Alphaphonics has been around for awhile. It was highly acclaimed in the 80s and 90s and it still can hold its own against the always increasing number of phonics programs available for homeschoolers. My view is that it is simple, thorough, and easy to use.

The following review is from Amazon.com.

Alpha-Phonics. Probably the simplest, most effective and most reasonably priced systematic, intensive phonics reading instruction program available today.
The reason it sells so wee is that IT IS SIMPLE!!There are only 44 phonograms (sounds) the child needs to learn. There are only 44 sounds needed for the entire English language. Reading is simple to teach because all you have to do is teach the student to sound out the words they are trying to read. At first they sound the words out loud then later they do it in their head silently. That is ALL there is to teaching reading.  Student begins with short vowels putting simplest words together (Like a plus m = am or a plus s = as; etc) and progresses to the more advanced words.  With Alpha-Phonics the beginner can be reading simple sentences by lesson three, and that can be even on the first day!  Other programs try to do too much. They inject grammar, pictures and other material, needlessly complicating the task. With Alpha-Phonics you just teach reading only.Alpha-Phonics has a bonus in that you EASILY teach SPELLING as you go, lesson by lesson. You just spend a few minutes with each lesson doing oral and written dictation to teach spelling. Alpha-Phonics easily introduces over 3,500 words in its simple 128 lessons. Many children learn reading in only months. Alpha-Phonics also works very well for older, even grown adult, students who need remediation.  Highly endorsed by leading homeschooling product reviewers Cathy Duffy and Mary Pride.
Used very successfully by hundreds of thousands for almost 30 years by parents, tutors and teahcers.
Works exceptionally well in teaching English as a Second Language.
For additional detailed information and testimonmial letters and video explanations go to Alpha-Phonics website.
Same low retail price for over 14 years.
Originally published in print version in 1983.  Full money back guarantee. 24/7 Helpline if you need assistance. Alpha-Phonics is also available from Amazon on CD ROM version. Amazon also has optional accompanying Readers and Practice Workbook.

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Also…for more that just Phonics:

I used the author’s How to Tutor with my children. The same phonics basics are fleshed out completely in the Alphaphonics program to provide all that is needed for easy phonics and reading instruction. (webmaster: Julie Simmons)

If you want to follow the whole How to Tutor book (which includes arithmetic and handwriting), there is now a How to Tutor curriculum similar to the Alphaphonics but including the Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.

From Mary Pride on http://www.howtotutor.com

Samuel Blumenfeld fans, wake up! Now you can get an entire basics curriculum built on Sam’s years of tutoring experience. Mr. Blumenfeld, whose book Is Public Education Necessary? has been a homeschool classic for years, and whose Blumenfeld Alpha-Phonics Kit is a home school staple, is also very popular as the author of How To Tutor, a book which explains in streamed lined detail how to teach the three R’s.

The How To Tutor Curriculum includes the book  plus all the following:

  • Extra Large Type Student Lesson Book – Created in response to popular demand, this 175-page, spiral-bound book accompanies the textbook lesson by lesson.
  • How To Tutor Reading Pronunciation Audio Tape with 60 minutes of training on phonics sounds for each alphabet letter and phonogram. If you have not been trained in phonics yourself, or if English is your second language, this tape is invaluable.
  • How To Tutor Phonics Reading Companion Workbook – Extra exercises in writing words and sentences. Designed to complement the How To Tutor lessons.
  • How To Tutor Companion Readers – A set of ten little phonetic readers. Simple art. Designed to follow a typical intensive phonics instruction sequence (as taught in How To Tutor), so you start with the Short A Vowel Reader, followed by the Short E Vowel Reader, etc
  • How To Tutor Arithmetic Workbooks – These include all the math exercises in How To Tutor, plus timed tests for arithmetic facts, with suggested times for completion, and a few exercises for beginning fractions. Inexpensive comb-bound, workbook format. Addition / Subtraction Workbook is 89 pages; Multiplication / Division / Fractions / Decimal Workbook is 110 pages.

This is probably the most simplified back-to-basics, no-fooling-around curriculum you can get. It will teach your child to read, to write in cursive (Mr. Blumenfeld believes in skipping manuscript writing altogether), and math up to the sixth grade level. It doesn’t include any history, geography, art, or science. What you do get are tools a child can use to learn all those other subjects and without which, he won’t learn a thing.Mary Pride

Find out more about Homeschool Phonics

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