Entering 1st-Grade Summer Reading Program

We did the 10 week summer reading, writing and spelling program. I repeated the same reading drill on week one and week nine and my 7 year old improved by 24 words per minute and my 11 year old improved by 16 words per minute. They learned how to spell almost 100 words with different vowel patterns, and the practice also gave me time to work with them on their handwriting skills. Overall, I’m so happy I used this program and hope it makes school transition much easier this summer. Thanks Bonnie for this program, we are very grateful.

I loved the program structure and content. I liked what they were reading about and the different styles. My children enjoyed it, too. It was the right amount of time to complete the activities. The lessons were small enough chunks of time to keep my 7 and 9 year old focused and productive. We’ll be looking forward to doing it again next summer!

I enrolled my daughter in this program not sure what to expect – especially because I was really concerned I would have to force her to do it and it would be super painful all summer long. She LOVED IT! The reading fluency drill was treated like a game everyday and she loved filling out her score and striving to beat it each time.

Her school assigned summer reading where the students had to read books and write short book reports. We saved that for the very last week and it was awesome because she basically did two of those per week on this program. The reading/taking notes/answering questions prepared her over and above what she had to do for school. Getting her to write notes was where I was concerned, but she loved it and strived each week to work on her handwriting as well.

The phonics and spelling was also great. I was worried the words would be too challenging, but the way it’s broken down and the lessons that coincide with the words make it fun, engaging and have built my daughter’s confidence SO much!

I am SO glad I purchased this program and we took the time this summer to do it! My daughter even asked to keep up with it while we were on vacation, which was shocking, but I loved how much she enjoyed it! We’ll definitely be doing this again next summer!

We gave it a solid try, but all it’s done is create arguing. My kids don’t enjoy most of this program. They like the digital field trip and that’s about it. Every week has been a battle to force them through it. I printed week 5 this morning and after another huge battle trying to get them to start doing it, I threw it all out and walked away with everyone in tears. These are not video-game addict kids or anything, they get almost no screen time. They just didn’t like the methods, the worksheets, the games, etc.

My son and I have tried many reading programs; this one has made the most significant difference. It trains the brain to think of reading and spelling in ways beyond rote memorization. In addition, the summer program is enjoyable and effective. As a result, my son started the school year with increased confidence as a reader, and I feel better prepared to help him with his learning.

I started using this program after a TON of research. I needed a good fit for my 8 yr old dyslexic daughter. I’d say she 1.5-2 reading grades behind. We tried the summer program and loved it. This program was very simple and easy to acclimate to, which was a blessing bc these days I don’t have the time and energy to deep dive learning new programs. Scholar Within was instantly engaging and with the easy to follow step by step layout it made everything so approachable. I had to reach out through chat a few times and always received responses quickly and they were kind, helpful, and encouraging. 5 star customer service! I like how you can change the levels within the program (I started lower so that I could build her confidence) and the variety within lessons. You might see that some are saying there’s a lot of printing, I was at first concerned about this but it really wasn’t bad. I’d just print a few lessons ahead of time and keep them in the folder. It was actually pretty easy and only took 1-2 minutes. They also have an option for some of the weeks to buy pre-printed materials. Do what works for you 🙂 My daughter said she really liked the games too.

My child was diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and it has been a difficult journey in getting her to develop phonemic awareness skills and reading fluency, among other reading deficits. After enrolling her in Scholar Within’s summer program, I have seen the improvement that I’ve been waiting for! I will definitely continue using this program throughout the school year.

Fabulous reading program! We enrolled our daughter over the summer. It was so wonderful we decided to continue using the program during the school year.

Wonderful program for children, especially for my child with ADHD and speech delay. I am so grateful that there is a program out here for children like this.

After reviewing this content, I thought a summer reading program would be a little more engaging for the kids. It’s boring and very hands on for me to be with them each 1 hour a day which is unrealistic when both parents are working. I thought it would be more independent.

I love this reading and spelling program! The lessons are complete and there is very little prep, especially if you purchase the printed material. The fluency lessons are fantastic and the kids love tracking their progress! We enjoyed the first six weeks so much that we purchased the material for the remainder of the year. So happy I found Scholar Within!

We tried Scholar Within for our student in the summer of 2022. Our student has ADHD and diagnosed learning disabilities. This program was just what we needed to keep our student engaged during the summer. The executive function focus that this program includes was so helpful especially for kids with ADHD. I highly recommend this for families that have students with reading and reading comprehension as an opportunity. This program covers spelling, reading comprehension, note taking, executive function, and has so many great brain games and virtual field trip ideas. We will be doing this program every summer going forward. Phenomenal program and the price points are so much better than a lot of the other programs out there. Keep in mind this is a team effort, this program has an online aspect but it also has worksheets and requires parent interaction. I absolutely love that it has text to speech and encourages the student to read aloud. I also love that it puts focus on writing and not just typing up stuff online. There are so many great things about this program I wish I could list them all.

Our second grader is a great reader, but really struggled with spelling. This program offered everything he needed in order to begin spelling words correctly and with so much more understanding. The program is well organized and efficient, offering a great foundation to students. We couldn’t be happier!

The program is well organized and easy to follow. The program helped my son with dyslexia a lot for ready fluency. Nothing else had helped… It was like a game for him and we called it his “brain activity”. Very happy and totally recommend it.

This program advertised to be less hands-on for the parents, but in reality, it is too much for our family. Looks great, but cannot meet our needs at this time.

This program is absolutely different from everything we have tried in the past, it’s truly amazing !! I think the layout online is wonderful, it really helps that the kids see what is expected of them everyday (and a time estimate keeps them motivated). I love way they teach planning is a great life skill! The printed materials are beautifully done and organized! They make learning simple and fun. The reading lessons vary in topics keeping kids interested and they often tell dad at dinner what they have read because they’re actually retaining it. The spelling program is also amazing teaching VC patterns and going over phonic patterns. We also enjoy that the reading and spelling lessons can be at different grade levels to perfectly adapt to each child and their needs. 5 stars from me!

My son was diagnosed as dyslexic at the end of third grade. I found this program online and thought we could try the 8 week summer program prior to him starting 4th grade. We did a lot of traveling that summer and were able to stay on track without any issue. My son really enjoyed the word games in the program. The few times I reached out to customer service, they were prompt and professional with their help. I could tell a difference in his reading by the end of the summer. The real proof was when 4th grade started; his first quarter ELA grade was a 95%!!!! (He ended 3rd grade with a 62%). This program is amazing, I cannot recommend it enough!

Great program, even for an older struggling reader with auditory processing disorder and possible dyslexia.
I like the option of switching between grade levels as needed + customer service has been fast/useful so far.

After a recent diagnosis of dyslexia, we started our son on this 6-week summer program. He has taken to it so well and we have already seen such great improvement. We are looking forward to continuing the program year-round!

I have two children who just completed 8 weeks of the Summer Reading Program. My oldest is dyslexic and I’ve been looking for a spelling program that is geared towards older kids since she is in 8th grade and many of the other spelling programs we’ve done feel like they are for younger children. My daughter appreciated that the lessons were straightforward in teaching the patterns through sight, sound and writing. Her spelling confidence and ability grew tremendously. My youngest benefited from the Ready Fluency Drills and Reading Comprehension activities. Both enjoyed the games and puzzles. We look forward to continuing with the program into the fall as homeschoolers.

This program kept my kids sharp over the summer. Thank you!

I thought it was a great idea but I absolutely cannot get my son to sit and do the work even though its technically not that much time per day. Its hard enough getting him to do the other things he has to do for his actual school work.

We love the summer program. My daughter has not only increased her words per minute but also has expanded her comprehension. She is learning valuable note taking strategies and has drastically improved her spelling. She also enjoys the content! We are excited to see her growth.

Last summer, my husband and I enrolled our daughters (then entering grade 3 and entering grade 2) in the summer program. This program really helped them with reading comprehension! It gave us as parents the tools we needed to ask the right questions to help them too! Also, the games were really enjoyable! We even played them AFTER the lesson was over for the day. We were very impressed with the variety of activities and tools available with this program. We will be re-enrolling them this summer! Thank you!

My daughter is begging me to do your reading program again to strengthen her skills. The guides for note-taking and how to pick out important information was only second to the fun activities each day last year. We look forward to seeing what’s in store for this year!

We are currently working on week 5 of our program. We really like it and are seeing benefits already. Thank you!

Thank you for partnering with me to help my daughters improve their reading skills. They are really enjoying your program and are excited about becoming more confident readers. I am loving it already! I signed up my twin daughters, who are homeschooled.

My children took the Scholar Within reading program. I was impressed with how user-friendly and intuitive the program is.

The Monday exercise of reading and taking notes followed with questions on those selections on Wednesday is a really great help for my kids. This lets them work on their comprehension skills. It has made a big difference! The whole program has been a good experience for us. Thank you very much!

Even when I’m not sure how to reason/explain to my son about a reading comprehension answer, all I have to do is ask you. You are so good at giving quick replies that are easy for me to tell my son. Thank you!

We really loved the program. Thanks so much for all of the neat assignments and games to enhance executive function skills.

Thanks for your help throughout this process. You are so responsive whenever I have a question or concern. I see activities on the different levels for my kids which makes them easy to follow. This has been an awesome experience for our family.

This program really helped my daughter and we saw a difference in her reading and spelling fairly quickly. Plus, she enjoyed the lessons which, as a parent, is probably the most important thing as she was motivated every day to continue learning.

My son is doing well and shows improvements with the reading drills each day. He is also doing well with all the work that is presented. His overall work is improving too. He’s even able to find spelling errors now. Woohoo!

This is great a summer reading program. My son has really improved his reading comprehension skills. Thank you, Bonnie Terry, for designing such a great course.

Scholar Within has been an amazing resource for my 8-year-old twins this summer. I was so worried about what to do during this summer. It has been great to see how far they have come. They definitely enjoyed how interactive it has been, not just reading. I have recommended this to many of my friends.

I really do like the reading fluency drills. They are making a difference for my son. They are so easy to fit into our day. The thing we didn’t like was all the printing we had to do each week.

I enrolled both my sons in the Reading Program this summer. It made such a huge difference for my son who has learning disabilities when we did the summer program two years ago. His teacher was amazed at the improvement in his fluency and comprehension (going into Grade 5). The team has been so flexible with “pausing” our program for a couple of weeks while we are away on vacation too. Note taking is such a key skill that is not really taught here in Ontario, Canada. I think this course will help my kids not fall behind from missing 3 months of school due to COVID 19. I am a poor substitute teacher, but I have confidence that Bonnie’s system is evidence-based, so I just have to follow instructions. Very glad to be able to access this course for homeschooling this summer!

The videos made all the difference in the world. The spelling videos showed me step by step the structure. You really made spelling easy for my kids. I just keep working with the video, the spelling, the way you explain it, they watch it over and over. It really sinks in. Your materials help build their self-esteem up. They’re short quick activities. You can get so much done in half an hour.

We are really liking the summer reading program. I appreciate that you moved my daughter’s level to make the program even more effective for her. Thanks so much.

This is a comprehensive program that can be implemented at home. I bought 5 folders and labeled them for each day of the week, plus an extra folder to hold copies of extra forms that are used regularly. You need a decent printer, lots of printer paper, and toner (though I hear they are making print material available for a separate purchase soon!). I prepped the whole week every Sunday evening and had the folders ready for my son and his grandmother to work on each day. It can be kind of overwhelming at first to figure out all the assignments and get it all prepped, but it’s worth it. This is a well thought out program with excellent customer service. We had several questions and adjustments throughout our time with the program and always got quick, helpful, personable replies. Unfortunately, my son’s school year has ramped up and we don’t have enough time to fit Scholar Within into his day. We hope to be back to do a summer program next summer!

I did find the videos and activities interesting. There was a bit too much printing for me.

Jake is doing well and enjoying the program. I’m so pleased with how he has improved and that he likes doing our sessions! Thanks so much!

My son’s first drill trend is definitely going in the right direction. His words per minute increased by 17%, and his mistakes decreased, and this is only the first week. I can’t believe he had that much progress already. Thank you for this program and thanks so much for being available for questions, too!

Last summer my 3 kids were enrolled in both Scholar Within and another major summer reading program. Scholar Within had more fun activities and games and really focused on building the underlying skills to really prepare for the upcoming year. The other program didn’t build skills in the same way, and was less interactive in my home.

Your program has so many great things in it. The plan for an excursion was a brilliant idea! We made a trip to the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis and to the Science Museum in St. Louis. I have seen improvements and I have gained insight into how my daughter reads and processes (or lack thereof) the reading assignments. Thank you so very much! The whole-brain approach to improving reading has been very insightful.