Earlier this week my Alphablocks DVD competition closed (I'll be posting the winners soon) but today I wanted to share our thoughts on the very first Alphablocks DVD.
We only started watching Alphablocks on CBeebies a little while ago when Lara first started learning basic phonics at nursery; Lara instantly took to it and quite regularly requests to watch her new DVD. The DVD has 18 episodes on it, starting with a basic introduction to the phonics letter sounds. The episodes are short and easily digestible.
Each episode features one or more of the letter blocks as the focus. As the blocks travel through their little world they meet other letters and every time the letters hold hands, they make a word. The sounds of the letters are sounded out individually by the blocks and then the word is repeated.
Both myself and Mr. B enjoy watching Lara when she is absorbed in the Alphablocks. I hear her making the sounds of the letters and saying the words. I can also see that little glint of recognition when she notices a pattern in some words. I've always said that watching Lara learn is one of the most rewarding parts of being a parent and when she is watching Alphablocks I get that tingly feeling. Lara doesn't realise she's learning because she is enjoying the programme.
The new DVD comes with a parents guide AND a free Alphablocks alphabet poster. Lara, very surprisingly, seemed uninterested in her poster but I really think this is because she is sooooo interested in the DVD. She more or less ripped open the packaging which is wonderful to see for a programme with such strong educational background behind it.
So far, I think Lara's favourite episode features the "e" noise. The E alphablock has quite a strong female (?) character and many of the words that feature the "e" sound are ones that Lara can recognise and repeat herself. Interestingly though, Lara tends to struggle with reading the letter e (in comparison to the other vowel sounds) so I'm really hoping that watching the Alphablocks can help her with this.
You can find out more about the new DVD at www.alphablocks.tv .
We only started watching Alphablocks on CBeebies a little while ago when Lara first started learning basic phonics at nursery; Lara instantly took to it and quite regularly requests to watch her new DVD. The DVD has 18 episodes on it, starting with a basic introduction to the phonics letter sounds. The episodes are short and easily digestible.
Both myself and Mr. B enjoy watching Lara when she is absorbed in the Alphablocks. I hear her making the sounds of the letters and saying the words. I can also see that little glint of recognition when she notices a pattern in some words. I've always said that watching Lara learn is one of the most rewarding parts of being a parent and when she is watching Alphablocks I get that tingly feeling. Lara doesn't realise she's learning because she is enjoying the programme.
The new DVD comes with a parents guide AND a free Alphablocks alphabet poster. Lara, very surprisingly, seemed uninterested in her poster but I really think this is because she is sooooo interested in the DVD. She more or less ripped open the packaging which is wonderful to see for a programme with such strong educational background behind it.
So far, I think Lara's favourite episode features the "e" noise. The E alphablock has quite a strong female (?) character and many of the words that feature the "e" sound are ones that Lara can recognise and repeat herself. Interestingly though, Lara tends to struggle with reading the letter e (in comparison to the other vowel sounds) so I'm really hoping that watching the Alphablocks can help her with this.
You can find out more about the new DVD at www.alphablocks.tv .
