Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in
exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I
compensated in any other way.

Learn to Read with Pride

Homeschool Review Crew

I have a child who struggles with reading.  Struggles to the point of she still has trouble remembering her letters and their sounds and she is nine years old.  I have tried so many different programs with her and was about to give up.  Learn to read with pride sounded like a great idea! We decided to give PRIDE Reading Program a chance and here is what we thought.  

Before we could begin and order our kit through PRIDE Reading Program as complimentary with the Homeschool Review Crew a placement test needed doing.  There are several different PRIDE Reading Program Level Kits which is why the test is so helpful.  I helped my daughter with the test and as I thought she needed to start at the very beginning.  So we ordered the PRIDE Beginning Consonants, Program Kit.

About the Program

This kit, Beginning Consonants, comes with the student workbook which is a physical workbook, the online parent portion, a lovely little sound chart poster, and the sound cards.  Other level kits will include different components.

There are a total of eight different levels within the program which is why it is important to take the placement test with your child before purchasing a level to guarantee you’re at the right level.  

The Beginning Consonants level is for children who are ready to learn their letters or those who are struggling with learning them.  Learning happens through multi-sensory activities such as skywriting, finger tracing, phonemic awareness and visualization.  This process utilizes the Orton-Gillingham method of learning. 

The covers of the workbooks are in color while the inside is black and white.  PRIDE reading cards are very bright and colorful which is great for catching attention. 

Our Thoughts on the Program

I have a nine-year-old who simply can’t seem to remember her letters or their sounds from one school session to the next.  I’ve tried so many things with her and was really at a standstill as to what to do next.  When this program came up as an offering on the review crew I knew we needed to give it a go.  Recently I was asked by several if she was dyslexic and I had never really checked that out with her but now it seems to make sense and I’m going to pursue some learning on the subject as well as possible testing.  

All that to say, this program has been lauded for being really good for those with dyslexia.  I can’t give you a this works so well yet because obviously we’re still in the first kit and can’t fully say if the program works full term or not.

What I can say is that this program has been helpful for us.  Up until now, I’ve had a really hard time teaching her because from day to day she couldn’t remember her letters.  We’d work on the letter A for example and that day she’d be able to pick them all out but the next day she couldn’t remember what the letter A looked like. 

I found it interesting that there are quizzes for the parent to take before teaching this program.  I’ve never used any program quite like that!  They were not difficult and did help to use the program correctly.  

As far as how intensive it is for parents.  Everything you need is laid out.  You simply follow the script.  Because it is all scripted within the teachers online module you can’t skip around!  First, you do the parent quiz and introduction section and then you move on to the lessons.  Once you’re in the lessons you have to do them in order top to bottom. 

Within the lessons, the black words are for the parent to read to themselves.  These explain what and how to teach.  The blue words are what the parents says out loud to their child.  

As you can see in the photo above it’s really super simple to teach.  Each lesson has three modules to go with it.  You don’t move on unless the child has mastered them.  Even after mastery you will revisit and go over those lessons again with the review cards.  But don’t worry, the script will tell you what to go over when. 

My daughter is enjoying doing her school since we’ve started this program.  I really hope she does learn to read with pride using the PRIDE reading program!  She recently had really begun to get sad that she couldn’t read yet but now she’s forever pointing out the letters she knows on the signs as we’re driving, or shelves at the store.  I have to say that’s probably the highest praise we can give this program is that she is actually remembering her letters!

Another fun part is the extended learning activities at the end of each lesson.  Once you’re completed the third module for the lesson you get a fun thing to do.  A craft or something similar to help solidify that lesson.  My daughter really loves these though it has forced me to enlarge my crafting bin as I didn’t have quite a few of the required pieces.  

As a side note.  I have noticed that there are things within the workbook that I personally wish would be removed.  Things like ghosts/witch/etc.  We do not celebrate or participate in Halloween and try not to have books/curriculums that do.  There have also been some images included that go along with Christmas such as reindeer which we also steer clear of as it’s the commercialization and Santa links.  These are not deal breakers for me as we are enjoying the curriculum, but I do want to note them.  I don’t enjoy them and we tend to skip over them as much as possible. I’d love to see the curriculum without them. 

Learn More

You can easily learn more about PRIDE Reading Program and all the different levels, plus what reviewers though by reading all the reviews which are linked up HERE on the Homeschool Review Crew Main Blog Post.  This company can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.  I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about how you can help your children learn to read with pride.  Feel free to ask any questions and I’ll answer to the best of my ability.