Explode the Code - Not a Good Fit

Product: Explode the Code Books 1 & 1 1/2
Subject: Phonics
Levels Used: for Kindergarten Books 1 & 1 1/2
Dates Used: June 2010-March 2011

Likes: Covers a lot of material, helps with spelling, handwriting and phonics.

Dislikes: Some difficult pages in the workbook for Kindergarten level. The pictures they used to go with the words were confusing.

I wanted to love Explode the Code because of all of the great reviews I had read about it. It just wasn't the right fit for my 5 year old son. We used book 1 and 1 1/2 for teaching phonics during his kindergarten year and he struggled to do some of the workbook pages -- finding the pictures especially confusing. I think if the pictures were clearer it might not have been so much of a struggle. I had to explain what every single picture was trying to depict so that he could do the pages provided in the workbook. This curriculum does cover a lot of material but it might be difficult to allow your child to work independently.