to use and captivates the attention of students of any age.  The imagery is perfect for Elementary students and the concepts are easily grasped.
Essential Skills Advantage is perfect for all the students in our family.  Jack, of course, is a bit young for it yet.  Winston uses the program for review and also for building reading comprehension.  It’s great for his remedial reading skills and has been a huge confidence booster for him.
Emmalee enjoys the program too.  She was able to do many of the higher grade level lessons and has worked through them fairly fast.  She’s a great reader so this is expected for her.  It’s been great to polish up her skills though.
Laycie is using the program as a beginning reader and has no problem keeping up.  This will be a huge help for her this year as she learns more and more reading skills.  It captivates her attention and keeps her wanting to learn more.
We look forward to continuing to use Essential Skills Advantage for reading and language development through the year.  It’s been a great program that  we’ve all enjoyed and it definitely  has helped us in so many ways.  I’m sure you will love it too!
You can find Essential Skills Advantage online in the following places:

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EMG Educational Systems, LLC (READS) {Crew Review}

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READS Parent/Child Reading Comprehension System was developed by Elaine Meyers and is available from EMG Education Systems, LLC.  Ms. Meyers is a certified reading specialist in suburban Philadelphia.  She’s spent over 25 years educating and guiding young readers reading at all reading levels.
Through her extensive research, Ms. Meyers developed the READS system to help parents develop strength in their children’s reading comprehension skills.  The program was designed to be used with Elementary grades 1-4 and can be used with any chosen book or other reading material.  It is effective to be used with readers above, below and on grade level.  
The READS Parent’s Manual
30 Question Cards and Ring
Rewards Chart and Stickers
Magic Finger and Reading Guide Strip
Speedy Speller
Reusable Storage Pouch
The READS Parent’s Manual explains to the parent how to implement the READS system with their readers at home.  An explanation of how to use each specific component is included within this guide.  A thorough explanation of how to use the question cards is also included within the guide.
The 30 Question cards are hole-punched so that they can be added onto the provided ring for easy use.  Every question is different and allows the child to think about the book they are reading.  Questions like, “was this book easy to understand?” and “describe your favorite character” help to encourage the child’s comprehension of their reading material and also help to make sure that the parent knows the kind of questions to ask to help develop the child’s comprehension.
The rewards chart and stickers encourage reading and comprehensive development by providing a goal for the child to reach.  Each day the child completes their reading instruction they receive a sticker.  After they complete the chosen amount of tasks – a week, two weeks, a month – the child then receives the chosen reward for completing the program.
The Magic Finger and the Reading Guide Strip help the child to follow along with their chosen reading materials.  The reading strip is clear in the middle and gray on the outsides to block out the words above and below the sentence the child is attempting to read, therefore keeping the child focused on the reading at hand.  The Magic Finger is green with a red nail like a witches finger.  It’s color is created to encourage better following along in reading, to be used as a pointer as the child follows through word by word.
The READS Speedy Speller is a handbook for Readers and Writers.  Inside the child will find a list of over 1400 words with plenty of room to add more words as the child learns them.  In the back of the Speedy Speller the child can also find a list of Punctuation and Other Symbols that are used throughout writing, Capitalization Rules, and abbreviations for states, time, measurements and more.  The Speedy Speller encourages the child in both writing and reading.
The READS system was immediately well-loved in our house.  All three of my school-age children were able to use this program.  They are still using it today.
The youngest enjoys the rewards portion of the program to help encourage her early reading.  She also likes using the Magic Finger to point to words that she knows and understands, as well as the pictures throughout what she is reading.  The sentence strip has helped her to stay on track with sentences in her reading.
My middle child really enjoyed the READS Speedy Speller.  She struggles with spelling words even though she loves writing.  The Speedy Speller stays with her at all times, allowing her to look up common words she may forget while writing.  She’s added a great many words since we began using this program.
My oldest child, who is also my struggling reader, benefited the most from this program.  He was able to use all the elements of the READS system to learn how to be a better reading and have better reading comprehension.  We have tried many programs to help him in reading and have struggled to find something he truly could  use at home.  The READS system has helped that tremendously.
My son is able to use the reading strip to help keep himself on track.  He uses the finger to keep himself on track word for word along with the strip.  The rewards stickers are used with him too so that he remembers to do his daily reading of 20 minutes a day.  The questions come in handy for me to ask what he’s read and he likes to pick them out for me every day we use the program.  We have seen a great deal of improvement in his reading focus and comprehension since beginning this review.
READS Parent/Child Reading Comprehension System is available from EGM Educational Systems, LLC for $19.95.  The package includes all of the items mentioned through my review above for this amazing price.


*Disclaimer – The full product package of READS was provided to me by EGM Educational Systems, LLC and the TOS Schoolhouse Review Crew.  This product was free in exchange for my honest opinion shared in a post on my blog.  I am including this disclaimer in accordance with FTC regulation guidelines.


Pearson Education Reading Street 3rd Grade {Crew Review}

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    Pearson Education, Inc. is a well-known name in Public Schools all over the world.  Recently, they have added to their educational materials, creating programs to be used at home by homeschoolers throughout the world.  Pearson Homeschool is available for the Reading Street, myWorld Social Studies, enVision Math, and MyMathLab Algebra 1 and Algebra 2.

     For this review, Pearson Homeschool provided me with the complete Reading Street 3rd Grade reading program to use at home with my children.  I was able to adapt this program to use with my two oldest children using their thorough and extensive materials and guides.  Even my 4 year old enjoyed the colorful pages and stories found throughout the student readers provided in this curriculum set.

     A few months back, I received my curriculum package in a medium sized, well-packed box.  Inside I found the Parent’s Guide, Scott Foresman’s Guide to the Side (Teacher’s Guide), hardbound readers 3.1 and 3.2, the eInstruction ExamView Assessment Suite CD-Rom, and the Teachers Resource DVD-Rom.  All of these materials work together to provide a creative and complete curriculum for 3rd grade reading.  Everything I needed to provide a well-rounded educational experience was found within the cardboard box.

     In the parent’s guide, a full-explanation of the curriculum and how to adapt it to be used at home is provided.  From preparation to figuring out if this is the right curriculum for you.  Examples on how to use this curriculum are found throughout the guide.

     The Guide on the Side is a fully tabbed teaching guide for use with 3rd Grade Reading Street.  In it you will find ideas for lesson planning and pacing, oral language, word work, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing and much more.  I will admit that I found this guide a bit confusing in the beginning as it is written similar to a public school teaching guide and seemed to be shortened for the purpose of homeschooling which made it feel as much had been left out of the guide educationally.  Overall, after working with it and the program over several weeks, the guide came together to provide inspiration and extra ideas I wouldn’t have otherwise without it.

     Also included with this curriculum package are two CD/DVD-Roms.  One is the eInstruction Examview Assessment Suite.  This CD-Rom provides baseline group tests, assessments, Fluency and Comprehension reads, weekly tests and unit and End-of-Year Benchmark Testing.  The other included DVD-Rom includes the Teacher Resource materials: the Teacher and Student Materials in Digital Format, Vocabulary, Comprehension, Writing, Grammar and much more.  Transparencies and Graphic Organizers are also included for use on this disk.

      The Reading Street educational textbooks are intriguing in themselves.  They are hardbound editions much like what the public schools use.  Inside are colorful and interesting stories filled with imagination to help your reader maintain interest educationally.  Though these materials are Peer Based and not Biblical Based, the curriculum is still enjoyable and extensive in it’s lessons.

     I used this package with my two oldest children.  Though we were not able to go through the entire curriculum during the review period, we adapted the program to fit us for the short time we had to do this review in.  We covered reading the stories and completed accompanying worksheets, spelling and vocabulary lists, as well as some of the extra suggestions provided throughout the program.  I can honestly say my children learned a lot from this particular curriculum and we will continue to integrate it into our daily lessons as we move forward with learning.

    I do want to note that this is a secular based curriculum package, similar to those used in the Public School system.  It has been well-adapted for homeschool use and is thorough in it’s provided materials and program.  It is not biblical based and does not provide a firm base for most Christian homeschoolers.  I know many of my readers are interested in Christian homeschooling materials so I felt it important to mention this in my review of this product.

     We truly enjoyed reviewing the Reading Street 3rd Grade curriculum set provided by Pearson Homeschool.  This product sells for $124.99 for the full curriculum set mentioned above, including everything needed for educational use at home.  For more reviews of this product, please visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog online!

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*Disclaimer – Pearson Education, Inc. creators of Pearson Homeschool, along with the Old School House Magazine’s Homeschool Review Crew, provided this curriculum package for me to use free in exchange for my honest opinions in a review.


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