Learning Dynamics Review: A Simple Reading Solution

You can teach your child to read in just 4 weeks with the Learning Dynamics Reading Program from Learning Dynamics.

I was very excited to try this program with my daughter (5) who needed more assistance with her phonics skills.

There were a few things that I was instantly impressed with about the program:

First, almost the entire program is reusable. The books, flash cards, music, letter rewards, and lesson manual are all reusable. This is great for parents like myself with multiple children. Instead of buying the entire curriculum again, you just have to purchase an extra workbook for about $18.

Another great thing is that this program is designed for children who don’t know their letters or sounds, or for children who are struggling to read.

I like that this can be done at home so that even if you have an older child that attends public school who is behind they can gain reading confidence at home instead of being in class around their peers.

What’s Included:

Lesson Manual
Flashcards
Student Workbook
Letter Rewards
Reading Books
30+ Songs Music CD

The CD can easily be played as background music while your child is playing or engaged in another activity.

Books

The books are full color books which are great to keep young readers engaged. The books are also short so it is easy to build your child’s confidence while reading these books.
I like to read the book with my daughter, then have her read the book. It gives her a chance to hear a fluent reader as well as practice what she learned.

Getting Started:

To begin the program you can go to the training website or read the first two pages in the Lesson Manual. I chose to read the Lesson Manual since it is very simple and easy to do. You also need to download the music or use the accompanying CD included in the package.

Of course, if your child is younger or struggling you would want to start at Lesson 1. We chose to start at Lesson 20. My 5 year old daughter already knows how to read, but still struggles with identifying all of the sounds correctly. Lesson 20 begins with the letter X, and is about midway through the program which I felt was a good start.

Lesson Manual:

The Lesson Manual is a bit small, and is the same size as the student workbook and student books. Each page gives detailed instructions on how to teach the lesson. It tells you what the focus letter or sound is, the story to read, the song to play, and the worksheet to complete in the student workbook.

As a parent and teacher, I found the lessons very easy to follow even if you have no teaching experience. I also like how they included a mini-assessment piece to each lesson called a “Final Check” to make sure your child understands the concepts that you taught.

Things I Liked:

Reading books have comprehension questions at the end of them, which makes it easy to ask your child questions to ensure they were following along with the story.

Sound cues on the back of the cards- so you know how to clearly pronounce the sounds.

New vocabulary presented at the beginning of the reading books, you can put on large cards to introduce to your child before you begin the story.

Songs:

My daughter loves to sing naturally, so the songs really kept her engaged. I like that the songs reinforce what is taught, so while your child is singing they are actually practicing their reading skills.

Room for improvement:

The student workbook was small in size and in work. The pages were also thin, so you can see the pictures on the other side.

I think that your child will need more assistance than just one page to go over each concept. However, some of the lessons did have 2 pages of activities, such as Lesson 39 below.

Overall:

The programs is really easy to follow and can be done in 4 weeks. I would recommend adding additional days just to ensure that your child has truly mastered all of the concepts.

The Learning Dynamics Reading Program is a complete program, meaning you don’t need to buy any additional components in order to complete it.

The included books provide you with an instant library, so it easy to go back and review and make sure your child can read.