Rock 'N Learn: Phonics & Reading

This movie is an incredible value. Most Rock N Learn movies cost at least double this price. The DVD case says that this movie is 104 minutes long and as far as I can tell it contains a lot of clips from those other pricier versions. The main reason I think that this is cheaper is that it is for HOME USE ONLY whereas most other Rock N Learn Videos give permission to show them in a classroom setting too.I bought this movie for my 2 year old daughter who LOVES the Rock N Learn Series (she even enjoys titles like this that are made for kids older than her). We started with the Rock N Learn movie "Colors, Shapes and Counting" when she was about 1.5 and she has learned so much so fast! Though she is not ready to sit and watch this movie straight through (there are some concepts that are over her head) we put it on and let her watch the parts she likes. I am confident that a large majority of the chapters in this DVD will be watched a lot, if not now I am sure she will be interested in them as she progresses.Contrary to what the cover makes it look like, there are NOT many live people in the movie. It is traditional Rock N Learn style (see their website for video clips of other movies). I would describe it as "flash animation" style. There are some sections that have a real mouth or real person (adult) in the corner showing you how to pronounce the word or sound (I love this feature). Some sections are songs, some are reading words along with a beat, some are quiz type games (cool for older kids, but we skip most of these for our 2 year old), some sections are read-along stories (brief animations or illustrations with follow along words at the bottom- they usually give you a chance to read it on your own and then they highlight the words as they read them). Each chapter/section is separate from the others and only last a few minutes at the most. So you could just focus on a few clips at a time to introduce and/or solidify a particular concept.I am not sure if all of the chapters are clips from other movies, but I know that there are at least a handful of clips that are also on some of the other Rock N Learn movies we own (for instance there are some duplicate clips on the "Letter Sounds" movie, and though I don't own the "Phonics" movies I would guess that they also contain duplicates of some of these clips). Anyway, I've listed the chapter titles in this DVD below so that you can compare with other Rock N Learn videos that you might own.Includes:VowelsCommon Sounds of Each LetterName That LetterC-V-C Words (consonant-vowel-consonant)Special Sounds of C G Q XPutting it All TogetherDouble Consonants (plural s ending s)Let's Read "The Cats"Let's Read "Fun in the Pen"Let's Read "Bill, the Big Pig"Ending Consonant BlendsBeginning Consonant BlendsTriple Consonant BlendsConsonant Diagraphs & TrigraphsSilent eLet's Read "Pat and Nat at Camp"Let's Read "Pam and Jill Shop"Let's Read "Bill and Max Go for a Swim"Marko Loves to ReadRead and Sing "The Three Little Pigs"Read and Sing "Jack and the Beanstalk"Read and Sing "The Ugly Duckling"Read and Sing "The Little Red Hen"Marko's ComedyI was surprised he packaging was not a traditional DVD case (it looks like it on the outside, but inside it holds the DVD in a removable envelope rather than a traditional DVD clasp). It doesn't really matter to me, but it is worth noting.I think this movie is an awesome addition to any home with children who are learning to read. It is very thorough. Plus, adding music definitely makes reading and learning more fun. I think this movie would work well with either a phonics based reading method or a sight words reading method (as there are a lot of words they read and show at the same time). Just pick the clips that support the method you prefer. Have fun!

I am editing my review below because my kids were willing to watch it over and over. I didn't think it was all that at first, but they are singing along to the songs and laughing over some of the segments. They find it entertaining and have caught some valuable info from it. I hear them singing "a e i o u...and sometimes y" His class hasn't even discussed vowels yet, so he's ahead thanks to the video. Maybe I should even give it 5 stars since it has done what I wanted it to do-teach them in a way that will seem like entertainment to them. Even I find myself singing these silly songs. Ha!I will leave my previous review after watching the video once, but it has grown on us.Most of my reviews are 1 star or 5 stars, so I am surprised to find something so-so. Even though it's a hard subject to make really exciting, I still say it could be a lot better. It held my five year old's attention okay, however I've never seen him walk away from any TV show. My 3 year old did walk away. It looks out-dated. Not sure how old this video is, but it doesn't seem close to the new style of programs. I was also suprised how fast they went with everything. They tell you the sound of the letters and then go right into reading them. They say to try to read the word before they say it, but there's only a 2 second moment of silence before they say "cat". I think most fresh readers need time to think and sound it out/put it together. I think they should sound it out for the viewers "c" "a" "t" and then say "cat, but unfortunately they don't sound it out. That surprised me because it is such an important step for reading/phonics. Next they go into the sentences and they read it rather fast for a beggining reader in my opinion.

When I first put in this video for my 4 year old, it seemed definitely too hard. He had enjoyed immensely the LeapFrog letter and word factory videos (a great start) and I was afraid the quick pace and multi-letter phonic sounds on this tape would bore him because he couldn't follow it. Wrong! After a couple of weeks and a basic grasp on phonics my son was pulled in by the songs and the bright colors and graphics and was reading and spelling simple words! We were able to simply pick out a word in any book and he would begin to sound out the letters, including how 'ing' sounds. He also knows the difference between vowels and consonants, and can sing "a,e,i,o,u" and "sometimes y, sometimes Y". He has a little chant that helps him remember his vowels and now I use it when I'm going over reading words with him. He's learned all of this in a matter of weeks! 4 weeks ago he recognized his letters and could name them, now he's reading and spelling small words. A terrific video...stick with it and your child will be singing the songs and knowing phonics in no time! It's also helpful (my child loves it) to have a box of those wooden or magnetic letters at his disposal and he spells words on the rug. You have to get several sets, though, so they can make words (you need more than one 's', for example).

JUST LIKE THE REST WASTE OF MONEY

My 4 year old preschooler loved it. He is already reading. I would totally recommend it as a great buy.