Phonics for K - What's your favorite?

[Myeightkiddies]

It's time again for me to start phonics. I'll be honest with you. I'm not a fan. Don't get me wrong. I think phonics is great. It's just that it doesn't come easy for me. Back in my day, I learned to read by sight (Dick and Jane). I wasn't taught phonics. It's not something that comes naturally for me or is enjoyable. I try not to show that to the children. My children have been taught to read via phonics, but it's been awhile. Now, Little Man is starting K, so before I start the "same ol' same ol'", I thought I would look at other possibilities.

 

So, what is your favorite phonics program and why?

 

He'll need to cover the basics from the beginning, including letter recognition and sounds. He's sharp but I'd like to start from the beginning so that it flows well.

[ErinD]

I can't recommend All About Reading and All About Spelling highly enough! You could start with AAR Pre-1 which introduces the letters, ryhming, beginning phonics, and so on, all in a fun and cohesive way. Then next, you'd tie All About Reading 1 and All About Spelling 1 together and keep going through the levels.

 

I am using them with my almost-5 year old son who starts K this fall, and an 11 year old dyslexic daughter who finds spelling a serious challenge, and we have seen amazing results with both kids.

 

You can see some really good explanations and planning for them on http://www.delightfullearning.blogspot.com

[Stellalarella]

I like Phonics Pathways, 9th edition.

 

It is open-and-go. It's self-explanatory. It works. It's very affordable. It was at the library when I needed to check-it-out before purchasing. It was a WTM recommendation prior to Peace Hill Press coming out with OPGTR.

[Walking-Iris]

I like Ordinary Parents Guide To Teaching Reading although I do tweak it quite a bit. I actually prefer to teach my kids from the old lessons in the back of a Why Johnny Can't Read book mostly. And I like to supplement with the Explode The Code series. I've read The Writing Road to Reading and although I don't own it personally, it looks like a great program.

[Guest]

I'm a Hooked on Phonics fan now. I wish I had always used this. Watch the short video together and then practice using the workbook. Very simple and ideal if you are shaking on phonics yourself. Some people are not fans because it is expensive. I think it's worth it, given the value of being a good reader.

[Syllieann]

I've only tried aar and progressive phonics so take my opinion with a grain of salt but we are enjoying aar and considering your feelings about phonics I suspect the light scripting and hands on fun would really be appreciated.

[kristinannie]

I love the Struggling Reader phonics games. We also use Whizzizzle Phonics from Rainbow Resource. I use the ETC books as well. It is a great combo. Oh, and lots and lots of readers!!!!

[Hunter]

I still am experimenting with programs, but the funny thing is that I teach and focus on almost everything BUT reading when teaching phonics :lol:

 

I learned to read with sight words and so did one of my sons. I don't know how or when the younger son learned to read. He's 2E and well, he danced to his own tune back then, and I seriously had bigger worries than his reading :lol:

 

I adore phonics programs for spelling, handwriting, vocabulary, sentence composition, outlining wordsorts, dictionary skills, and more. I don't know, the phonics lessons just become the spine of all sorts of other stuff :001_huh: Reading just kinda happens when we are busy doing other things. :lol:

[kb44]

I second all about spelling or all about reading!

[NancyNellen]

I like Phonics Pathways, 9th edition.

 

It is open-and-go. It's self-explanatory. It works. It's very affordable. It was at the library when I needed to check-it-out before purchasing. It was a WTM recommendation prior to Peace Hill Press coming out with OPGTR.

 

:iagree: I am finishing up Phonics Pathways for the fifth time (the same copy even...it is well loved!) It is simple to implement, thorough, cheap, and did I mention thorough?

[ALB]

I used and liked OPGTR with my dd, but she pretty much taught herself. She could already read every word of the lessons before we ever got to them. With my ds, who is also eager to start, I'm going to use Saxon Phonics. I like the variety of components that it comes with, and I think it will provide a very thorough foundation for phonics and spelling.

[Aoife]

Hands down no questions asked.

 

Logic of English followed by Saxon Phonics

 

I firmly believe that O-G based programs are the way to go and anything less is incomplete :tongue_smilie:

 

Especially after having to go back to square one and remediate my younger stepdaughter I don't think teaching reading is something to take lightly. O-G based programs teach encoding (spelling) and decoding (reading) simultaneously and to mastery. Kids taught this way will have a very firm foundation and will usually not have to go back later and reteach spelling because they will already know and understand all of the rules and principles.

[besroma]

I second all about spelling or all about reading!

 

:iagree:

[duckens]

I can't believe no one has posted Abeka!

 

The program is thorough, and creates REALLY GOOD READERS.

 

The workbooks are color, and beautifully done. There are lots of fun little games to play! I like the system of how they teach phonics.

 

--------------------------------

I came soooooo close to choosing Abeka for my own kids. I had used it as a nanny, and I have even bought a few of the supportive books to have in my own library. However, it is from a religious company, and as an atheist, I struggle with how much religion to introduce to my children.

 

So we have Saxon. Black and white, lots of repetition, Saxon.

 

Saxon is working out fine, but I still wonder if I have made the right decision.

[pitterpatter]

After starting with 100 EZ Lessons... last year, we switched to Hooked on Phonics and have never looked back. DD will start HOP2 (Second Grade) at the beginning of October. We also recently added AAS 1 to the mix and will continue with the AAS program after she completes HOP.

 

We usually complete one page per day. The first day we watch the HOP DVD and then read the words on the first page of the lesson. When lessons are really short, DD might do two pages or complete the entire lesson in one day. That was easier to do with HOP 1, though.

 

We did not start with HOP Pre-K (the one that teachers letters and sounds), so I have no experience with it.

 

We used the following for letters and sounds:

 

Carson-Dellosa – Phonics for Kindergarten (Product ID: 104343)

Carson-Dellosa – Letter & Sounds (Product ID: 104348)

Starfall.com – A thru Z for letters and sounds.

Hooked on Phonics – Letter Sounds Workbook (ISBN: 1604991216)

 

We also used this resource in conjunction with HOP K:

 

The Mailbox: Word Family Helpers, Grade K (ISBN: 1562349295)

 

And then, we used Explode the Code 1 (ISBN: 0838814603) after HOP K as review. We used ETC 2 with HOP 1, but phased it out and opted for AAS 1. ETC was too much writing and busywork for us.

 

If All About Reading (AAR) would have been around and I would have known about it, I would have given it serious thought and may have used it. HOP has been good for us, though. It's easy to use and DD enjoys it. DD is doing well in her reading. Totally worth the money for us.

[Myeightkiddies]

Thank you, Ladies! As always you gave me some great advice and several programs to research. You all are awesome as always! :001_wub:

[Heather in VA]

We really enjoyed Phonics Museum.

 

Heather

[janainaz]

I loved TOPGTR. The lessons were short and sweet, not overwhelming and by the start of 1st grade, both of my kids were great readers.

[La Texican]

I was happy with reading eggs. We treated it like lessons and did it every day. Sometimes we would alternate and I do one, he do one on the game... Usually if it was a hard or new lesson or if he was going tired of doing it i took a few turns to remotivate him. After reading eggs my son reads books. He read a bunch of books this summer between the 1st and 3rd grade level such as the old Curious George books (don't really recommend them-they're bizarre). He's alternating reading pages with me on the boxcar children. He can't spell but I've started asking him to. He started to spell "what I'm going to remember is swimming" (about what he'll remember from this summer). He spelled, "Wut im goeg to remr".

Before we did reading eggs we did the Hooked on Phonics letter names and sounds. I don't know if that's necessary because reading eggs gives a test and that placed him past the playroom into the lesson map. If you treat it like a lesson it will get the job done, it's all laid out for you, there's a little extra built in motivation that it's in video game form. My sister used it for my nephew and it worked well for them too. It's your eighth kid and my first so I almost hesitate to even answer.