Headsprout question

[TracyR]

My third daughter really enjoyed the sample lessons. But $198! Ouch to finish the rest of the program?
Is there something just as good and enjoyable as Headsprout but not as expesive ? :confused:

[Spy Car]

My son (thanks to a recent recommendation on this forum) has been enjoying:

http://www.starfall.com/

Bill

[TundraAcademy]

My oldest son did Headsprout in 1st grade. He loved it, especially the first half. When he did it, we were able to just pay for the first half, and then decide later if we wanted to continue. We did continue, but I think he benefitted the most from the first half. It is a great program, especially for struggling readers.

My second son picked up reading quickly and didn't like the program at all. I think it went too slow for him.

We also used Starfall.com, which is a lot of fun. We used Spellingtime.com ($5/month) which is high quality too.

My youngest (3yo) is actually learning a lot from some inexpensive Clifford Reading CDs for the computer!

Good luck!

[obiandelismom]

You can sometimes find a coupon for a reduced rate. It is a lot of money, but it helped my ds quite a bit, and that was priceless! :D However, we moved on from Headsprout to Hooked on Phonics (which you can easily find used) Master Reader, and honestly I think they are just as good.

I think for us, the key was that ds needed explicit phonics instruction, and he was not in a place where he could accept instruction from ME in this particular area. :glare: Sooo, it was worth it to me to spend the money on Headsprout & HOP, and save money on things that he WAS able to learn from me. It was our sanity-saving splurge, in other words!

[TracyR]

Yes. She does Starfall but she quickly looses interest with it. She needs more explicit phonics instruction then what Starfall gives. Starfall seems kind of all over the place in the concepts it teaches.

I'll have to check in the HOP. I'm thinking of maybe trying to splurge on it , just that money is super tight right now . Thanks for all the suggestions.

[snickelfritz]

I've heard positive reviews from the few people I've heard that have used it.

I'm thinking of doing it, once we finish ETC 3 (which I already own.) It's $60 per year per student. I'm hoping that it would finish out the series for my dd in that year.

It looks like it's self adjusting and goes forward at your students pace.

http://www.explodethecode.com/01_about/

[mom4life]

Click N Read is an online phonics program that seems similar to Headsprout - but at a fraction of the cost. Also, you can use it for other children and even transfer it to another family all together when you are done. The Homeschool Buying Co Op has a great deal on it. It's what we've decided to try this year.

[attachedto4]

We found Study Dog as a free download a couple of years ago- I don't know if it's still around? My kids liked the phonics based computer games and now my 4 yr old plays it all the time.

ETA:
I found it, it doesn't look like there's a free download anymore, but it's less expensive than Headsprout.

http://www.studydog.com/default.asp