There Will Be A $5.00 Charge For Whining: Spencer Learning {Homeschool Review Crew}

Over the past few weeks we have been reviewing the Ultimate Phonics Reading Program from Spencer Learning.

If you have followed my blog for very long, you might be aware that our son, Josiah, is dyslexic. He really is doing beautifully at this point in his life. He will never be the voracious reader I am, but he has made so much progress. One thing I have discovered in our years of trial and error concerning reading instruction is that constant review is a necessity in our house.

Ultimate Phonics Reading Program is a downloadable software that any age can use. There are no bells and whistles…no singing cartoon characters…no color certificates to award. My 14-year-old can work through it without feeling like he working through a “babyish” program.

Just a note: This is downloadable software. You will receive a license that is good for as many computers as you have. It can be used by anyone in your household. You will need to be running Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP; or for Macs, OSX 10.5.8 or higher. You will also need a set of speakers or headphones.

I want to show you how it works.

First of all, I suggest having your child (or user of the program) to take this FREE 10-minute reading test. There is a free 10 day trial of Ultimate Phonics you can also try out.

There are 262 lessons in all. The following screen shots are from Lesson 34. One of the great features of this program is that it is super simple to go to any lesson I choose.

Lesson 34 talks about the "bl" blend (or pattern). Notice the little speaker on the left-hand side? This allows the lesson to be read to you.

The single green arrows on the top will take you back and forth in the lesson. The double arrows will change the lesson itself. This is the word list. The student can hear the word by allowing the mouse to hover over the word.

Next the student goes through each word individually. Each section of the word is sounded out.

After going through the word list, the student is given a sentences to read. The sentences are always made up of words or sounds that the student has already reviewed.

And that's it! That's all she wrote! The lessons are short...which is perfect for those busy students who get squirelly if time passes to long.

I've peeked at lessons way on down the line and there is quite a bit of content. This is part of the very last word list. I don't know about your student, but mine has difficulty spelling words that aren't really simple. This visually and audibly shows him the patterns.