Phonics Firefly
An electronic phonics teaching toy that really is worth the money! It has lots of nice features such as volume control (a must!), high-quality digital Texas Instruments voice technology, light-up letters, and auto shut-off so you don't waste your batteries.
Why I favor this unit over others is that it really does teach, rather than just entertain. The first level of play is the singing of the ABC song, with each letter lighting up as it is sung. (This just happens to be the first step of my phonics program, Happy Phonics.) Play advances to being able to learn to name the letters and a quiz with rewarding sounds for choosing the correct letters to the sounds those letters make. Finally, little beginning reader/writers can try out any combination of 3 letters to make words (over 500 of them!).
This is really fun for a young one learning to sound out letters to form words. I appreciate that when attempts at 3-letter combos that don't make an intelligible word are made, the Phonics Firefly responds with "I don't know that word yet," rather than "wrong!" Also, any borderline words (such as bathroom words) are not recognized.
Uses 4 "AA" batteries, which are included. You will find this a fun way to drill phonics facts without flashcards and workbooks. Start it just as soon as your little one is able to recognize a letter and remember it. |