For those supplementing with Explode the Code...

[farmfamily]

how do you use it?

Do you skip around to the topics most needed, or do you just plug through the books in order?

Do you just do a page a day, or more?

I didn't use these workbooks with my oldest - she just took off after Reading Made Easy. I think my second needs a little extra practice/phonics review. I got her Book 3 because she struggled with long vowels with a silent final "e," but we've finished that part now and the rest of the workbook seems a little easy for her. Book 6 seems to include the topics she most needs help with now, but is it too much of a jump? She is 6 and doing Frog and Toad in the ERs.

[arstephia]

We used them daily and just plugged through. We usually did 2-3 pages each day. My kids all enjoyed doing them so when they got easy it was nothing for them to sit and do 5-6 pages "for fun" LOL! I guess that is why we got through them at the pace we needed to. They were very helpful with all of my kids and I believed helped with their dictation when they were older. I also used Reading Made Easy just FYI. The additional phonics work just cemented what they learned in RME. I highly recommend them.

[tiffanieh]

We did the same as the PP. However, I will say though, that I didn't have the teachers manual, and I didn't emphasize the rules or review them as much as I'm assuming the manual would have you do. Therefore I felt like we didn't maximize the program as you could. In 2nd grade we switched to Abeka's Letters & Sound and I was HIGHLY impressed with the phonics instruction/work in those books. I highly recommend that book.

[farmfamily]

Thank you both for your replies! I think I will keep plugging away with Book 3 for my first grader, then. I will have her do two pages per day now, instead of one, since it seems a little easier for her. She is happy to do the pages that don't have writing, but doesn't like the writing pages much at all!

I don't have a teacher's manual either - I was just having her work through the workbook.

arstephia - how many of the workbooks did you do? Did you go all the way up to 8? I'm not sure whether book 7 or 8 may be good for my 3rd grader. She seems to be reading very well, though, and is doing fine with dictation, so maybe we don't need to bother?