Online Phonics Program

In this age of technology, is it any wonder that someone would come up with an online phonics program for small children to use? Many children are very familiar with the computer and can easily learn their letters and learn how to read using a computer.

I had the privilege of reviewing and online phonics program called Easy Phonics. The program is free until the end of December 2011! Their little character Fonty teaches your children how to build an ABC house. Fonty can change his body into all kinds of letters and shapes.

All in all the program is very user friendly and engaging. The program starts out introducing capital and lower case letters along with consonants (in blue) and vowels (in red). Fonty introduces one letter at a time. The child can use a microphone to repeat after Fonty or just click "enter" when asked to repeat into the microphone. Students then drag parts of letters with their mouse to build the letter that was introduced. As the student learns more letters and syllables the lessons move on to include dragging letters to make words and typing letters on the keyboard when prompted.

The program uses multiple senses and switches things up between repeating sounds, moving the mouse, typing on the keyboard and looking at words and letters. The creators suggest using the program for 20 minutes three times per week. This can be adjusted according to the student's attention span. The program can be stopped at any time and picks up right where the child left off when they start the program again.

Pros:

• Interactive and easy to use
• Reading readiness and pretests
• Use of multiple senses
• The program is free for a limited time
• Lots of demo videos, webinars, and support material on the blog and website

Cons:

• Lessons can be long, but can be easily stopped at any time
• Microphone is used but child can click off it's use when prompted if no microphone is available
• The program introduces quite a few letters fairly quickly
• Need to be connected to the internet for student to use

If you choose to start using this program, just go to www.skillado.com and click on the "EasyPhonics Reading Program" tab. There you will find some demo videos, but who needs demo videos when the program is free right now? You will also see the reading readiness test and the pre-test/post-test options. It is highly suggested that parents have their children take the reading readiness test before they start using the program with their children. It doesn't take very long and might save you some frustration in the long run. Once you set up an account there, you can start to access the program and let your child get started reading.

Once your child gets started, you can read over their blog and see posts like "Keeping Continuum" and others to help you teach your child most effectively.

Other reading programs we have used can be found at Homeschool Reading.

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