Phonics, Anyone??

As a veteran (does 12 years qualify me for that?) home school mom, I think perhaps the most difficult challenge was teaching my children to read. You may have had other more challenging tasks, but for me, this was the big one. Perhaps, it was because I have always believed it is the most important. What I mean by this is that once your child can read, they can 'read' their science, history, etc...
Anyway, there are different approaches to teaching someone to read. The two most prevalent are phonics and sight reading. Now, my purpose here is not to discount sight reading by any means. Of course, there are those words that just don't make sense phonetically. But phonics, to me, just makes more sense in the whole scheme of things.
I have always felt that if a child is taught sounds, then it becomes easier when they come across a word that they do not know. They apply the sounds that they do know and "sound it out". As with most things, it does take some practice. But, I think in the long run, phonics enables a soon-to-be reader to put sounds together, at least come close to the word, and then recognize what word it is they are trying to read.
To someone who may just beginning the home school process with your child who can't read, it's important to take it slow and step-by-step. First, teach your child the letters and their sounds. That's critical!! I suggest starting with the short vowels. Then, it's a progression of putting the letters together with vowels to make simple words like 'at' and 'bat'. It just keeps building from there...

I would love to hear your feedback on this...and welcome comments always!!