When I was little, my mom taught me reading through a system of reading known in her hometown (Bicol, Philippines) as
katon. She first taught me the vowel sounds and the consonant sounds, and as soon as I knew them, she started blending them together. Something like below:
b a = ba b e = be b i = bi b o = bo b u = bu
Then, she gave me a chart to read everyday, which consisted of a systematic syllable chart (I intend to post a copy of the chart). We also used a book for practice. It is still in circulation to this day and costs only 30 pesos or less. I learnt to read very quickly through this system.
When I became proficient in readingTagalog, my mother bought me English books to read. I quickly noticed many differences in the way English and Tagalog words were spelled and pronounced, but through practice and repetition, I managed to read proficiently in English.
Fast-forward many years later, here I am with my own children. I wanted to give my eldest a headstart in reading but I faced a huge dilemma. My children's first language isn't Tagalog. I could not teach them the way my mom did. I tried, but it didn't work because they couldn't relate to the language. My little girl was still a baby, and we used Glen Doman reading cards for her. Unfortunately, I could not get my son to read as early as I wanted to.
The answer came 7 months after I enrolled my son in Kindergarten 3. The school used Jolly Phonics. The teacher told me to check out the website for more information. She also told me it isn't the usual system of reading taught in schools. I was at first doubtful about this method of reading. Would it really help my son to read? How effective is this method? But, there was no other choice but to try it, especially since the school was using this method. Since we enrolled him late, he only had 7 months to learn reading. With very minimal help from me, he progressed to reading very well in what I consider a short span of time.
Here are the books he used at school:
I think the great features of Jolly Phonics is the use of music and movement for learning the letter sounds. They also make use of attractive graphics to inculcate the child's interest to read. I just wish I had studied this system earlier and bought some supplementary materials for my son when he was studying this.
Just recently, I bought some Jolly Phonics materials for my 2-year old daughter. We started with getting to know the characters Snake, Inky and Bee in the Jolly Stories book. As much as she enjoys the stories, she also loves tracing over the embossed letters on each page with her fingers while sounding them out. We also bought the Jolly Songs book and CD and she enjoys doing the actions while singing. She enjoys every single thing about Jolly Phonics! We have even started to blend letter sounds!
If you're looking for a Phonics reading programme for your little one, I strongly recommend Jolly Phonics! Please take note that it comes in different English versions (UK & US).
To view and/or purchase some of the Jolly Phonics books and materials we purchased, please visit our Literacy section in our Amazon store. Here is the link:
Literacy
Below is the link to the Jolly Phonics website, a very rich resource for teaching your child to read. (It contains loads of freebies so you can get started immediately.) Check it out!
Jolly Phonics
Jolly Phonics Free Resources for Parents and Teachers
Happy reading! :D
The Story of the World series
Also available in audio format!
Also available in audio format!