"Shell" wrote in message
. net...
I just purchased the Learn to Read program. Does anyone have it? What do
you think? Has anyone heard anything about it?

....

Your best bet is to walk into any used book store and buy books. Then take
these books and read them ALOUD to your kids. Have them next to you as you
read... talk about the book. Say the sounds.

Some of the best (at least in our house) were the ones like "Mr. Brown Can
Say Moo, Can You?"... or the Berenstein Bear books... and of course ANYTHING
by Dr. Seuss (like "On Beyond Zebra"). We read "The Diggingest Dog" so much
that both parents had it memorized.

Also, some used bookstores sell used software. We bought Bailey's Book
House (by Edmark, a company that was into reading programs BEFORE
computers) at HalfPrice Books for less than $10. We also bought used
versions of Reader
Rabbit (which was easier and simpler than buying from The Learning Company
directly... something we only did ONCE). These were all popular in our
house... and definitely cheaper than those expensive programs that are
advertized so often.

A check on www.amazon.com for "children's reading" software shows a list of
over 80 titles... most of them are much cheaper than the heavily advertized
ones --- and they often include reviews.

ALSO... visit your local library. You can check out all sorts of wonderful
children's books for FREE!!! You can also often check out software. Your
library may even have one of those often touted reading programs available.
So you can try them for the 2 to 3 week library checkout period before
putting down lots of cash (though I have seen used systems for sale).

Also (and I am not affiliated) my local independent children's books store
has been promoting an author by the name of Esme Raji Codell and her book on
kids and reading: "How to Get Your Child to Love Reading"