Over the past twenty years, Hooked on Phonics customers have told us about the exciting progress their children made with our programs. They have told us about their children's improvement, not only in reading and math, but also in confidence and self-esteem. The following are excerpts from real emails and letters that we've received from our customers.
If you have a success story to share, we would love to hear from you. Please email your story to success@hop.com .
We have seen phenomenal results with Hooked on Phonics® ! Jennifer Logue, mother of Katie, age 4
We have seen phenomenal results with Hooked on Phonics!
I started my daughter Katie on the program when she turned three last May. Yesterday she turned four, and after using Hooked on Phonics just once or twice a week for the past year, she now reads better than most first- or second-graders! Whenever strangers heard Katie reading out loud, they always stopped and asked, "How old is she?" When they learned she wasn't even four, they invariably expressed shock at how well she read for her age.
More importantly, Katie loves the Hooked on Phonics program.... I have to discourage people from calling our house between 8-8:30 a.m., since that is our Hooked on Phonics time, and Katie gets very upset if we miss our HOP time!
And she was so excited when she finished the Level 1 kit and moved on to Level 2 - we had to have a mini-celebration to mark the occasion!
Hooked on Phonics is a tried-and-true program that all but guarantees a child's success.
Katie is now working her way through Level 2 and based upon the results we've seen so far, I have no doubt she'll be reading at a second- or third-grade level before she even starts kindergarten!
Thank you for making such a fun and valuable tool available to parents and children!
Hooked on Phonics [is] the best program ever. Dee Dennis, mother of Korben and Rebecca
Success has been measured by tons of smiles and hurrays here at the Dennis home, all thanks to Hooked on Phonics.
My son had just turned four and was off to a preschool program so he could get a little head start for kindergarten the following year. The preschool offered the Hooked on Phonics program in addition to its normal curriculum. Korben's dad and I thought, "Why not?...It can't hurt." We signed him up. Within just a couple of weeks, Korben was coming home telling me, "I can read now, Mom, don't worry." I would just laugh.
My daughter Rebecca, who [was] struggling with [then third-grade reading], was sitting at the kitchen table doing homework.... She was struggling with a word. Korben looked over her shoulder and said "Tomorrow, TO-MOR-ROW. It says tomorrow Becca." My husband and I stood there in shock! We instantly picked up the phone and called Hooked on Phonics. We purchased the program, and as soon as we received it we started working with Rebecca and Korben.
Now, Rebecca is in fourth grade and is on grade level with reading. Korben is in kindergarten and is his teacher's "star reader," reading on a second- to third-grade level. It has been amazing, and I always tell people that Hooked on Phonics was the best program ever and it really and truly works.
Thank you so much!!
Thanks, Hooked on Phonics! You rescued our little boy! Anita and Jonathan, parents of Nathaniel
Last October Nathaniel's kindergarten teacher called us for a conference because he was uncontrollable.... That is when we saw your advertisement! Frankly, it was an answered prayer.
We ordered the deluxe package and started it as soon as it arrived - just 20 minutes a night, but a very special 20 minutes, during which he curled up in our laps for his lesson each night. The Hooked on Phonics program is so beautifully thought out that we could just walk right through it. Thaniel loved it from the first moment, especially knowing that those boxes...were all for him!
Within a week of the program's arrival, Thaniel was regularly getting gold stars every day for his exemplary behavior! His teacher was very impressed and applauded us for using Hooked on Phonics....
By December, the teacher noticed that while he was sounding out words, the other kids were just going on word recognition and could not handle bigger words. It is now June, he has finished the third box, and he is reading very smoothly now. But it is not only that. He is now so EAGER to learn - reading any signs or labels, following along when we read to him - because he WANTS to learn. He even gets out books he is not yet ready for, explaining that he wants to read them as soon as he can. Your poster system with the stars and the "I did it" stickers has also been a hit. He has a real sense of self-confidence now and is not afraid of going to school. He is going to hit first grade in September with a running start!
We just started the math program, and we can already see how much he enjoys it!
Thanks, Hooked on Phonics! You rescued our little boy!
Thank you for helping me go from the mother who couldn't help her child learn to read to the mother of the best reader in his class. Melanie, mother of Noah
I could tell Noah was a bright boy and often would pick up books and pretend to read them. As I watched him do this week after week, month after month, I thought it was a good pre-reading activity.
One day he came to me and asked me to tell him how I read the words on the page. Honestly, I didn't know how to begin or how to explain it so his young mind could understand. I sent him away promising him that he would learn when he went to school. That clearly was not the answer he was looking for, and I could see the disappointment in his eyes.
As he walked away I felt disappointed in myself as his parent. I couldn't believe that I was powerless to help him. Then, I saw your Hooked on Phonics commercial. I bought the program and told my son that it would be arriving in the mail and it would teach him to read.
He waited daily and was so excited when it arrived. It was easy for me as a parent to use this with my son, and very soon the payoff was evident. He was reading! He was so overjoyed and read to everyone. The hard part was getting him to put Hooked on Phonics away. And when he did put it away, he would rush to the computer to play the computer games. Noah finished the Hooked on Phonics program in about seven months. When he went to sign up for kindergarten this year, he read for his teacher. (He also did some math from your "Hooked on Math" program.) They immediately put him into first grade! We are so thrilled with your program and are starting it with our other son who is 4 1/2-years-old. He also is already reading Level 1 books!
We have tried other programs that claim to work, but my children have gotten bored with those programs within one to two lessons. The kids love the reward stickers they get at the end of their lessons. They love the computer games and the illustrations in the books. The tapes help us parents and have a soothing, friendly voice that the children love.
I have my first son, Noah, using Hooked on Phonics "Master Reader," and he is amazing his teachers once again with his ability to read well above his grade level.
Thank you for helping me go from the mother who couldn't help her child learn to read to the mother of the best reader in his class.
Our experience with Hooked on Phonics has been so life changing. Valerie, mother of Elizabeth Ann
Our experience with Hooked on Phonics has been so life changing that it warrants telling someone.
My first-grader, Biz (Elizabeth Ann), was a student at a small private school last year for kindergarten. She was deemed very bright and a joy to have in class by her teacher. However, at the end of the year she was unable to identify most of her letters and almost no sounds.
We were obviously shocked and did not know what to do. I began researching other schools in the area and having her evaluated just to be certain it wasn't a developmental issue.... We ultimately decided to homeschool her for first grade to give her the extra attention we felt she needed. We began researching curricula to use in teaching her to read.
We looked at many pricey systems recommended by various reading specialists and purchased several. I began studying the complex methods I would have to teach. Around this time (thankfully) my bubbly, dimpled little girl was watching TV and she saw a Hooked on Phonics ad. She lit up and said "Mommy, that's it - the thing on TV - come look!"
How could we say no?
She is now reading, and she believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is because of [Hooked on Phonics]. She loves her books and revels in the "big girl chapter books." It is great to see her grin and giggle as she reads....
We were going to have her tested again this summer by a reading specialist at Kluge Children's Hospital, but we are canceling the appointment. She doesn't need it.
The Hooked on Phonics process is logical, sequential, and rewarding for both teacher and student. It is flawlessly put together.... It allows customization for each child while teaching a thorough phonics program. I did the research and I am glad we went with Hooked on Phonics.
We are blown away by the Hooked on Phonics® program. Dean McElroy, teacher and father of Christopher, age 6
My son Christopher had recently turned four, and we were reading a book together. I had been working on letter sounds with him, but I was surprised when he sounded out the word "pop" to me on his own without my encouragment. I could tell that he could put some sounds together, and I was wondering what to do with him. I wasn't expecting him to begin reading at such an early age. I researched the Hooked on Phonics program and decided to give it a try.
My son took to the program in a hurry. He was so excited about getting stars on his charts. The program was sequenced beautifully to the point that he rarely struggled through the process. I wanted to stay within the Hooked on Phonics guidelines on how often to work on reading, but he kept asking me to read. A 10-minute session would turn into a 30- or 40-minute session because he wanted to get more stars and read more stories. I was shocked at how fast he was picking things up, and he finished the entire series in nine months. That's right - he hadn't turned five yet, and he was reading at a second-grade level! Through the process it was so exciting for him to be able to read street signs as we were driving and recognize words on the television (but a little embarrassing for my wife when he would read 'Tampax' really loud in the grocery store).
We enrolled him in a Montessori preschool afterwards and everyone was shocked that he was a fluent reader at four with no schooling. As a result, he loved school and learned a great deal.... He reads for fun all of the time (thankfully in the car as well), and he won't go to sleep without reading a couple of books on his own. He is now six, enrolled in kindergarten, and he is doing all of the first-grade work in his K/1 combo class. While other kids are struggling to put three-letter words together, Christopher is reading to the class with fluency and inflection....
My wife and I are both teachers, and we both believe that the key ingredient to learning is having information taught in the correct sequence. Underlining the new words as they are first learned and taking the lines away in future pages was great. The way the phonemes were introduced with all of the short vowel words being taught first and waiting until the third set to teach the long vowels was a great idea. We have looked at many phonics-based reading programs and the biggest difference with Hooked on Phonics is the sequence, the entertaining reading material, and the reward system through the star chart.
We are blown away by the Hooked on Phonics program, and we would be happy to share our stories with you.
Your products are incredible tools. Margaret Gallipeau, teacher and mother of two
I wanted to tell you that I have used Hooked on Phonics to help two of my children learn to read. It is an excellent program! My six-year-old is now using your "Master Reader" program and loves it. It is really helping her decode larger words and take her reading skills to the next level. I have recommended your programs to many friends. As a teacher, I see that your products are incredible tools to build reading skills. I would love to share my success story with others because I truly believe in your products. I am looking forward to using your program again with my three-year-old.
I could tell the difference in him within three days. Mary Ellen Oxendine, teacher and mother of Hunter
I must tell you that I was so impressed with the success Hunter had with the Hooked on Phonics program, I invested in "Master Reader" as well as "Hooked on Math."
As a teacher myself, I know the importance of mastering letter sounds early in the kindergarten arena. When I realized it was May and my son was still having trouble sounding out words because he was not sure what sound the letters made, I began to panic. I realized the "whole word approach" was not working for him. I happened to mention this to a friend, who is a reading specialist, and she suggested Hooked on Phonics. I could tell the difference in him within three days. I was talking to his dad and I spelled out a word and [Hunter] said, "I know what you spelled. I sounded it out." I knew then this was the program for him.
Are you the proud parent of a super reader? If so, submit a photo of your child next to their Hooked on Phonics progress poster, along with a brief story on how Hooked on Phonics has worked for them and your child could be featured as our next I Did It Kid!