I was sent a free Alpha-Phonics book as well as The Alpha-Phonics & How To Tutor Little Companion Readers and The Alpha-Phonics and How To Tutor Phonics Workbook for this review.
Alpha phonics is a program that teaches kids to read using simple techniques that I remember using when I was in grade school. With story booklets that remind me of the "See Spot Run" type stories I read from in Kindergarden when I was a child, it is fun and easy for young kids to learn the techniques and phonics necessary for early reading skills.
I have personally taught my children from early on basic phonics skills. Most parents I know start their children out with letter sounds and learning to sound out short easy words to teach them the basics of reading. Alpha Phonics program is a wonderful addition for any parent, homeschooler or teacher to use to aid in these early learning techniques. I love the booklets that come with the program, the easy teaching instructions and how much fun my daughter and I have when we read together. I love seeing the sparkle in her eyes and smile on her face when she realizes she has just read several words in a book by herself.
Click below to see a brief video explaining why Alpha-Phonics is now so much better than ever before:
http://www.alpha-phonics.com/abcd.htm
Click below to visit our BLOG and learn more about Alpha Phonics
http://www.alpha-phonics.com/blog
The Paradigm Company
Publishers of Alpha-Phonics
www.alphaphonics.com
#/alphaphonics
@alphaphonics
www.pinterest/alphaphonics
Guest Post by David Ryan:
Common Core State
Standards and Homeschoolers
© David Ryan 2013
There is no way getting around the fact that by adhering to
Common Core State Standards teachers will be teaching to the test. CCSS proponents deny that the Standards
require certain material be taught in certain ways and that teachers are free
to use whatever materials they deem appropriate for their students. This is so, but it begs the question, and the
structure of the program and its reliance on tests makes their assertion seem
somewhat hollow.
To illustrate why, we can look at an area of particular
concern, especially to those who peer more deeply into the abyss of CCSS. In its English curriculum, the CCSS has made
a clear and definite move away from literature and towards “informational”
texts; its proponents are up front about this.
If a teacher felt it necessary to include more of the classics of
English literature, he or she would necessarily have to take time away from
these informational texts suggested in the Common Core curricula and teach
material that won’t be on the test.
Where does this leave the student at test time? You guessed it. (What these “informational texts” are and
will be is certainly another cogent question!)
It is also clear that what students are being taught
is as or more important than how they are being taught. By establishing common curricula for use in
every school in the nation, tremendous power to mold the thinking and knowledge
of every child will reside in the hands of a very few decision makers, most of
whom are likely to reside in and around the District of Columbia, and all of
whom share a particular world view. With
the current intellectual trend of minimizing the importance of subjects
traditionally dear to Americans, such as the lives and works of the Founding
Fathers, the importance of the Constitution and other primary documents that
define us as a nation, and religion based morality standards, it is not
difficult to guess what kind of influences will be exerted on the formation of
curricula and the selection of materials to be studied.
How might this affect homeschoolers? It doesn’t take much to imagine that in order
for the achievement of homeschooled students to be recognized by the states and
universities, they too will be tested in accordance with the requirements set
by CCSS. To emphasize this probability,
the SATs and PSATs, so important to graduating high school seniors, will indeed
be aligned with Common Core Standards, as recently announced by the College
Board.*
And since there are
only so many hours in a day, homeschooling parents will have little choice but
to “teach to the test”.
Of course there remain many strong reasons for a parent’s
decision to homeschool, but how many of these will endure the federal
government’s constant attempts to wrest away the freedom of parents to educate
their own kids as they see fit, whether it be through a local school or at
home? There is absolutely no doubt that
many ‘experts” in the educational system today, at both state and federal
levels, believe the raising and educating of children is much too important to
the “collective” good to be left in the amateurish hands of their parents. As homeschooling grows in popularity, the
attacks on it increase, and while CCSS may seem like an issue more relevant to
the public educational system, its threat to your freedom to educate your own
children is clear.
As many of you know, we at Alpha-Phonics place the
development and education of young minds at the very top of our priorities,
believing that whatever commercial success we may enjoy can only come if we
adhere to that principle. We have no
hesitation whatsoever in joining the fight against what we see as a profound
turn away from individual liberty rather than towards it.
Most of you have already taken a crucially important and
courageous stand by exerting control over the education and training of your
kids. Please don’t believe that Common
Core State Standards will not affect you as much it does the parents who use
the public schools!
for more information check out: http://press.collegeboard.org/sat/sat‑and‑common‑core‑state‑standards
Very interesting! I'm sharing this with my cousin who homeschools her children :)
ReplyWe have this book!! Although I think it would be better used by a family that homeschools my son loves it.
ReplyI taught my daughter how to read before she started Kindergarten and I think it helped her out a lot. I used a phonics program. I think all parents should use these programs.
ReplyThis is very interesting and informative. My sister homeschools her kids, I will share this to her.
Reply