“How will I ever teach my child to read?” “Teaching phonics? I wouldn’t know where to start!”Β I hear this question often from young moms. It was my biggest fear when we began homeschooling our oldest son. I not only helped him learn how to read, but have taught all 8 of our children using the simple and straight forward method I found in Alpha-Phonics. {Read all the way through for a chance to win a copy of your very own}
If you are looking for a phonics program that will give your child a good foundation for becoming a strong reader, is easy to understand and use, and doesn’t break the budget, Alpha-Phonics is just the thing for you. Once your child knows their letter sounds, she will begin blending those sounds together a few at a time. Beginning with the short ‘a’ sound and a few consonant sounds, your child will be reading real life words like ‘am’ and ‘an’Β and then ‘Sam’ ‘and’ ‘man’. Quickly she sees that putting the little sounds together is how we make words, sentences, books.
I love that there are no grade levels or preconceived ideas about age or timetables. You and your child move as slowly or quickly as necessary in order to master the lessons. Then you move on, adding new letter sounds and phonics patterns (the helpful teacher’s guide gives tips and ideas).Β One of my children picked up Alpha-Phonics at age 4 and immediately sounded out lesson after lesson on his own with hardly any instruction from me. Another child had to repeat the early lessons over and over and over before mastering and moving on to the next lessons. Most of my children were somewhere in between, most working through in about the equivalent of one school year.
Recently I was given the opportunity to try the newest edition of Alpha-Phonics. I was so pleased to find the program was the very same, simple to use, no nonsense program I have been using for the past 23 years. The creator and publisher took to heart that old saying “If it isn’t broken, why fix it?” My tattered and taped 23-year old edition matched page for page the brand new edition. My 7 year old was so excited to see them side-by-side, and when she realized that even her biggest brother had learned to read using those very same words, my reluctant reader was ready to jump in with a new enthusiasm.
She even agreed to make a video showing how easy the lessons are to use:
While the pages of the Alpha-Phonics have remained the same, they’ve improved the binding. The new spiral design allows the book to lay flat, which is an improvement I am very happy with. I also like the little Readers and accompanying workbook they have added to reinforce the lessons. Our oldest learned the letter sounds and how to put them together into words rather easily, but was overwhelmed with the idea of reading from a ‘real’ book. These tools would have helped him with this transition. They have also made available the entire program on a cd-rom. This has given us even more options and provided variety for an easily distracted child.
Alpha-Phonics can be a stand-alone phonics/reading program in any homeschool or a supplemental phonics program to help struggling readers in any school setting. 23 years, 8 children and 1 phonics book. That might be some kind of record! Who knows, while we finish up schooling our children using our newest Alpha-Phonics resources, maybe you’ll see our old worn out friend in the Smithsonian along with Dorothy’s ruby slippers and the Wright Brothers’ airplane! Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know that Alpha-Phonics is effective, easy, and affordable. You can see sample lessons at AlphaPhonics.com as well as ordering information.
And now for the giveaway! The Paradigm Company, publishers of Alpha-Phonics have generously agreed to give one of my readers the Alpha-Phonics program and all you have to do to enter is follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below. One winner will be chosen and announced on April 17th.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I was provided with the Alpha-Phonics book, readers and workbook to use and review. The opinions and experience in this post are entirely my own. You can read my full disclosure and policy for giveaways here.

Yes! Although I didn’t discover it until after my 1st child learned to read, I used it for my next two for their core reading program. A very no-nonsense approach that really works. If you have a learner who needs more auditory/visual you can supplement with colorful phonics flash cards and/or phonics songs for reinforcement.
Exactly! Excellent review, my friend π It is very helpful to hear from those who’ve used the program. Thank you!
I’m starting my homeschool journey next year, so I’m excited for this giveaway. I think you should know the Rafflecopter isn’t showing up though. I had to click the link to enter. Thank you!
How exciting for you Shary! It really is a journey – fun and exciting, challenging and rewarding.
I’ll check on the rafflecopter – so sorry you had trouble. Thank you for being determined enough to click through π
And my favorite book from childhood is The Giving Tree π
π I remember the Giving Tree
This looks like a straight forward approach to phonics:)
It is, Shelly. That is what I like about it.
My favorite book from childhood was a book called Stories to remember, retellings of fables and fairy tales.
Sounds like a wonderful book. Two of my daughters have especially liked fables and fairy tales.
Our favorite books are the Little House series and Boxcar Children
They are both definitely favorites in our home, too π
Can’t remember a favorite book. However, I remember seeing that old Alpha-Phonics book on my Mom’s shelf so many years ago! =)
ah, yes, Sarah – my children cannot remember when this book was NOT on our shelf π
One of my most favorite books from childhood is Love You Forever. My Kindergarten teacher read it to us almost everyday during rest time.
Yes! I know this one. I can recite it from memory π what a wonderful way to settle down children at naptime.
My favorite book when I was a child was Little House on the Prairie.
one of our favorites too π
This program sounds similar to, ” Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons”‘ although it does have a bit more to offer the student with the readers and cd-rom that go along with it. Thanks for sharing this giveaway with us at FF!
This looks like just what we need! My older two learned to read easily with another program, but things haven’t clicked for the next child. I need something easy and straight-forward, especially as we prepare to move to Africa and have other little ones who will need to learn to read while we are there!
I have found Alpha-Phonics very adaptable to many different learning styles, Jennifer. And it’s very compact so it would be very easy to pack for overseas. Blessings to you and your family in the days to come!
Recently we have enjoyed “Anne of Green Gables” as a family. I had missed some of the richness of the characters when I read it as a child!
I read Ann-with-an-e out loud to my children last month π It’s a good idea to revisit old friends, because they do learn new things after they’ve grown and matured a bit.
My favorite childhood book was The Little Engine That Could!
oh, yes – a classic!
As a child I loved Shel Silverstein poetry books: Where the Sidewalk Ends, Falling Up, and A Light in the Attic. Thanks for the giveaway!
I’ve always enjoyed his poetry, too, Kristen. such fun, they often leave us laughing.
My favorite childhood books were probably the Laura Ingalls Wilder set. I lost myself in them. I was the child who was never without a book. Now I’m the adult who’s never without one!
they seem to be a favorite of many, Amber. The Little House on the Prairie books have inspired a lot of creativity and pretend play in our family.
I loved Caps for Sale, Duncan and Deloris, 5 Minutes Peace. . . We loved books growing up. Thanks for the review. I’m keeping my eyes out for stuff to use with my daughter soon. (She just turned 3).
We loved reading 5 Minutes Peace – often π my children would laugh and say “that’s just like you Mommy!”
This would be a fantastic product to use with my youngest son! He is struggling so much.
Alpha-Phonics has be a wonderful tool for working with my struggling readers. Celebrate the small steps forward, and a slow pace can be a good pace. Hang in there!
My favorite book was “The Giving Tree”.
I’d love to win this! I had an old copy years ago that I traded with another mom…I wish I had kept it.
Our old copy is like a dear old friend, Andrea. If it doesn’t end up in the Smithsonian π then it will probably be left to one of my children when I die! My new copy so very nice too!
A solid understanding of phonics making learning to read SO much simpler and more enjoyable. Thanks for sharing this at the After School Linky Party!
I agree. A good foundation in phonics makes is so important.
Always enjoy visiting the After School Linky Party!