Hi Ky,
Sorry I didn't reply earlier. Specifically for phonics, we started with 5 min lessons, and then slowly worked our way to 20-25 min lessons every day (except weekends). I used the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Phonics but as I mentioned, I didn't finish because he started reading anyway. The good news, I think, is that most kids will get the gist of the phonics lessons by mid-way to three quarter-way through, so it gets easier (whew!). Probably the most basic thing to do is to make sure your child really knows his/her letter sounds, then proceeding is easy. Sometime early in the lessons, get him to read out loud to you, starting from 1 sentence and working up to perhaps half a page towards the end.
I realize I don't know a lot about phonics as I read the discussion, lIke how many "A" sounds there are! But it may not matter, and in my very limited experience, it may be less confusing. Instead of focusing on, say, how many "A" sounds there are, I stick to the general "a" sounds (long a, short a). Everything is handled much more easily at the word level, kind of like an exception (or a family of exceptions, like the "al" family is usually pronounced "ol". Spelling is very helpful for this. This is because spelling allows us to look at one word at a time. and to realize how "a" is pronounced really depends on what word it is used in. If we stressed on, say, the 5 sounds of "a", the child may have difficulty fitting in these 5 sounds for every "a" he sees.
Last words - keep reading to your child, and finally, it isn't phonics that's the end game. It's comprehension and love of content. Good luck!!