Little champion reader - brand new reading product!

[Emily-Carter]

A brand new reading system for children has been released teaching young children how to read.  It's similar ro Your Baby Can Read but a lot more comprehensive.  It's divided into 3 levels going from words to phrases all the way to sentences.  It teaches a total of 800+ words, 250+ phrases and 250+ sentences, which is a lot more than any other reading system combed.     They even have a comparison chart showing this.  They teach phonics and sight words (total of 200+ sight words).

 

[robbyjo]

This comparison chart is somewhat dishonest. For example, it compares itself with "Meet the Sight Words" of the Preschool Prep, but not the entire package (which contains more than 30 consonant blends, and if you count the books and flashcards that are sold separately, more than 250 sentences, phrases, etc.). To me, this is a huge red flag.

The phrase "effectively combine" is somewhat iffy because although each of the research has hints of effectiveness, but there is no research in combining all the three approaches (except perhaps some smattering results in phonics + sight words). Can the manufacturer actually back the claims up?

[Korrale4kq]

Haha. The comparison to Meet the Sight words rather than the whole Preschool Prep reading series was a huge red flag to me also. Especially when you are comparing for comparable prices. For $150 you can have an entire set of Preschool Prep meet the Sight Words and Phonics DVDs and the Meet the Sight Word Readers. That is not to mention that they have half price sales often, so you could realistically pick those all up for $75.
Secondly they compare to Hooked on Phonics, but only Kindergarten grade.
They also only mention 5 of the YBCR read DVDs, I have some that include phonics.
And they don't mention a comparison to Little Reader.

[Mandabplus3]

Ok so clearly this is advertising but at least its relevant advertising. 
So I Sussed it out ( well of course!) and to be honest there are a few problems but overall I think its worth looking into.
First the big problem well they make some outright wrong claims on their video and website about being the ONLY program combining sight words, whole language and phonics in one. Clearly Little reader does that, so they really can't claim that. And it's just plain rude to post that here with such a false claim. 
But in the spirit of open market and using whatever we can to teach our young children to read I absolutely think this is worth a look. In no way do I think it is a substitute for the Litttle reader program, (which is so much more versatile and longer term use) But I would definitely look at this over your baby can read. This one includes systematic phonics, advanced systematic phonics, sight words and many whole words for vocabulary. It looks professional...apart from the goofy acting in the ad  and I can't say the first lot of YBCR are as professional as this appears to be.
Order all for $150 you get a lot of DVDs and a bunch of extras ( which I would never use probably) which contain more words then YBCR does. Since the idea here is to IMPUT the maximum amount of words to teach reading this shouldn't be as quickly passed up.
I would love someone who has it to do a review...and I think I shall send them a nice email about their false claims perhaps.

[Korrale4kq]

I do agree with you Manda. It is nice to see other products out there. And certainly something to look into.  The program should sell itself and their marketing claims shouldn't be necessary. A little rewording and I wouldn't have been irked.

There is another reading product that was brought to my attention at www.kiddylearn.com

[LittleMamaChamp]

A big HELLO to all the mommies here!   

This is the creator of Little Champion Reader here.  I would LOVE to answer any questions anybody has about this product!

First, I think there is some confusion about many things about this product and some things seem to be bothering you guys - I would love to help explain and clear up any doubts! 

1.  First of all - yes, it is true that we did the comparison chart with the Preschool Prep company based on their 'Meet the Sight Words' DVDs.  That was in no way done to be misleading!  Preschool Prep DVDs are known primarily for their Sight Words DVD, hence the comparison exclusively with those DVDs.  But since this seems to be an important point to so many of you (and I completely understand your point), we will adjust the comparison chart so that it reflects ALL of their dvds (we will incorporate their other DVDs such as their letters, blends, and phonics DVDs).    We do not want to 'mislead' anybody with this, as that would be wrong!        
We will also consider doing the same with Hooked on Phonics and see if we will be able to incorporate all their systems (but please understand that we have ONE system, while they have several - so we will be comparing our ONE system to their 2+ systems).  Although it can be seen that Hooked on Phonics does not teach sight words or sight phrases extensively.   

===================
Facts about the comparison based on the *SIGHT WORD* learning portion only:
Meet the sight words DVDs:
dvd 1 - 16 sight words
dvd 2 - 16 sight words
dvd 3 - 15 sight words

Little Champion Reader: 
200+ sight words
200+ high-frequency phrases as adapted from the book 'The Fluent Reader'.

For exact words, phrases, sentences taught in LCR system, please see our homepage.
==========================

2.  Secondly, let me say that i personally LOVE brillkids and used it to teach my son many things when he was young!  When we claim that LCR is the *only* system that uses all 3 approaches, this comparison is based more with DVD-BASED learning systems such as YBCR or Hooked on Phonics.  Brillkids is more of a SOFTWARE-BASED learning system, so we didn't compare it with brillkids.  We are aware that brillkids is an excellent system that teaches kids reading plus EK - LCR is a strictly *reading* program.   
I developed the idea for Little Champion Reader once I realized how many different resources I had to use to teach my son reading when he was young.  At the time, I was only aware of YBCR, which I used with my son.  But he got finished with YBCR very quickly, after which I was on my own.  After that, I had to teach him sight words separately, phonics separately, etc.  Then I had to move on to phrases and then to sentences. 
So in my mind I imagined how wonderful it would be to incorporate ALL the systems into one!  That's how I developed the concept for LCR.  Other than that, I can tell you that I'm a mother just like all of you here.  I completely understand how difficult it can be at times to teach a child to read.  There were times it was not easy teaching my very *active* son , so I had to do many 'tricks' in order to make sure he learns. 

3.  Third, somebody mentioned incorporating books and flashcards into the comparison chart.  Well, the DVDs are the main learning tools and the books/flashcards are based off those DVDs - I believe nothing 'new' is taught in the books/flashcards that's not already taught in the DVDs themselves - hence the comparison is based strictly on DVDs, which includes all teaching resources.

4.  A mother mentioned something about 'Research does NOT show that all 3 methods can be combined for effectiveness' - yes, you are right about that.  But, EACH technique has been researched to have it's own UNIQUE set of advantages that the other techqniue lacks.  So each techqniue is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT and should not be skipped.  Our children need phonics to decode new words.  Then, they need to memorize sight words so they don't struggle with them when seen in reading text.  And whole language is generally something that helps our children read faster.  In essence, each one of these technique has been researched and needs to be learned by children.  If a child doesn't know phonics or sight words, it can be problematic later on.  So I would surely say that a COMBINATION of all these 3 techniques is the best way to go.   However, I have worded the homepage paragraph differently just so this doesn't cause any confusion to anybody.

5.  Korrale4kq:  The YBCR DVDs that include phonics are called 'Your Child Can Read' - please correct me if I am wrong about that.  The comparison chart is based on Your BABY can read. 

Once again, it is so GOOD to read all of your feedback, especially coming from MOTHERS!   
I truly hope this cleared up many things that were on your mind! 
There is a possiblity I may have missed something - so please don't hesitate to let me know as I would love to personally answer any one of your questions which you may have!

Thankyou and Regards,
Nida

[Krista G]

Congratulations on your new product.  My first thought was that the name is so close to Little Reader that it may be an infringement on your part.  It would be very easy to confuse those products to be one and the same.  Other than that, I am curious about your program.

[LittleMamaChamp]

Thanks Kristie! 

Well, BRILLKIDS is what I would consider to be the name of their company, which is different from mine. 
Little Champion Reader is registered with the UPSTO and they do not issue any trademarks which are infringing another - They do a check first and do not issue trademarks without that - I am sure you are aware of this legal process as you yourself have a trademarked company.  Also, UPSTO do not allow 'generic' terms such a 'reader' or 'little' to be trademarked by themselves and on their own - this is the little that I know - the rest I would have to ask an attorney!     

I recognize BRILLKIDS to be the name of a wonderful company that does both reading and EK programs - it's a company that my own son learned from - I do not and would not consider them to be 'competitors' by any stretch.     

There are so many reading programs out there and humbly speaking, I just happen to be one of them.  I only hope that my product will be useful to mothers who have a love of early learning; and that it will help many children learn how to read from a young age! 

And yes, you can find out more about my program on www.littlechampionreader.com.  I have updated the comparison chart as many did not like how it was not inclusive.  Please let me know if you have any further questions! 

[robbyjo]

@LittleMamaChamp: Here's my suggestion, rather than picking and choosing certain parts of a product, compare your product as a whole with the other products as a whole (e.g., for Preschool Prep, use this package as the base-line comparison, for Hooked on Phonics, use this one, for YBCR, use this one). Also, instead of tick marks vs X's, you can fill in the numbers of sight words, blends, etc. in competitor products vs. yours. Thirdly, there are categories that I think are more spread out in the other products. For example, long or short vowels are not taught explicitly in Preschool Prep, for example, but there are songs, reading videos, and even books or flashcards in the suite that actually teach long or short vowels. So, marking it with X's to the Preschool Prep's product would be dishonest. Lastly, put in the comparison for the total price for your product vs. each of the competitor's. These things would ensure apple-to-apple comparison and would be very persuasive to savvy parents like most of us in BrillKids.

I agree that the three techniques are independently needed, but there's no research to back that combination up---at least not yet.

Edit: Oh, I'm a dad, by the way.

[LittleMamaChamp]

@robbyjo ... well hello there, didn't mean to exclude you by referring only to 'moms'!      I guess I always see mothers working on early education, but when I see dads do the same, I love it!   

I like your suggestions/ideas, especially about the 'numbers' part.  I'm already using the 'deluxe' kit with YBCR (just haven't included the  term 'deluxe').  I'm already comparing grades K,1,2 of HOP.  For preschool prep, I excluded the numbers, colors and shapes DVDs, but have no problem including those as well (it actually wouldn't make a difference in the comparison chart as only the amount of words would be increased but still wouldn't equal 800+). 

when you say, " For example, long or short vowels are not taught explicitly in Preschool Prep, for example, but there are songs, reading videos, and even books or flashcards in the suite that actually teach long or short vowels. So, marking it with X's to the Preschool Prep's product would be dishonest.", I have a couple of questions:

1.  can you tell me this more precisely - where exactly are short/long vowels instructed in which DVDs/flashcards/books?  (as I know they don't have a 'vowel-based' DVD)

2.  About the 'dishonest' part ... I must say that I have NO intentions of doing 'false' advertising or making 'dishonest' claims about my product, as that would be very time-consuming and just a 'bad' thing in general.    I believe in informing the parents well about my product.  That is why I created such a detailed chart that tells you EXACTLY what is being taught in each DVD. http://www.littlechampionreader.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1831 
I know that many learning companies don't tell you the exact content of their products to this much detail - I was also personally advised against it also.  But I WANTED to create such a detailed list because I wanted to let the parent know EXACTLY what is included in the system they are getting - and to be as transparent as possible. 
These words, phrases, sentences were excerpted directly from my DVDs and are taught exactly as specified in the above chart - if you were to purchase my system, you will find no discrepancy in these words, phrases and sentences being taught in those DVDs.  If you want to compare even generally with the other systems, it's very easy to do because the contents of Preschool prep, YBCR, hooked on phonics are readily available.  These discrepancies in the comparison chart occurred (as you correctly pointed out) because I was comparing 'parts' to 'whole' (but I have fixed that comparison; but now you have suggested I add numbers and I can definitely do that ... hope that will put an end to the 'dishonest' and 'false' claims    ).  Even though I think that you can certainly gauge my 'claims' based on this chart alone:  http://www.littlechampionreader.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1831

3.  I also agree that research on the COMBINATION of those 3 reading methods is not there.  But INDIVIDUALLY each method has been researched to have its unique advantages.  And there is a big debate about 'phonics' versus 'whole language' - and I believe that most experts would agree that a combination of both is needed.  I think that point would be hard to argue unless one was completely 'pro' phonics or 'pro' whole language.  But I say this:  why not let your child have ALL - phonics, whole language AND sight words?   

'Savvy parents on Brillkids' is the right term and I like that.     This forum was actually created by a friend of mine who believes greatly in my product and I am genuinely very glad to be on this forum - I LOVE talking to like-minded parents like all of you (mothers AND fathers  ).  I take all your criticism in a good way.  ALOT went into creating this product, making sure that its standard, quality and content was very good - and that your child was getting exposure to the maximum amount of words, phrases, sentences while still being entertained (not an easy task). 

Still open to your thoughts and suggestions!   
 

[Korrale4kq]

Thank you so much Nida for heeding our concerns. I think it will benefit you in the long run. You could very well be right about it being Your Child Can Read. Thank you for that clarification.
I will mention that preschool prep does cover long and short vowels. And I really do like Robbyjo's idea of writing the number of sightwords covered by each program.
I would also make sure that is is apprarent that you are specifically comparing DVD programs. The software element is a huge reason why I didn't choose Litttle Reader for our situation, so I think that because Little Champion Reader is a very inclusive DVD set it is a selling point that differentiates it from LR.

[Korrale4kq]

Nida, vowels are covered in the phonics DVD. And done very well. Controlling r sounds are covered also. My son learnt those two phonics elements from that 1 dvd.

[LittleMamaChamp]

@Korrale4kq - Thanks so much for letting me know about that!    Hmmm, I am unable to find their phonics DVDs that cover VOWELS.  All I can find are these:  Meet the Phonics Letter Sounds, Blends and Digraphs - I was also wondering why they didn't include phonics?  Perhaps you are referring to the BOARD BOOKS Meet the Vowels?  But it doesn't seem to have a DVD based on that....  Let me know!   

[Korrale4kq]

It is part of the Meet The Phonics Letter Sounds DVD.

[PokerDad]

I browsed through the site yesterday immediately after the thread was posted. I have a lot of opinions and glad to see that some of them have already been discussed. Here were a few of my immediate thoughts (notice they are very RANDOM)

1. I wouldn't have chosen that product name, but it's chosen now, so that's that.
2. I wouldn't have included the checklist at all. I also noticed that "Meet the Sight Words" wasn't represented properly
3. The site is too busy, imo
4. A lot of money went into this project
5. You even hired a voice over actor for the commercial - and more than likely hired a design outfit to do the commercial
6. Superfluous items thrown into the one-size-fits-all package; I don't like as a consumer, as a business owner, I like
7. Price point is too high as a consumer, as a business owner, it's probably priced about right (after it's been field tested)
8. Go Daddy, ... sorry, I just do not like them. I tried them once and didn't like ha ha
9. Your return policy is absolutely horrible. Sorry, just being honest about that - it stood out to me, it's also contradictory
10. use of seals & awards I personally think is hackneyed, but not sure what the current research would say
11. this thread was put up under false pretenses - or so it certainly appears that way - I do not like
12. Before signing your name here ITT, I knew it and looked for your BK id to send a PM, looked in FB group and could not find you...
13. Obviously you had spent time here, the scope, content, name of product all say that you've spent time here, yet never did some simple (free) market research other than just now ITT - from a business standpoint, whoops
14. Use of levels sounds perfect to me; this is how it should be, but is basically not done this way at all by DVD producers, so this is a feather in your cap and a major differentiating factor.

Okay, now that I've listed a few of my immediate thoughts, I will clarify some of the more nebulous things listed. Using the checklist is truly unnecessary, imo. If anything, I think it will reduce your credibility. Who is your target market? I'd argue that your target market are people that use those products already. As a consumer of educational DVDs, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the supply of good DVDs is extremely small - the need is far larger than than the few you mention in the checklist. Put another way, you have 3 DVDs per level. Suppose I show the first one for a week or two, the second and third likewise, or I rotate through them for several weeks.... if your levels reflect reality (and I bet they do), I cannot immediately graduate a 7 month old kid from them and now I'm out of "new" material. I need to still augment using those other programs.

Stated even more simply, there's a paucity of good DVDs out there. There's so much room for LCR and everyone else that there's no need to set up some false competition between products. Frankly, going head to head against those products at this point would seem laughable, imo.

Your site, though busy in my humble opinion, seems more geared towards prime time... ie, get your voice over actor to put together a few 30 seconds spots and start buying up radio advertising. At that point, who cares about those other products - if you were to do something like this, your checklist would effectively take people off your site to go research those other programs (where their budget likely exceeds yours and they have a reputation already built)

The fact that I have not ordered yet is probably a bad sign, but perhaps just reflects a few of my thoughts listed above. A track record of some sort maybe would be enough. How about a modest discount to the first X number of users to leave some feedback? Or something similar?

I have an MBA but that doesn't mean what I'm writing above is some sort of gospel - it's free advice, and probably worth about that much 

Good luck!

document.getElementById('recent_loading').style.display = 'none';document.getElementById('recent_page_box').style.display = '';

Page: 1/4  

Loading...

Members

• Total Members: 214769
• Latest: Meobi

Stats

• Total Posts: 110526
• Total Topics: 19136
• Online Today: 439
• Online Ever: 826
• (January 22, 2020, 12:09:49 AM)

Users Online

• Users: 0
• Guests: 422
• Total: 422