By Laurie Fyke - Jolly Songs (Jolly Phonics)

We bought this to introduce the phonics sounds to my little girl. She is only 18m so didn't want to actively teach her, but we play this in the car. Firstly (and most importantly) she really enjoys the songs. She asks for it if the radio is on! Secondly, she joins in with odd words she knows or has picked up from the cd or with sounds. The tunes are catchy so will stick in yours and their heads for reference when they get stuck on a sound. There is a section at the end which says each sound clearly alongside a word including that sound. This is invaluable to parents who were not taught using this method and can be applied when your child starts reading and gets stuck to help them 'sound out' the letters. There is an accompanying book with lyrics to each song and lovely illustrations. It is quite flimsy,which will be fine for slightly older children. For now this is stored away for when she is older. I anticipate using this more in the run up to starting primary when we will make use of the book. There are flash cards available too which can be used alongside this to teach letter recognition and formation. A fun and engaging way to learn those all important sounds that unlock reading.

All nurseries and schools are different, but the Jolly Phonics system is what was used by the nursery that my daughter first attended to learn phonics / sounds. She used to come home singing some of the songs and then we bought the book ourselves and used to listen to the CD in the car whilst my daughter turned the pages in the book. She absolutely loves these songs and book and I think they are a great resource for teaching phonics to very young children in a fun and entertaining way. My daughter actually first started learning these songs at nursery at the age of 2. All of the songs have simple actions to them that the children can join in with. As an adult, you may not think, at first glance, that all the pictures in the book correctly represent the phonetic it represents, but it will match the words to the song that do definitely match the phonetic being taught. I love this book and CD!

This is a great way to introduce phonics to your little ones. My daughter wasn't interested in learning her letter sounds so I started building my Jolly Phonics collection. We often sit together listening, reading and singing this and she enjoys it thoroughly. After only a few weeks she has started singing the verses herself while she plays and even asks to put the CD on! I found it much easier with my 3-year-old in the beginning to put each track on repeat 3 or 4 times to get the tune to 'sink in', and to introduce a few letters at a time. I was advised to invest in Jolly Phonics by a teacher at my daughter's pre-school because the local schools use the phonics teaching system. I have found it very useful because now I know I can help her at home with the same system so that she does not become confused. With our progress so far I can highly recommend this series too!

I bought this for my 3 yr old ) to do at home as this programme was being followed by the Foundation Unit in school. My daughter loved the songs and happily listened to them in the car, on her MP3 player etc.She picked up the phonics very quickly. I decided to buy the sets of books/workbooks/dictionary to go with this as the characters from the songs became familiar to her.We also got the posters to stick up on the wall. Now aged 5, we have been informed by school that she has a significantly higher then average reading level and can read most text presented to her( she is currently reading age 7+ literature with ease). I can wholeheartedly recommend this book, we found it began a simple, hassle free journey of learning to read.

Nice cd and book. I bought for 5 year old starting school. Ideal when learning alphabet. Would make nice present for someone starting school if they are learning jolly phonics

I know the "Jolly Phonics" materials from my work as a primary school teacher and regard the programme very highly. I bought this to use with my 2+ yr granddaughter as her mum was teaching her her "phonics". The songs, which are set to well known children's songs and nursery rhymes are easily learnt and fun to sing. My granddaughter loves the songs and actions and joins in with the CD singing and doing the actions with great enthusiasm. The book is very helpful showing the words and actions. The CD is extremely popular with my granddaughter and me both at home and when in the car. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I'm not a special advocate of 'teaching small children to read' but if they enjoy it you had better use same system they will meet in school later. My 3year and 5 month old loves this CD and book. She puts it on then sits with the book in front of her and reads the phonic sound in advance of each song and sings along with the song. Yes, the songs are short but that actually seems to be what is needed. There are surprisingly few materials available that use the phonics systen that the children will meet in primary school, but this is one of them. The Mr. Men Alphabet Hunt is also good although the phonetic sounds are slightly different. Beware of CDs that say they use phonics but actually use the letter names (BEE CEE DEE) not the phonetic sound.

Nice