Hooked on Phonics??

I bought the hooked on phonics for my 4 year old son about 6 months ago. He has been doing wonderful with it. He wants to go to books a million all the time and get a book. The only thing I have learned is let him/her tell you they want to do it. If I push it on him he doesn't want to do it at all and just plays. Go luck with it if you do get it. Just remember it takes pasitons

I taught kindergarten for three years and we used Saxon Phonics. If you look on ebay they have home school versions. Walmart actually has some good workbooks and teaching aids. I may warn you though that if you teach it all to her know she might be bored when she does get to kindergarten!

I bought the "Hooked on Phonics" system from ebay. It was around the same price as the one you found in Costco. Yes, that's expensive, but as a result of it, my son was reading at four years old. Now he is five and in Kindergarten, but is reading at a 1st grade level. I think buying the program is worth it if you are dedicated to using it regularly. If you really cannot afford the $100, you can try "Starfall" located here: http://www.starfall.com/index.htm . I did both with my son.

J.,
I would suggest that if you have a home computer, that you go to Wal-Mart and get the Play School "Ready for School Kindergarten" It costs only $20 or less! My kids have loved it! It teaches EVERYTHING!! I have a special needs daughter who is now 15 and she STILL LOVES to play!!! My youngest son is now 12 and he still talks about how much he loved to play that! You can sit with her and it's VERY interactive! She will have to listen and follow directions. She will get to make words from letters--they will give her an ending and she will get to choose from several letters to make a word--it's just like phonics--only it is an interactive learning!! It was fun for me too! *smile* The one that we have takes place in a small community--"kinderville". You have a map of the town and you get to choose your activity--the school house--where you have the Alphabet on the walls and when you click on it, they sing the phonics song--make words--so much more--you have the toy shop--you get to play hide-&-seek with a little boy who has hiden a special toy on the shelves for you to find--he gives you directions--like, "look to your left"---there's the fire station where you will play a memory game with manners and how to call for help in an emergency--and once you have cleared the board of all the cards, there's this uncovered picture that turns into an animated cartoon teaching your child about strangers, kitchen and fire safety, etc.--I REALLY like this game!

Check out your local Wal-Mart and see what computer games they have for her level--what I like about the Play school brand--and really I have found it with many other brands, is that you, as the parent, can change the learning level as your child gets better! We got the kinder. level when my youngest son was four--he's now 12. I am sure that they've updated it--see if you can find it!

Hope this helps--and saves you some $! Keep me posted on your findings!!!!

S. : )

I taught my children with Hooked on phonics, and I believe that it helped them greatly. They are in 7th and 8th grade, and ever since they started school the have been ahead of the game. It not only teached them, but it makes it interesting for the younger child to learn.

M.

J.,
I have several friends who have used this phonics cirriculum and really like it.
L. G

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Hi J.~ I am 24 and I had the hooked on phonics when I was about 4 and I believed it really helped me because now I am an excellent reader and really enjoy it. I dont know what the experts say but that is me. Now you can check ebay maybe they have it for cheaper. Good luck!~C.

I am a kindergarten teacher and have used "Sing, Spell, Read, Write" in the past. It is very successful at teaching children to read and easy to teach. You can look at the website www.singspell.com and then check e-bay or amazon out for good used sets for homeschooling. It is amazing!

I have a five year old that I am homeschooling, so this debate is very familiar to me :) I decided against Hooked on Phonics because of the price. However, I have spent twice that trying to find other materials to work. So I don't know if that was a great decision in hind sight. I am starting to see the merit in picking a program and sticking with it. That is probably what we are going to do next year with new materials.

My daughter is reading though after about four months of direct work. She has done well with the other material and I like that she never felt like learning was work. We used both Leap Frog and Starfall, so I will comment on those since they have already been recommended.

The Leap Frog DVDs are simply wonderful. The songs are catchy and perfect for kids learning to read. My two year old is already recognizing letters and sounds because of seeing it with her big sister. Because of how much the girls enjoyed this line, I have purchased the Letter Factory Game, Flash Cards, and tons of Leap Frog Electronic Games. All have been very good for the kids, but the best has been the DVDs.

Starfall is excellent. Their site is a fabulous resource for online games that promote reading. I purchase the workbooks they offered and have been very pleased (quick tip, you can get 25 for about double the price of getting one - I went in with other moms to share the cost...and I still have some left). They are honestly better than any books or workbooks I have bought in stores or through eBay. It is a very cheap, high quality suppliment that will really add to your reading program.

Check out your local Dollar Tree. One in our area has great supplies for teachers. You can also do a lot of cheap activities at home that will help. We make letter cookies and use flashcards to spell words together. I took sticky notes and wrote some sight words on the, stuck them around the house and then told the kids which one I wanted them to find. Great game. I am sure you get the point. Teaching your child to read seems overwhelming, but in actuality, it doesn't have to be that hard. Make sure you read daily and use your finger to follow along the words as you read. Slow down and let your child see if they recognize any.

Something I just started doing with my daughter is that I have her write out my grocery list. I just spell the words for her and she writes them down. Then when she is at the store she holds the list and helps me see where we need to go and what foods to find. Just about anything will help her learn to recognize letters and put them into words.

Sorry this is so long, but I haven't put the last four months of my life into a letter like this. I hope that some of this helps and feel free to ask any questions you might have. My best advice is to use what you have at home - an expert in the field of reading (you) and tons of books and reading materials already on hand.

Best of luck to you both!

$100 does sound expensive. Have you checked out buying it on Ebay or looking on craigslist.com?