Erring on the side of caution
Our primary goal is to build a robust cognitive and language foundation for every child, and so in the constant tension between being “too easy” and “frustratingly difficult” we err on the side of “too easy” – just in case there is a processing, working memory or other skill that could benefit – before moving on to Foundations 1.
And so, as a rule, we start all 5 year olds on Reading Readiness and strongly prefer that the child completes that level before moving on to Foundations 1.
With 6 and 7 year olds, especially if they are in 1st grade, we can go either way. It will depend on your feedback and the RPI pre-testing we do.
If a child does not take an RPI, we will have to rely on your feedback about sight word and letter sound knowledge , but given our primary goal of building a robust foundation for all future reading and learning, we will err on the side of caution and start with Reading Readiness.
Early Switch
In all cases, if the child starts on Reading Readiness and finds it boring or too easy AND if the progress in the program, i.e., correct responses, supports that feedback, then we will switch your child to Foundations 1. If this describes your child, and you think your child should switch, please don’t hesitate to call us.
However, if it looks easy to you but your child is not complaining, then we highly recommend sticking with Reading Readiness for 2-3 weeks. The more robust the cognitive and language foundation, the better platform for strong and persistent acceleration later.
