Children are so ready for learning, however, it is difficult at best to teach them through abstract methods and materials - they do not understand abstractions. Make it concrete, however, and there is no limit to what they can learn.

The problem with learning how to read and spell is that the alphabet is too abstract. So we made it concrete! Our Animal Letters are delightful and memorable. Here's why: A bear is a bear, is a bear, no matter how you turn him! The same cannot be said about the letter b:

Zoo-phonics is a complete language arts program that teaches using a cast of 26 animal/letter characters, using a whole-brain kinaesthetic approach. Zoo-phonics locks letter shapes and sounds into your child's memory through body movements called 'Signals'. Research has shown that 'when the body moves, the brain remembers'. The Zoo-phonics Program fully involves the child's eyes, ears, mouth and body as they learn phonemic awareness, the alphabet, and how to decode (read) and encode (spell/write).

Zoo-phonics is so playful. Watch baby animals as they play. They are in constant motion as they wrestle, jump, roll, snarl, yip and growl. This is important preparation for adulthood. The same goes for children. They're in constant motion, and they love to make noise. So let's use what is natural for them and channel it for learning! If they are moving, they are not only having fun but they are processing information through this important movement and sound production!

Zoo-phonics has a strong parent component because we know that helping parents to help their children is crucial. Parents bond with their children as they 'play' Zoo-phonics.

Our society is capital letter and letter name entrenched. The problem is that we use capital letters only 5% of the time and then only for specific reasons (in a name, to begin a sentence, etc). The same goes for letter names. We never say "double u" (w), or "ache" (h), "el" (l), "em" (m), etc, when reading. Traditionally, capital letters and letter names are always taught first. This is incidental (important, but incidental) information, not immediately needed for beginning the reading, spelling and writing process. Let's hit the bull's eye with relevant instruction, and we will maximise children's learning.