This Hooked On Phonics review covers how old our children are, why we love this program so much, how much time it takes to use it, and how interested our children are. I truly hope this review is helpful! Thanks so much for reading.
If you want the key to our five year old’s heart, sit down on the couch and read with her. This fills her love tank immeasurably! While she’s always enjoyed being read to, we’re now tackling teaching her to read to us, which she couldn’t love a single ounce more. If you’re looking for a resource to begin teaching a little love in your life how to read, I’d love to tell you about what’s working for us. 🙂
We’ve been using the , which was gifted to us a couple of years ago with a big stack of hand-me-down books and workbooks from a neighbor whose children had outgrown them (thank you sooooo much, Holly and Tony!)
Hooked on Phonics Review: Learn to Read program
I’d had them tucked away for a while and recently grabbed them out to see if we could use them. I’m glad I took them out when I did because Hadley was more than read to dive right in! Since she’s my oldest, I had no idea when I should start working intentionally on teaching her to read, but clearly she was ready. Whew. I got lucky getting those books out at the right time, otherwise I think I might have missed the mark a little!
Every night before bed we sit down on the couch with her and do a short lesson that takes less than five minutes. That’s it! Five minutes. So easy to stay consistent with.
If Hadley masters the lesson, she gets to put a star on the lesson’s page (the star stickers are provided in the workbooks). Each lesson obviously builds on the last, and we are completely blown away by how quickly she’s picked up on everything. This is due in large part to the manageable way the lessons are laid out. They are challenging but also designed to be mastered.
Here is a picture of the first two pages of a lesson.
Here is the next page. You can see her mastery sticker in the upper righthand corner.
There are small books that accompany every three-ish lessons or so, which Hadley thinks is the coolest thing. These books help boost her confidence and maintain her interest level because they make her feel like an accomplished reader!
We are two days from finishing program four, so I just went on Amazon this morning to purchase the bundle with programs 5 & 6. Right now her interest in learning to read is sky high, so we’re going to ride this wave as long as she’s interested.
Just a note, but there is also an online component and a DVD component. We don’t do those. We just read through the workbook, let her tackle the lessons, and then read the small book that goes with the lesson, if applicable. Just a personal preference.
Here are the links to levels 1 & 2 (suggested for ages 3 – Pre-k), levels 3 & 4 (suggested for ages 4-6 or Kindergarten), and levels 5 & 6 (suggested for ages 6 & 7 or first grade).
On a personal note, Hadley (as a pre-k student) knew all of her letters, sounds, etc and showed an interest in reading when we started these books in March, so starting with level 3 was absolutely perfect for her. Hopefully that helps you gauge which level to purchase for your child. I hope you found this Hooked on Phonics review helpful in deciding is this is the right program to use in your family.
Let’s chat!
How did your children learn to read? What resources did you use to help them?
Have you ever used any other Hooked on Phonics programs?
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Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo