Best Phonics Program

If you are like me, the thought of teaching your child to read seems like a horribly daunting task. It was the one fear I had when I considered homeschooling my children. After all, we hear so many stories of children who go to school everyday and can't read. If a teacher can't get it done, how can a "mom"? Believe it or not, I even had a teaching degree (in middle grades) but since I was never taught how to teach a child to read, it was a great mystery to me. Isn't it funny how something so basic can make us feel inadequate?

It doesn't help that there are numerous products on the market to confuse us further. As a matter of fact, some would even suggest that "phonics" is not the best system to use to teach a child to read. As I went through my undergraduate program to become a teacher, "Whole Language" was the big thing. The irony is that all of us students were never told exactly what "Whole Language" was. We looked at each other hoping for answers, and even when we asked our professors what it was, we didn't get much help. Nonetheless, it was being implemented in schools, until reading scores dipped even further, and slowly reading programs have migrated back to phonics-based reading programs.

The problem was not in the phonics programs, which is what all the experts tried to change. The problem was that culture was changing, parental responsibility was spiraling downward, and kids were coming to school for free babysitting rather than education. Thankfully, we do not have these problems in our homeschools. And if your child is enrolled in public or private school, I suggest you keep tabs on what he is learning in reading and take up the task at home if you feel it's necessary.

Reading Readiness

Before I go on to compare phonics programs, I have a disclaimer. I know that every child is different. I know that not all children come to the task with the same backgrounds, or even the same learned skills. This is one of the most popular problems in kindergarten: some kids are already starting to read, while others don't even know their letters, much less the colors and shapes their classmates learned at age 3. If you are at home with your child, he or she may be ready to read as early as age 4 (sometimes 3). That is IF:

• you spend quality time with your child,
• you actively play color/shape games for fun,
• you have dialogue about letters and numbers early on,
• you talk to your child from infancy, about anything and everything, and
• there is no learning, behavior, or emotional disability that prevents natural learning progression.

My kids are exceptionally bright. This is not just about genetics. It is because since day one I have engaged with them daily and have watched them blossom into kids who love to learn and love to read. Whether your child is 4, 5, or 6 when you think he or she is ready to read, doing the above will not only make it much easier on you and your child, it will feel like a natural progression to learning something new.

How do you know when she's ready?

It is natural to teach children colors, shapes, and letters from very early on. My kids learned all of this during play. If your child has learned all of this, what's next? If she can recognize all capital letters, start talking about the sounds the letters make. The next step is learning lowercase letters. After all, books are not written with all caps, are they? If you start working with letter sounds and your child seems to be getting it, she is ready for a phonics program. Most phonics programs start with the letter sounds, so now is a good time to start one. If you wait, you will simply start further into the program with your child once you begin the program. That is why some programs are good for 4-8 year olds. That just means that the program starts at the beginning (letter recognition and sounds) and goes through reading anything and everything (which is what my son was able to do at the end of kindergarten with Hooked on Phonics.)

Another excellent clue that you will have a great reader is if your child does well with puzzles. Puzzles should be incorporated into play with your child as soon as she can sit up. Of course, they start with the chunky, 4-piece puzzles with the handles on each piece. By the age of 2, you will be amazed at the puzzles your child can do. The more puzzles they do, the better they get at it. Just like anything, the earlier you introduce it, the more practice they get, the more connections are made in the brain. This skill is very related to reading skills, so before you are even teaching the letters, your child's brain is being built to learn how to read.

Comparing Phonics Programs

I may add some programs as I learn about them, but right now I only have two. If you have already used one program to teach a child to read, you probably feel it's the best and don't "get" other programs that you have looked at. That is what has happened with me. Many years ago, I purchased Hooked on Phonics. It sat for a while, but when my oldest child was really ready for reading, it certainly came in handy! We used it at home during his kindergarten year and he came out reading on at least a first or second grade level. A year later, my four year-old daughter was ready to move on to reading so we started it with her. She started a full year earlier than my son had, so of course she worked at a slower pace. But they both loved the books and moving their stickers "up the chart." Back then, the program came with cassettes instead of CD's. You can see what I got here. Today it comes with CD's. Anyway, here is an easy chart comparing Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read to another great phonics program I would probably use if I had another kid: ClickN' READ Phonics.

Research?	Research Available	Based on the National Reading Panel research
Ages for Program	Kindergarten to 2nd grade	Kindergarten to 3rd grade
Program Includes	5 workbooks with stories and activities 10 chapter books 10 companion books 30 Hooked on Phonics® storybooks 10 audio CDs 1 CD-ROM 6 progress posters to track learning success 3 sets of fun stickers kids love 3 Parent's guides 18 flash card sets	Online program, with lessons written by expert reading teacher Dr. J. Ron Nelson
Self Directed?	No. The only part that is self-directed at all is when children use the audio CD's on their own to learn the letter sounds. However, this is not recommended.	Yes. Your child can use it on his own with minimal supervision further building his confidence through self achievement.
Other Pros	Incorporates the latest reading and literacy research into proven strategies and activities Follows the learn-practice-read approach, which offers lots of engaging, interactive opportunities for young readers Learn letter-sound relationships and sound combinations with audio CDs and colorful phonics flash cards Practice putting letters and letter sounds together to make words with activity-packed and story-filled workbooks Recommended by 97% of users Variety of multisensory materials appeal to all learning styles Can be re-sold when finished Hooked on Phonics carries many other products, including smaller phonics sets geared for just your child's age rather than K-2 Accomplishment chart is very effective Can be used for many children at one time Easy to use	It's all online and you can log in from anywhere. No waiting for shipping. Complete your purchase and login immediately to use the phonics program. There is no software to install or pieces to lose. No books to ship, take care of, or store. Your child experiences the joy of self achievement using a learning to read program where answers are learned and not just given away by the program. Program can be used at home, while visiting grandparents or while traveling on vacation. Environmental benefit- no paper used for books or boxes. Less resources wasted, no landfill space taken up. Has proven to work for many learning disabilities and special needs with both children and adults Detailed assessment reports for each lesson plus a cumulative report showing progress over time are stored and accessed online for easy review Downloadable worksheets are also provided for offline word and short story reading practice. Easy to use
Cons	Bulky to ship, need to have space to store everything Must wait on kit to arrive before use Must have parent available for every lesson More costly	Must have a computer handy in order to use it Only one child at a time can use the subscription, or you may add on children at a discount (school subscriptions are also available)
Free Trial?	Example lessons available here	Free lessons available online
Price	$199.95	$59.85 lifetime subscription; $19.95 for additional child if they use the program at the same time
Money Back Guarantee?	30-day, money-back guarantee	60-Day No Questions Asked Refund

If I were shopping today, I would probably choose the online ClickN' READ Phonics . Mostly this is due to the fact that we are in a really small place, and it is easier for us than to store things. Of course, you can't really curl up on the sofa with your child, like you can with Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read . But with either program, you will soon find that you and your child can curl up with a good book, that he reads to YOU!