Augbb,
Phonics is one way is which a kid can learn how to read. Phonics attributes a sound to every letter of the alphabet and subsequently how common letters put togeter like "at" sound. The next step would be blending, for instance how "c" would blend with "at" to read "cat" (ke-eh-et). Have got to start with Letter Factory DVD first which teaches individual letter sounds, then Talking Factory which teaches blending of letters.
Both my boys find it very interesting cos it's taught in a sing-song way. For instance, for "A", the segment will go " the A says eh, the A says eh, every letter makes a sound, the A says eh..." this goes on for every letter and each segment for the letter has a story to it that relates to the letter being reinforced.
Personally, I find this much better than zoophonics. My elder boy attended Zoophonics at GUG and didn''t learn as much as through the DVD. Now he knows every single sound of the letters.
The good thing about leapfrog is that other than the DVD, the lessons can follow through from the Leappad system which also has phonics book. Now, am trying to teach the elder boy how to read words using the system. Didi sits and the side and listen... hopefully absorbing too
But i think to a certain extent, he does, cos he can recite A to E now... haha, v v v cute when he does that!!
Having said that, another school of thought is that phonics shouldnt be taught too early cos it may confuse the child. They would not be too sure whether to read "A" aa "A" or "Eh" (as in the phonics way). Some also feels that the english phonics rules do not apply for all situation, for instance words like "photo" where ph is pronounced as "fer" so they advocate sight reading; this belief is more flash card kind, where if one flashes a word often enough, it would register together with its pronunciation. Think this is how we learnt in the past.
Just a little lor sor sharing lah... cos both boys are asleep. A short respite
I was mentioning Charlie and Lola, can click the link for trailers (
http://www.charlieandlola.com/website.asp). Think it's very good in terms of values taught, like sharing, eating vegetables, going to bed, not being afraid of losing etc. Somemore, it's enacted through the relationship between the siblings. My elder son actually modified his behaviour on the elder boy in the show, and he would give in to didi (sometimes only lah) cos "Charlie gives in to Lola" as he puts it... hee.
Another good show in mickey mouse clubhouse. It's entertaining and interactive. mickey will prompt answers from the audience which I like cos it's not passive watching
