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.

 

Dyslexia Reading Program

Homeschool Review Crew

MaxScholar

 

Reading is something that we do a lot in our home and I have a few kids who still struggle with it.  Recently we have been using MaxScholar to help us work with our reading skills.  If you need a dyslexia reading program you might check this one out.  While my daughter has not been diagnosed with this she does show a lot of the signs.  We received a six-month subscription for one teacher and five students to MaxScholar Orton-Gillingham Software. 

About the Dyslexia Reading Program 

MaxScholar uses the Orton-Gillingham method of teaching children to read.  This method has been around for almost 100 years and has a great success rate.  It is not a method we have used a lot in our homeschool so I knew we wanted to try this program as I do have struggling readers.  

This program has been specially designed to work with children who have ADHD, dyslexia, autism, are on the spectrum, or who have some type of learning disability.  I have four children who fit into one or more of these categories and know that this was something we needed to try because I do spend time feeling like I’m beating my head against a brick wall with them and reading sometimes. 

MaxScholar uses a multi-sensory approach.  Through this approach, they are creating new pathways for the brain.  They use visual, audio, and kinesthetic ways to do this so that your child has multiple ways to learn.  This works well since we know children learn in different methods and one way won’t work for everyone. 

From using this program your child will work not just on reading but also reading comprehension.  There are several different subsets programs within the program to work on different areas as well. These work on writing, spelling, reading, and more.

The Different Programs Within

As the teacher and parent, you can decide which programs your child has access to.  This shows where you get to choose if they get to use and then add or subtract the subsets if available.  

 

 

PreK Phonics

This is the very beginning level that works on the phonics of each letter, learning the letters, etc.  This program is targetted for ages 3-5 but I did have a ten-year-old who needed to start there.  This prepares your child to learn to read.  There is some minor blending of sounds to make short words.  Mostly this is learning the sounds and the letters as well as how they are written. 

Phonics

The phonics program is for ages 5-7 and to come after the PreK Phonics program.  There are three “worlds” within the program which focus on individual letters, the blends, or digraphs.  This program has fun games to help implement the learning.  There are visual programs to watch and hear the letters plus a program to help with the writing of the letters which is important for learning the letters. 

Reading

The MaxReading program is designed for kids who are below their grade level for reading.  It is aligned to Common Core Standards.  There are 13 different levels within the program with chapter books to read.  There is a read-aloud feature.  This program is going to help with focus, retention, and comprehension as well as working on vocabulary. 

MaxWords

This program is working on building words.  It teaches prefixes, suffixes, and the word roots with either Latin or Greek beginnings.   You will also work on spelling rules and breaking words into syllables to discover their meanings. 

MaxMusic

Welcome to the world of music to help you learn.  This works on auditory skills, recognition, and memory through fun games for those children who might not want to otherwise use the program and learn. 

MaxVocab

This is obviously the vocabulary center for the program. Here is the dictionary for the program and games that work on the student’s vocabulary. 

MaxPlaces

51 exciting locations to visit and learn about and from.  Here they get to choose a location, read a passage about that location, and then answer questions to see how they are doing with reading comprehension. 

MaxBios

Here is the section for learning about interesting people.  The interesting people are from past and present and set up in a chronological order to help work with your child on their timeline skills.  Here again, they get to read about a person and then work on their reading comprehension. 

 

 

Our Thoughts on the Dyslexia Reading Program 

I found this to be a very user-friendly program.  We could easily pop in and let my child do their work.  I did not have to be there while they were completing their lessons.  

The placement tests were super long for some of the children and I think they started getting some things wrong just because they were done before the program was actually done. 

My kids did not like the placement tests.  They thought they were hard and took a long time.   Tests aren’t fun is something I heard several times from their mouths.  As the parent though I’ve already started to see some progress with their reading/spelling/comprehension and that is a win for me. After they got through the placement tests they did enjoy the school portions.  It’s like a game several of them said so that made it fun to do. 

Who’s Doing What

I have five children using this program.  Two are entering first grade this school year which starts July 1st for us in our state.  One of those two still has a very hard time remembering what letter names go with which letter so I opted to start her at the very beginning of the program. This is also where she tested to.  I think it is classified as pre K.  She is 10 years old as of yesterday and the one with dyslexia.  We’ve had a really hard time finding a program that actually helps her.  She loves doing them all but day to day retention is an issue. 

The second first grader is reading short words and sentences and I think it got her spot on to where I would have started her through her test.  I would say that she is average for her age.  She is 7 years old and we don’t start formal schooling until this age as it is the required school age for our state. 

My third child is the same age as child one.  She will be 10 in November.  However, they are about as opposite as they can get as this one is reading at a high school level.  I really wanted her to do this program to work on her reading comprehension and writing skills as those have not caught up to her reading abilities.  

For my next child, number four, he just turned 12 and again I wanted him in here for some reading comprehension but also spelling as he has not been cooperative with spelling and the programs we’ve used before.  Again, he’s on grade level for reading and his age. 

The last child using this program is also 12 years old.  But he is another of my slow learners.  He really struggles with reading so I had him do the phonics and the reading placement tests.  This put him at a lower grade than he is but I’m very hopeful that he will have closed all of his learning gaps by the time he’s done. 

What we Liked

My kids really enjoyed the game aspect.  I encouraged the ones who are reading well to do the MaxPlaces and MaxBios because that would add in some extra learning about people and places while also working on their reading.  

 

 

I heard several of the kids say how much they liked the diversity of the program.  They liked being able to choose where they were working for the day and that it was always different.  This made the program not get boring for them. 

As a parent and teacher, I really loved the different programs and the vast array of knowledge that is available here.  There is so much that they can learn by using the program.  It adapts to them and has them work on what they need to know so that they’re not going through things that they have already done over and over.  

We have enjoyed using this program and recommend it for anyone with kids who are having a hard time learning to read.  Not only that, but it’s great for other kids who might just need some reading comprehension work or maybe some spelling or vocab work.  

Learn More About the Dyslexia Reading Program

Want to learn more about MaxScholar and see if they can be a help to you and your student?  Please hop over to the Main Blog Post on the Homeschool Review Crew to read all of the Crew reviews that are linked up there for your reading pleasure!  MaxScholar can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. 

Also of note is that if you go to the website MaxScholar they do offer a free trial so definitely use that if you’re interested.  I personally appreciate when programs offer trials so that you can get a taste for if the program will work for you and your child before you subscribe so I like to share those with you too.