Printable Waseca Reading Program: All You Need To Know (Complete Review)
Many homeschoolers, especially those in the Montessori community, are attracted to the beautiful Waseca reading program, but it can be out of budget for many families. However, the printable version is just as amazing and is available at a much more affordable price.
Printable Waseca Reading Program At A Glance
Printable Waseca Reading Program Pros
Printable Waseca Reading Program Cons
Key Takeaway
If you’re willing to put in the time to prepare the material, the printable Waseca Reading program can be a great addition to your homeschool.
Why I Love the Printable Waseca Reading Program
For years I wanted to have the Waseca Reading Program, but the original product was way too expensive for my homeschooling budget until one day I was browsing the printables page on the website and discovered there was a very affordable printable version! For the past four years, I have been using these materials in our homeschool and they are just the best for teaching all the spelling rules and nuances of the English language. The vivid and diverse images, the free workbooks, the free teachers guide, the way the spelling rules are broken down and packaged into each level, the scaffolding technique, and the built in error of control are all features that make this reading program practical for you and your child in a home learning environment.
Scaffolding Content
A great feautre of the Waseca Reading Program is how the content is structured in a way to build reading skills for a specific phonetic element by beginning with simple but supportive activities to allow the student to become familiar with that element. As the teacher or guide works through the activity presentations the student slowly builds mastery to the point of being able to write and spell the words correctly on paper. This process of scaffolding content to the student in short attainable steps allows them to slowly build their skills until they reach mastery. When my homeschoolers start a new level they first build familiarity with the new phonetic element (s) by spelling the words from the cards using their small moveable alphabet letters, then matching picture to labels, then reading the words and finally writing them independently on paper.
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Free Workbooks
The accompanying workbooks offered are my favorite as a Montessori homeschooling mom because they allow for my kids to independently work through the material at their own pace without needing too much instruction from me. I like to print out the workbooks for each level individually and once completed I print the next level. For example, if we are working on Orange 2, I will only print the pages for Orange 2 (as shown below.) I prefer this method to prevent my kids from getting distracted with other levels within the color scheme.
How Much Does the Printable Waseca Reading Program Cost?
The printable version of the Waseca Reading Program comes at a substantially lower price tag than the original version ($220!). If you purchase all the levels at once that will cost you about $76, but if that price tag if out of your budget, you can easily purchase each level separately at about $8 each. For homeschoolers, I highly recommend this printable version because it is practical, affordable and accessible.
What Other Reading Programs Are There?
When it comes to Montessori-based reading programs there are a few other options. Two of the most notable and popular programs are the Dwyer Method and Pink, Blue, Green Series. We have used and do use parts of both of these programs along with our Waseca program. If you would like to learn more about the programs Rhyme and Reason Academy has a great breakdown comparing different Montessori reading programs.
Is Waseca Right for You?
The printable Waseca reading program is a great fit if your looking to have a material that your child can work through independently without much step-by-step instruction from you. With the use of the workbooks, the child is able to easily complete this work on their own.
This type of reading program would be a good fit for families looking for some supplemental reading work in their homeschool. As I have mentioned earlier, although my kids have responded really well to Waseca, we do use other reading programs as well, such as the Dwyer method and the PBG series.
Waseca Is Not For You If….
If you’re looking for a material that is ready to go straight out of the package, then I would not recommend this printable version. Assembly is time consuming and requires a considerable amount of ink and paper.
Also it’s important to note that if you’re looking for a stand alone reading program, this isn’t it. Although we do use Waseca as our primary source for reading work, I find that my kids do benefit from using work from other programs as well.
Conclusion
The printable Waseca reading program is a useful material to have in your homeschool because it is developed to foster your child’s journey to independent reading and writing. Although it does have its caveats, and I wouldn’t recommend it as a standalone reading program, I do find it to be a very useful resource in our homeschool. This material can only be purchased on the Waseca website.
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