F▪am▪i▪ly Phonics

Send Suggestion

Ask Us

Print Format

Joe Friberg has a variety of interests in life ranging from his family to his church to his academic interests.  He is married to his high school sweetheart, Tammie, and they have two boys and one girl: Joel, age 14, Michael , age 11, and Jessica, age 6.  All three children have benefited from these reading lessons.  The initial draft (with quite a few rough edges) started when Joel was 5 years old.  Michael also worked through the lessons in due time, and now Jessica's tutelage has prompted the updating of these lessons and the change in format from paper to web.  Jessica daily asks if the next lesson is available!

Both Joe and Tammie play violin in their church (First Baptist Church, Arlington, Texas) orchestra, teach Bible studies (adults, 5th grade Sunday School, Church Camp), participate in the mission ministries of their church, and enjoy teaching their children at home.  The process of teaching your own children not just to read but to read and study the Word of God is a joy that can be surpassed only by watching them come to a personal faith commitment to our Savior, who is the very Word of life.  It is true blessedness to know that the family circle will be unbroken for all eternity!

Joe and Tammie both have degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Tammie--M.Div., 1992; Joe--M.A. in Theology, 1999).  In addition, Joe has an M.A. in Linguistics from The University of Texas at Arlington (1996), where he specialized in the study of Phonology (the sound systems of languages). This background, supplemented with additional study in the latest pedagogical research, provides a natural foundation for developing these phonics-based lessons for teaching reading.

Both the theological and linguistic training were applied in Joe's work on the Old Testament translation committee for the Holman Christian Standard Bible, on which Joe served from 2000-2001.  Joe continues to maintain a strong interest in Bible translation and in assisting minority language translations around the world.

Joe's earlier academic background includes a B.S. in Mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin (1983), where he also obtained a teaching certificate (1984). He taught math in high school from 1986 to 1988, mostly in inner-city situations, with remedial math being the most common subject.  Currently, Joe maintains a pension actuarial practice in which he administers pension plans for small businesses.

updated 2007