Realizing that many home educators wanted a practical "hands on" boost to quickly prepare for teaching, Bonnie Dettmer created a one-day seminar entitled the Phonics Seminar. This seminar was taught many times around the nation, and was attended by hundreds of parents and professional teachers. The format of the Phonics Seminar is a series of five CDs, which were recorded from a live presentation, including the class interaction. The notes supplied are copies of the actual overhead slides used for that presentation. Space is allotted on each page for notes to be taken. This Seminar can be a great boost for preparedness and confidence to use any phonics method, particularly Phonics for Reading and Spelling. Content includes why our language is the way it is and how children think in learning to read. The listener has the ability to work through the exercises with the presentation to learn the phonics which may never have been taught.Whether the method to be used is Phonics for Reading and Spelling, The Writing Road to Reading, or another intensive phonics method, this Seminar will give a tremendous introduction to the method of instruction. Ms Dettmer clearly explains how the method is multisensory and exposes the listener to the integration of thinking, writing, seeing, listening, spelling, and reading. The beginning section deals with the fascinating history of the English language, which gives understanding to the listener of the development of the language, including the vast influence of other nations over the centuries. You will understand better why the English language has so many variant spellings as well as such a broad and rich vocabulary. While the material from this section is not intended for children beginning to read, it is a marvelous overview of the history and wealth of the language itself.
