Abby Turner from Excelsior Springs, MO shared her experience with Alphaphonics
by Samual Blumenfeld

 Alphaphonics is a book that teaches children  to read in a series of "lessons" that increase in difficulty.  What makes this different from many other reading programs is that it is just  reading, no bells and whistles, no cartoons, no fancy color pictures, just combining sounds to form words.  That is the beauty of Alphaphonics,  because there is very little to distract a wiggly 5 year old.  To use this program effectively a child does need to have some knowledge of letters,  but they will learn the letter sounds as they go.  There are even some pages for kids who need to learn the letters first.

For example, in  lesson one, the child sees the "a" and says the "a" sound, then sees a "t"  and says the "t" sound, then sees the a and t together and blends the  sounds together to say "at".  This is repeated several more times.  The  child learns that reading is simply putting the sounds together to make  words.  Since each lesson is short this book is appropriate for young  children who don't have the attention span to sit for too long.  This is a book that goes along well with just about any reading program or curriculum since it is so simple and can be used in short sessions.  

This program proves that you don't need hundreds of dollars to teach children to read!
In the age of Hooked on  Phonics and other reading programs that cost hundreds of dollars,  Alphaphonics is a breath of fresh air and hearkens back to a simpler time  where reading was more about letters and sounds and less about frills and  games.  I am using Alphaphonics right now with my son who is 4, and it is  a great way to introduce the basics of reading in a way that is clear and  not frustrating and confusing.