Our Contribution to Hooked on Phonics Reviews

Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 23:01

General Overview of the Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Program

While we did look around to see what early learning programs were available out there, Hooked on Phonics Learn To Read was the first program in which we decided to invest money in. At the time of purchase our son was just about to turn three years old, which is the recommended age according to the people behind Hooked on Phonics. According to them, their product is designed for children aged 3 to 8.

To make this long story short, the Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Program comes divided into 5 levels which aim to teach your infant letter sounds, short vowels, beginning and ending blends, long vowels and combinations. All in all, you will receive 8 DVDs that concentrate on learning through visual stimulation, 36 original storybooks, not to mention that you will receive 8 workbooks designed to reinforce what your kids just learned.

On a side note, be careful and make sure that you are indeed looking at the newest available version of the product. Seeing as how Hooked on Phonics Learn To Read has been around for a while there are still older versions out there with outdated materials.

The Benefits of Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Program We Found Useful

The first thing which we noticed with the Hooked on Phonics Learn To Read is that everything is completely and meticulously planned out, from A to Z. The difficulty and complexity of the program increase in very small increments and every single resource which comes as a part of the product, such as the DVD and workbooks, has its use.

The second aspect we found quite welcoming is the fact that you do not have to be a teacher in order to successfully guide your child through the system. The parent’s guide we spoke of earlier is actually quite practical and not only informs you of what to do as a parent but also walks you through the necessary steps to take as the teacher of your child.

Most of all the aspect which appealed to me the most is the amount of materials, techniques and resources which are offered with the package. With the intention of improving your child’s reading capabilities there is a plethora of workbooks, reading materials, flash cards, music, songs, games and helper cards for them to take advantage of.

Most of the techniques presented are innovative in the sense that they encourage a much more interactive teaching method, rather than having your child simply absorb information and repeat. Various tools are at your disposal to make the early learning process into a game as much as possible.

Finally, we believe that children have more incentive to learn if there is some type of reward waiting for them at the end. As you can probably guess already, we were pleasantly surprised to find that Hooked on Phonics had that area covered as rewards such as stickers are actually part of the program.

The Hooked on Phonics Cons

Even though most Hooked on Phonics reviews out there are showering the product with pros, there is one con which in our opinion cannot be ignored. What a lot of people omit from telling you is that the product will only be beneficent if your child already knows how to read or is close to it. This is because about 90 to 95% of the course is focused on improving reading skills, rather than teaching them.

Hooked on Phonics Review – Our Conclusion

It has actually been well documented that children learn to recognize words much better when taught to them separately in context and in isolation through interactive activities, such as workbooks, games and visual aides. As far as I know, these are all an essential part of the Hooked on Phonics Learn To Read.

I would like to say that if your child has already learned their alphabet then you can use Hooked on Phonics Learn To Read to improve their reading skills, at least until they are 8 years old. You should not integrate this program any earlier as it will prove to be too much of a challenge. If you want to gather some more information you can always read a few more Hooked on Phonics reviews; the product has been out since 2006, meaning many people have had the time to use it. Also, it may be useful to know that it was actually approved by the Children’s Reading Association.

As a matter of fact, it seems the makers of Hooked on Phonics are quite confident in their abilities since they claim to have a customer satisfaction rate of over 98%. In any case the product comes with a 30-day risk-free trial meaning that you can actually test the product for yourself without risking anything, other than losing a bit of time.

Click here if you would like to try the Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Program