This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for stopping by.  The winner is Sandra. Congrats!

Some days, when I’m reading to my son, I think that I could do it…I think that I could home school.  No preschool is going to give him the one-on-one attention that I can.  In just two short years, my little boy is having full conversations with us, knows his alphabet, and can spell dog.  As a mom, I want to do everything I can to foster his growth and development in all areas.  One of the most important things I can do for my son is to teach him to read before he enters kindergarten.

I grew up hearing about Hooked On Phonics.  I even remember the commercials with children stating, “Hooked On Phonics worked for me!”  So, I had to check it out for myself.  I had been perusing the internet, looking for a reputable program I could do at home with my son.  Hooked On Phonics offers a new Learn to Read program which gives children a strong foundation in phonics and reading readiness skills.  The program focuses on helping children learn letter names, letter sounds, uppercase letters, lowercase letters and blending sounds…all of the phonemic basics for learning to read.  Here is a bit more information from the site:

Designed in conjunction with leading educators, award-winning authors, teachers and parents, the new Hooked On Phonics Learn to Read gives children the fundamentals to become confident readers. The instructional approach and techniques used in this program are based on research and address each stage of the child’s reading development. Hooked On Phonics Learn to Read systematically builds from introducing letters to sounds, then to words and sentences, incorporating more complex sounds and blends with each step.

Apart from the fact that the program’s principles are well-researched,  my son enjoys it, which is extremely important.  The best program available won’t work if my son won’t participate.  Every day for the past two weeks, my son asks me to work with him on his “lesson.”  A “lesson” incorporates a variety of activities to reinforce a particular concept (in our case, the letters). The suggested time frame for completing each lesson is approximately 20 minutes (but it usually only takes us about 15).  Each day focuses on a letter (starting with A) and includes activities designed to help children understand the shape of the letter.  We then practice saying words that start with that letter and my son traces the letter with his fingers. A variety of senses are used, which I appreciate, since children learn in a multitude of ways.  Engaging multiple senses increases the likelihood that a child will retain the concepts being learned.  The lesson also includes a video clip, a story, flash card review, and online content to practice and reinforce the skills he just learned.  At the end of the lesson, we celebrate with a sticker.  My son’s favorite part of the lesson (besides the end where we get a sticker), is the online component.

My son is 33 months (just 3 months shy of 3) and the recommended age to begin this program is 3.  However, my son has always been developmentally advanced for his age.  He came into this program with a knowledge of the entire alphabet.  He knows his “ABCs” and can recognize all 26 letters on most occasions.  So in a sense, some of the aspects of this lesson are too easy for him, while others are definitely appropriate for where he’s at right now.  For example, right now he knows that a is for apple and b makes a “bah” sound.  But we’re working on rhyming (which he doesn’t really grasp at this point).  Here is a summary of what was included in the Learn to Read, Pre K version:

6 original storybooks written to promote the skills your child learns in the program, including 2 books by the award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, David McPhail
2 workbooks that will guide you and your child through all of the lessons and many fun activities
2 DVDs filled with music videos and fun introductions to each lesson, where letters come to life
Quick Start Guide
2 sets of stickers to proudly display in the workbooks and celebrate reading success
4 sets of letter and picture flash cards designed to reinforce letter names and letter sounds

Hooked On Phonics is a program that offers parents the tools to help their children learn to read.  It’s easy, fun, and effective.  My son has enjoyed reading since he was a baby.  Teaching him to read is a natural progression of our time spent reading.

The Pre-K version is suitable for children ages 3-4 and the program retails for $59.95.

You can keep up with Hooked On Phonics on Twitter, Facebook, or their blog.

Win It! One of you will win a Hooked On Phonics Learn to Read Program in the grade of your choice.  Simply visit the site.  Then come back and tell me what you learned and what grade level you’d choose.  Comments will close on March 25, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about the contest.

Vote for Rockin’ Mama for the Hot Blogger Calendar

Subscribe to my feed via email or reader.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!

I did not receive compensation for this post.  Product samples were provided to facilitate this review and giveaway.