The PHONICS Road Review by Kelly Russell

by Kelly Russell (Katy, TX)

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was to be chosen to review this. I had had my eye on this curriculum for a couple of years at least. I just did not know how it would work with my kiddos and because the price seemed quite hefty, I was not sure if I wanted to make the jump.

What is The PHONICS Road to Spelling and Reading? If you visit their webpage, you will see that it is called: “a complete K-4 curriculum offering the parent a comprehensive video teacher training text with an emphasis on accurate speaking, spelling, writing, reading, grammar, composition, and preparation for The LATIN Road to English Grammar.” And it really, truly is.

Folks, this is not some namby-pamby, learn your ABCs program. This is a thorough, well thought out learn to spell and read curriculum. More importantly, it teaches how to learn to spell and read correctly. From the very beginning, a parent can instruct their children in the right way to learn to read. And it is worth every penny!

I received Level One. In my box were:

• Foreman’s Construction Guide (Teacher’s Guide, if you will)
• Brief History of English (I loved this. It gave a great simplified history of our English language and why we spell and read things the way we do.)
• Plot Plan
• Blueprints
• Rule Tunes
• Building Codes
• Tool Drill Cards
• Apprentice’s Building Manual with Blueprints and Building Codes
• Composition
• First Readers
• Handy Dandy Clipboard (how cute is that)
• Student tool cards
• Pencils and Pens

Can you see the neat theme here? We, as the parents, are the Foremen, and the children are the Apprentices. Here is what I loved about this. The instructions on how to teach this to your children are not something you just read and figure out how to go about teaching. Instead, your Plot Plan is a series of 10 DVDs that you can pop in. Mrs. Beers gives instructional tips and guides you in the proper way to write the letters and form them. I learned quite a bit, myself. My daughter loved the Handy Dandy Clipboard. It was her very own and made her feel that she had a very important role in this journey towards spelling, reading, and writing. The cute tunes and activity ideas were a plus for her and made the lessons enjoyable, rather than just work.

This is a great curriculum and I recommend it for anyone who truly wants to give their child a great start in the correct way to read and write.