When Violet learned to read, it was just kind of the "by osmosis" method.  I played a lot of games with her and as we read books, I would help her sound things out.  This year, Dash is in kindergarten and I have been looking for something to use to teach him how to read.  I wanted something that would be fun, but also be structured enough for me to be able to have a plan of what to do with him each day.  (Unfortunately, the 'by osmosis" method just doesn't work as well when it comes to the second kid, because mom is busy and forgets to "osmose!" LOL!)

I received Rocket Phonics as part of the Homeschool Crew, and I LOVE IT!  It is very simple and straightforward for me to use with Dash, and it is full of games and fun things to do with him to teach him to read.  It makes me wish we had used something like this with Violet, because even though I did games and such with her, this is much more systematic and well planned out.

Dash is a very, VERY acive little boy, and I cannot imagine sitting with him and going through a phonics program that does not involve games or active learning.  Rocket Phonics is GREAT for this!  The set comes with spiral bound books full of colorful, fun illustrations and games.  The books take a child systematically through learning sounds and combining them into words.  They use a unique letter or combo of letters for each sound, so it is easy for a child to tell whether the sound is "e" as in egg or "e" as is eagle.  Once children start reading stories, they put the sound symbols underneath the words to tell the child what sound it makes.  They gave a great hint to call the symbols a secret code, and so my son LOVES to be a secret agent and use the secret code!   The set also includes beautiful, high quality cards with the sounds on them to use in games, some bingo markers, and also included are two treasure hunts (WITH the treasure!), as well as a ton of free bonuses through email that you can use for even more games and activities.

I cannot say enough about how much we love this program!  Rocket Phonics retails for $160.  For more information, go to www.rocketphonics.com.  Thank you to Rocket Phonics and the TOS Crew for this great review opportunity!