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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Toe by Toe

26 replies

Megatron · 16/03/2012 16:22

Anyone any experience of the Toe by Toe system? My friend has been advised by her DD's teacher that this may be something to consider in helping her progress further in reading. What exactly is it? Friend has never heard of it and nor have I but I said I would ask the wise folks here on Mnet!

OP posts:

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PastSellByDate · 16/03/2012 16:26

Hi Megatron

Found this: www.toe-by-toe.co.uk/

HTH

SherbetDibDab · 16/03/2012 16:28

I've done that with my dd, well we're just over half way through. She is 8.

On a plus, her reading ability did improve, it got her to start sounding new words, rather than stabbing at guesses.
It's also cheap. £20 odd quid for a two year course is very reasonable compared to some of the reading schemes out there.

On the negative, it isn't very entertaining, not pictures, same exercises again and again.

I would recommend it though, definitely worth a try.

SherbetDibDab · 16/03/2012 16:30

What is it?

It's a reading scheme where you spend 10 minutes a day doing exercises. You need to buy the book but that's it, everything that you need.

sunnyday123 · 16/03/2012 16:53

i have never heard of this being used for children - widely used for teaching adults in prisons though with success!

IndigoBell · 16/03/2012 17:24

Dancing bears is better than toe by toe.

Both are 10 minute a day program's which parents can use to teach their child to read.

Both take a lot of commitment to complete.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 16/03/2012 17:27

I did Toe by Toe with DS1 and it did help his reading a lot. However, it is quite dull for a younger child so it depends on her DD's age.

If her DD is fairly young I would look at Dancing Bears as IndigoBell has suggested.

mrz · 16/03/2012 17:33

I agree Dancing Bears/Bear Necessities are better

Original poster

Megatron · 16/03/2012 19:10

Thanks for all your replies, her DD is 8 so I'm not sure if it would be age appropriate for her?

OP posts:

IndigoBell · 16/03/2012 19:36

You can do toe by toe at 8.

But dancing bears is better at that age.

Ixia · 16/03/2012 21:35

Echoing the recommendations for Dancing Bears/Bear necessities. My DD loved them and her reading improved immensely (she's 6, but they'd be fine for an 8yr old)

sarahfreck · 16/03/2012 21:59

Hi there. I am a tutor who has used/is using both Dancing Bears and Toe by Toe with children of different ages and abilities.

I would probably now not use Toe by Toe for children in years lower than Year 5 ( unless the child was quite mature for their age and already fairly good at reading but still had problems with synthesising words). It is a great scheme but I think Dancing Bears or Bear Necessities is usually better for younger children.

Every child I have taught ( so far) has at some time got fed-up with Toe by Toe and Dancing Bears and wanted to stop part way through (I have a current Year 6 who says she loves Toe by Toe but it is still early days!) so I have found some sort of rewards system for doing it can be helpful.

Both schemes really need to be done extremely regularly (for at least 10 mins per day on at least 5 days per week) to have a good effect so any parent doing either will need to be structured and disciplined and really committed to making it happen.

Having said all this, every child I have taught who has persevered with the system has made great improvements with reading ( though that of course could be entirely due to my amazing teaching )

TimrousBeastie · 16/03/2012 22:08

I am looking into toe by toe for my dd aswell (just got a visual stress diagnoses) but I've read that word wasp is better. I've not come across the bear ones before, shes just turned 8 and I have no idea which one to go for.

exoticfruits · 16/03/2012 22:12

I found it very good. It went down well with mine because it is only a short time each day. You do however have to stick to it every day.

IndigoBell · 16/03/2012 22:15

Word wasp is for spelling, whereas toe by toe is for reading.

I'm not a fan of word wasp. Again I prefer apples & pears (by the makers of dancing bears) to word wasp ( which is by the makers of toe by toe)

sarahfreck · 16/03/2012 22:20

Timrous.

What level of reading is she at? At just 8, I'd go for Dancing Bears to start with. Word Wasp and the Hornet Literacy Primer (easier and takes things at a slower pace than WW) seem good ( I've only just started using them) and concentrate on spelling as well as reading. If her reading age is below about 7.5 or she resists having to read, I'd recommend starting on Dancing Bears for 10 minutes per day, then after say 4 weeks, introduce 5 minutes on the Hornet Literacy Primer every day too. If it is higher than this sort of level she might manage on Toe by Toe and Word Wasp but I think it likely that the others will still be best.

Original poster

Megatron · 17/03/2012 07:55

Brilliant input from everyone thank you. Have passed on your comments to my friend so I'm hoping she will be able to help her DD now, she's terrbly worried so fingers crossed. (she doesn't have use of internet, hence my involvement!)

OP posts:

IndigoBell · 17/03/2012 08:02

She'll need the Internet to buy dancing bears.

You can only buy it from here

Whereas I've seen toe by toe in lots of Waterstones.

TimrousBeastie · 17/03/2012 08:58

her reading isn't too bad- as long as she has her green overlay she can read-maybe not aswell as others her age but she does get there eventually. Its more her spelling thats an issue. will look into dancing bears, thank you

IndigoBell · 17/03/2012 09:34

This green overlay thing is a worry.

Coloured overlays are used to help with Irlen syndrome. If she really has Irlen syndrome she needs coloured glasses, not a coloured overlay.

However the majority of children who are prescribed a coloured overlay (my 2 included) don't have Irlen syndrome (and don't need a coloured overlay) - they have convergence insufficiency.

Convergence insufficiency is really common (over half of children who struggle with reading have this) whereas Irlen syndrome is quite rare (less than 1%)

Vision care in this country is so rubbish :(

BTW - does your friend really not have Internet access? Or can she not read herself? If she can't read well she won't be able to do toe by toe or dancing bears with her child.

sarahfreck · 17/03/2012 10:13

If spelling is a real issue then I'd definitely recommend The Hornet Literacy Primer. The instructions take a bit of getting your head round but once you have it is straightforward and could be done for 5-10 mins per day.

Original poster

Megatron · 17/03/2012 13:20

No Indigo she has no problems reading, it's just that she's had to move house rather suddenly and no access for the moment, she was keen for a quick response rather than having to wait for t'internet to be up and running.

OP posts:

TimrousBeastie · 17/03/2012 13:23

she was diagnosed with irlen by the eye clinic at glasgow caledonian uni a couple of weeks ago. The overlay is a temporary measure but the aim is to get the coloured lenses- the ophthalmologist ( I think) said that the tests you have to go through to get the lenses are quite tough, and they want to make sure they have the right colour for the person. She has to go back in a couple of months and the issue of glasses will be discussed then.

IndigoBell · 17/03/2012 15:10

Re Irlen Syndrome - yes, that sounds normal to try out coloured overlays for a few months before getting glasses.

I think I'd be tempted not to do any of the reading/spelling program's till she has her glasses.

At the next eye appointment she should ask to be tested for convergence insufficiency and eye tracking problems ( if she hasn't already)

mrsbaffled · 17/03/2012 19:23

I did Toe By Toe with by DS in year 2. It improved his reading no end. However, we were told to do it in error (he had spelling problems not reading), so we are not doing Word Wasp.

Happy to answer any specific questions about TbT...

maizieD · 17/03/2012 20:01

I have very mixed feelings about Toe by Toe. I know that it 'works' for lots of children but some find it quite boring and frustrating. In the early stages it isn't used for word reading or spelling so the child is just learning correspondences without applying the skills they are learning.

I think that using some home made flash cards to learn the letter/sound correspondences (graphemes) the child is unsure of and revise the ones she knows (one new grapheme at a time mixed with some 'known' ones) and using the new grapheme for word reading and spelling would be a helpful stop gap until your friend can sort out a programme to work with. That is, if the friend feels confident to do it...

I, too, think that Apples & Pears would probably the better programme to use.

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