We love "An Ant - Learn to Read." It is the only phonics program that teaches through stories. Book 1 has 97 stories and it teaches words with the short vowel sounds. It includes flash cards in the back of the book that you cut out, and there are writing practice pages where the new words are printed in light gray and kids can trace over them. Even if they are not coordinated yet with a pencil, they can easily trace the words, which enhances the learning. There is a really cute video of a 4-year-old reading the book on YouTube. I don't know if I am allowed to post links here, but if you just go to YouTube.com and search for "An Ant - Learn to Read" you will find the video. You can see that the stories are a little like a comic book, with four panels on a page and a sentence of text under each panel. It doesn't have the "balloons" like a comic book, just the panels. Then at the bottom of each page is a gray-shaded teacher's section which gives you step-by-step instructions for each page. This company is also generous with their give-aways, as you can download extra writing practice pages so the same book can be used with more than one child. One last thought: Most phonics books have really primitive black and white art. "An Ant - Learn to Read" has very nice color illustrations on every page.

I agree that she needs to learn phonics. Because you say she likes to play, she might like "An Ant - Learn to Read" better than other phonics programs. "An Ant - Learn to Read" teaches through stories, so it keeps kids attention better than Phonics Pathways. Don't get me wrong, Phonics Pathways is a great book, but it mainly teaches through lists of words and isolated sentences, and requires a certain amount of discipline. "An Ant -Learn to Read" teaches almost exclusively through color illustrated stories. She will probably breeze through the first pages, then slow down to a comfortable pace when she gets to the material that is new to her. Studies show that kids who start with phonics retain it as a skill for life, but kids who start with memorization keep that strategy for life. This is why we have medical doctors who can't sound out the plethora of new medical words that are invented every year! They are smart enough to get through med school, but no one ever taught them phonics, and now they are too old to learn. The ideal time to learn phonics is between the ages of 4-6.

I love Rosetta Stone Spanish! I bought it cheaper on Ebay, which took some time, as I kept getting outbid.

I think your experience proves that kids learn to read more readily by reading stories, not just lists of words. The words in isolation in a list are too cryptic for a beginner. Some families skip using a planned curriculum and just teach from story books, but that isn't structured enough and can lead to problems later. You can get a structured program AND stories with "An Ant - Learn to Read." (I got it on Amazon.com) http://www.amazon.com/Ant-Learn-Read-School-Version/dp/0983202311/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1315892644&sr=8-11

How about posting a request on one of those grocery store message boards? I tend to keep stacks of magazines, and have a hard time throwing them out. It might be easier to donate them to someone who can use them than to heartlessly toss them in the trash!

There isn't any scientific research on phonics programs because it would be prohibitively expensive. In order to set up a well-designed study you need to follow a group of kids for 4-5 years. You also need a control group that does not use phonics. Then you need to design an unbiased way to assess the results. An experienced K teacher can teach phonics and see the progress without the need for a study, but the school district may not listen. Broden Books was giving teachers free copies of their new phonics book, there is a phone number on their web site on the Dealer Inquiries page at http://www.brodenbooks.com Good luck!

Try working on a blackboard or whiteboard instead of on paper. It is slightly more fun. Also, make a list of the 4 steps and let her refer to the list after each step. When you "bring down" a number, make a little mark under it, so that she can easily see what has already been done. 1) divide 2) multiply 3) subtract 4) bring down Also, you could ask, "How many problems should we do today?" If the answer is only one, then just do one, but zero is not an option! There will be fewer tears if she gets to decide how many problems to do.

Since he is not reading yet, you might take a look at "An Ant - Learn to Read" by Kallie Woods. It starts at the very beginning and teaches reading through illustrated stories that are attractive to kids who like "smiling suns" as you said, or other cute characters. Other phonics books are mostly just lists of words or isolated sentences that are not going to appeal to a child who isn't highly motivated to learn. This one is a lot more fun, and even the adults that I have shown it to want to page through and look at all the pictures! We used it with a very academic-minded child and she LOVED eveything about it and wanted to keep going past the allotted lesson time. The book has a slow steady pace that doesn't leave kids behind, so they are able to develop confidence. You can download the first few lessons at http://www.brodenbooks.com before deciding to order the book. Best of luck to you!

Are there any phonics programs that start right out with stories, or do they pretty much all start with word lists like pat, cat, fat, rat, mat and so forth? There is a new book available soon that starts right out with stories... Are there others like this? www.brodenbooks.com Another related question: Do most kids resist practicing with lists of words, or is that just something that comes up once in a while with individual kids? I'm asking because the primary readers from the 1800s all start with extensive lists rather than stories.