Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Where do the window pictures come from?

We took both of these pictures with a digital camera. The stained glass window is part of a beautiful large stained glass window in a church at Pepperdine University, CA. The view of the ocean out a window is from the inside of the walls of Mont St Michel, France.

Why are you so passionate about phonics?

I've always loved reading. It saddens me to see so many children and adults who don't read well. The number of students needing help that I have found in every state where we have lived is astronomical considering the small circle of friends I have. I tried other methods, and I found that phonics is what works, and it makes amazing changes fast. I love seeing my students go from struggling to read simple words to reading whatever they want, easily and excitedly. Also, I believe that God has gifted me with the ability to teach and that I need to use this gift for His good. I want everyone to have the ability to read the Bible.

Why are some of the phonics lessons different?

We have redone the first several lessons, and are working on updating all the lessons to the new format. The new format includes our UPP markings and also uses a better microphone and a color scheme that allows for better compression. Lessons 28, 29, and 30 are a smaller size because of bandwidth limitations. The size of these 3 lessons was the original size of all the lessons, but new compression technology has allowed us to make the rest of the lessons larger. When we update lessons 28, 29, and 30, we will make them in a format that allows them to be compressed to the larger size.

When should you start to teach a child phonics?

The sooner the better. Studies have shown that children who learn to read early do better in school and in life than those who do not. A child as young as 18 months to 2 years can learn the names and sounds of the letters in the alphabet. If your child can say "a sheep says baa," they can say "the o says ah." At 3 or 4 years of age, a child can learn to spell simple words and then to sound out words that they have spelled. If they can't write all the letters well yet, use magnetic letters and a cookie sheet to spell out simple words. At 4 or 5 years of age, a child can begin with a structured phonics program such as "Phonics Pathways," Webster's Speller, or Blend Phonics.

What's with all the One-Room Schoolhouses?

Our whole family loves watching Little House on the Prairie. We also just like the idea of One-Room Schoolhouses--they sound like fun. (Of course, we'll pass on those 1800's chores and just take all the fun parts.) So, we've added some pictures of One-Room Schoolhouses near places we've lived. Finally, we consider this our "Virtual One-Room Schoolhouse." In fact, this whole virtual schoolhouse was built in one tiny corner of one room in our house.

I'm having a problem viewing the QuickTime movies with Internet Explorer. What should I do?

We have had 3 people have problems with Internet Explored and QuickTime. They were all running different versions of Windows, and they all had the latest version of QuickTime. We're not sure what the exact problem is, maybe something in their security or other settings, other users with their same software are not having any problems. If you're having problems with Internet Explorer and QuickTime, check your security and pop-up blocker settings, or try using Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. You can download Firefox for free online.