Deluxe Play'n Talk
Author: Dr. Marie LeDoux
For information or to order: www.playntalk.com

Well, I have to admit that when I opened the box for which I had anxiously awaited, I felt a bit overwhelmed.  Clever packaging, colorful contents…there are so many things to look at in the Play'n Talk box!  Thankfully, there were also several loose papers inside telling me not to get overwhelmed and explaining that this program is designed to cover several years of beginning reading and language arts.

Play'nTalk is a non-consumable program and includes ten CD's, a phonics chart to color, a manuscript alphabet chart, felt letters, three 'Riddles 'n Rhyme' books, four books to reinforce letter sounds and blends, and a light up 'Magic E" wand for silent 'e.' There are also two boxes of cards (approximately 400 cards per box), which contain laminated alphabet cards, vocabulary cards, sound blend cards, and prefix/suffix cards. The CD's have an obvious "1950's" tone to them, but still work well for the program. There are no workbooks or writing pages to be replaced for future students.  You use whatever handwriting program you prefer, even if its homemade worksheets that correspond to the letter(s) you are working on for that day.

This set also comes with three separately boxed games. Ring 'n Key is matches color-coded rings that the child wears on their hand with color-coded stickers for the keyboard to teach typing.  Slide 'n Sound is a game that helps with sounding out or blending of sounds.  Finally there's Spell Lingo, a spelling/bingo game.  A master copy of score sheets for the games are included as well.

The Amplified Instruction Manual gives the teacher instruction on how to use the program. While extremely helpful, it can sometimes be a little confusing as it occasionally tells you to use a book that is no longer in the program separately, but is now incorporated into another part of the program.  A full one-third of this manual is dedicated to copies of articles and letters proclaiming how wonderful this program is, and various articles on the link between healthy eating and learning.

This very adaptable program starts out with the traditional "ABC Song," though this step can be skipped if your child already knows it. Then we moved on to "The Phonics Song," an alphabet song which teaches the sounds that each letter makes ('A' says, 'ay' or 'ahh,' 'B' says. 'buh').  My children and I found this to be one of those catchy little tunes that stay in your head throughout the day. There are also many reinforcement exercises listed in each unit, which my children enjoyed as "play-time with Mommy" instead of boring schoolwork.

You may go at your child's pace, advancing slower or faster as needed, and using as many reinforcement exercises as needed to complete the program. I found this aspect to be particularly helpful since I am currently teaching four grades, from kindergarten through sixth grade.  Each child can benefit from Play'n Talk every day.  The older ones are doing this for review or remediation, while the younger ones are using this to learn to read. I can have each child at a different point in the program fairly easily, since each lesson takes approximately ten to twenty minutes.

On their web site (www.playntalk.com), there is a page that compares this program to several other programs.  I used Abeka to teach my sixth grader to read, and I found it interesting that the problems he was having were the exact same ones that are listed for Abeka on this page.  He is becoming a better reader by helping me 'teach' the younger ones.

Play'nTalk does exactly what I wanted it to do: teach the little ones how to read while improving the older children's reading skills. It may seem a bit pricey at almost $300, but you get a lot for the money, and I can see this being used in our house for many years to come.

Making the Grade: A
Cost: $299
Value for your homeschool dollar: 8
Review by Julie Johnston, homeschool mom of 7