I understand this thread is about HOP for babies, but just wanted to add my own HOP story.  I am a former kindergarten teacher, so I know how to teach.  Before my son was 2 he knew all his upper and lower case letters randomly and also knew the sounds each made. At three years old, I started HOP Preschool Edition.  Since he already knew his letters and sounds it was a waste of time. However, if your child does not yet know these things, this is an awesome program.  He is now 3.5 years old and I started him on the HOP Kindergarten Edition. He is doing great! Already learning how to read. He is so proud that he can read the books that come with the program. I would recommend this program whole heartedly.  As for teaching babies, I used simple ABC books. I liked the little cardboard books (one book for each letter).  Target sells the Baby Einstein books like this.  They were well used by three years old. We read these books every day. All 26 of them! We also used them for flashcards for letter names and sounds.  This along with watching Leap Frog letters really helped him!

I taught kindergarten in an underprivileged area for several years before becoming a mommy.  After seeing so many children come to school completely unprepared, I knew I had to give my child more than this.  So when my son was born, I began reading books to him.  He just turned three and although he hasn't mastered reading yet, he has learned all his letters, letter sounds, and knows several sight words. In addition, he is learning to blend sounds together to make words.  I am very proud of his accomplishments. It is amazing what children can learn if a loving parent will only spend time with them. 



Jennifer
Read my blog at: www.teachyourtoddlertoread.blogspot.com