Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
Reading Eggs from Blake eLearning Inc. is a popular online learn to read program that has millions of users. We used the program for kindergarten, but our subscription ran out at the end of the school year. I knew my son would love to continue his Reading Egg journey, so when I got the opportunity to review this product, I jumped at the chance!
Reading Eggs can be accessed through a browser or through the new Android App. If you have access to the internet, then your child can use Reading Eggs on her Android 6.0+ device. With the new app, your child gets access to what is on the desktop version. This includes all of the programs as well as the Reading Eggspress Library.
Reading Eggs Programs
Reading Eggs has multiple programs for children ages 2-13.
- Reading Eggs Jr.: Ages 2-4
- Reading Eggs: Ages 3-7
- Reading Eggspress: Ages 7-13
- Fast Phonics: Ages 5-10
- Math Seeds: Ages 3-9
My son used Reading Eggs, Fast Phonics, and Math Seeds, so those are the programs I will talk about in this review.
Reading Eggs Program
Last year I bought a Reading Eggs subscription, because it looked like a great learning tool to keep my kindergartener preoccupied when I needed to do math with my middle schooler. It turned out to be a great investment. My son used it regularly. It held his attention and now we’re reaping the benefits of this program.
Just the other day I picked up a chapter book to read to him, when he took it from my hands and said, “I’ll read it to you, Mommy!” I listened in awe as he read an entire page, with very little assistance. He read words like, “fiddlesticks” and phrases like, “mind your manners.” Last year I didn’t do very much reading instruction, so I know Reading Eggs played a vital role in his quick progress.
Reading Eggs now has monthly themes, so your child can look forward to new features. Reggie, the avatar mascot can change his appearance. This month’s theme was space, so Reggie looked like an astronaut, and my son changed his personal avatar into a one-eyed green alien. Kids can also purchase monthly specials which are themed items for their digital house. A space kitten and hover bed sound pretty cool!
What’s on the Reading Eggs Dashboard
The Reading Eggs dashboard can feel overwhelming at first, because there are so many things to explore. The main focus, of course, is the lesson component, so that is located dead center. Reggie, the avatar, is waving and he’s larger than the other icons, making him stand out. Over time, my son became familiar with the features. Here’s a brief description of each one.
- Storylands: Preview key words in fun activities to prepare to read a story. This focuses on vocabulary and reading.
- Spelling: Do several activities to practice the word list before taking a test. This is strictly a spelling program.
- My Lessons: Enter through Reggie, the gateway to the learning map for all the Reading Eggs lessons. The lesson number you’re currently on is indicated under Reggie.
- Driving Tests: Take twenty-question tests to get the chance to drive a race car and earn more points.
- Storyfactory: Read stories written by other Reading Egg users and/or write one of your own to share.
- House: Decorate and fill a three-story house with furniture and critters.
- Awards: See a wall of framed awards for quizzes and tests you’ve taken.
- Games: Use eggs you’ve earned from doing your lessons to play games.
- Puzzles: Do reading and math puzzles and earn eggs.
- Plaza: Shop for house items and change the look of your avatar with accessories and clothes.
- Critters: Revisit favorite critters you’ve met using the map index.
- Play: Find fun activities to do by clicking on different parts of the schoolroom. Some things you make can be printed.
- Songs: Use the jukebox to hear your favorite songs from your lessons.
My Lessons
When your child clicks on “My Lessons” he’ll arrive at a map filled with numbers that represent lessons. Each lesson consists of twelve individual activities.
There is always a critter that introduces the phonetic concept in the first activity. Like in this lesson, the mole is introducing the CVCe pattern in words (smile and squeeze words) using the word “nose.”
The lessons vary in how they present content. Connect words to pictures using an electrical plug, click on moving letters or words as they move across the screen, make a sentence using bricks on a wall, and blend words to pop the bubbles are just a few of the unique ways that kids get to engage with phonics and learn to read.
This squirter word game appeals to kids. Ketchup on your eggs anyone?
My son loved any games that involved word machines.
Book ends was the most difficult activity for my son, but if he got frustrated, I’d help him. It involves reading the text and finding the missing word from a list. What can be tricky is that the missing word can be anywhere in the sentence. For young readers, it’s always easier for them to fill in the last word of a sentence. When the missing word is in the middle, they have to learn how to read on, accounting for the blank space. This takes some practice.
I can’t think of any activities that my son didn’t enjoy. They are just the right length to keep children interested, have cute animations with characters singing entertaining songs. My son always giggled when he saw the ant dance and sing.
Fast Phonics Program
During our review period, my son spent most of his time using the new Fast Phonics program. He fell in love with the yeti and furballs, the star characters. This program lives up to its name, helping kids make quick progression, from learning letter sounds to stretching sounds in words to read, to reading and spelling sentences.
Fast Phoncis is organized by peaks. Each peak has a path of twenty stepping stones to complete. My son loved collecting the purple and blue gems and gold coins along the way. To reach the next peak, he had to read a story and take a multiple choice quiz.
One of my favorite components in Fast Phonics is the letter introduction. When an upper and lower case letter is shown on the screen in bold black print, it changes into animals that represent that letter. After a cute animated segment, the letters turn back into their bold print. Not only is this letter introduction creative and fun to watch, it’s highly memorable for kids. I still have visions of that walrus eating the worm!
Math Seeds Program
I didn’t introduce Math Seeds to my son until just recently, because I wanted him to focus on reading. But Math Seeds has become another enjoyable program for him. There was an optional math placement test when he first logged in, but when I saw that there were over fifty problems, I had him stop after he got a couple of problems incorrect. Then he jumped into the lessons.
In Math Seeds your child’s acorn avatar follows a path through different biomes, like the arctic, wetlands, and desert, stopping along the way to complete math lessons.
In Math Seeds my son practiced math concepts like number sense, longest/shortest, comparing numbers, number words, continuing patterns, and addition. During the short time he used this program, he made it to map eleven where he learned to add to ten on a number line. At the end of each lesson he took the “Show Me Your Skills” ten-question multiple choice quiz to show mastery before moving onto new lessons.
What’s great about Math Seeds is that it includes a book reading activity for each map, just like the other programs. In the book below the content is about the number eighteen. Children learn how to write the number eighteen and learn about place value in the context of reading.
A new feature in Math Seeds is Mental Minute. Children earn badges for completing ten math problems correctly in one minute. They can choose addition/subtraction or multiplication/division and then progress sequentially from easy problems to more difficult problems. This is a great feature for kids who could benefit from drill and repetition to strengthen their math fact fluency.
For example, the first mental minute problems are just adding one. But by the end of the addition Mental Minutes, kids are adding two-digit numbers.
What I Love About Reading Eggs
Learning Through Play
Kids love to use devices, especially when they see their older siblings on them. But most parents, like me, don’t want our children playing mindless games. With Reading Eggs my son is learning valuable reading skills while satisfying his craving to “play” on a device. My son loves to use Reading Eggs, because he’s learning through play, a great way to learn.
Library
When visiting the Reading Eggs library, kids can choose a genre by age or reading level. If they select a book to read and take a follow-up quiz they can earn additional gold eggs. If your child is not able to read the text independently, they can have the text read aloud to them. I love how this library supports readers of all ages and abilities.
Research-based
Reading Eggs was created by teachers with educational experience, so I know the instruction is based on research. The activities use the best methods for teaching reading and progress sequentially in ways that make sense developmentally.
Comprehensive
Reading Eggs touches upon all aspects of learning to read. Activities cover phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Parent Are Informed
I get regular email updates about my son’s progress. If you are a busy parent homeschooling multiple kids, this helps you stay informed. Who can juggle sitting down with each child to watch them use the program every day!
There’s also a dashboard where you can see detailed reports on how your child is progressing any time you want. You can print these out for your records.
Good Value
With Reading Eggs you get good value for a very reasonable price. Some learn to read online programs cost well over $100. A year of Reading Eggs is much less. If you’re curious about the program and want to try it out, Reading Eggs offers a free 30-day trial. So that eliminates any financial risk too!
Conclusion
Reading Eggs is a learn to read online program that appeals to kids and works! It fits well with any homeschooling philosophy. If you unschool, your kids can learn through play at their own pace. If you’re more traditional, you can use it to enforce phonics and reading skills you’re teaching through your reading curriculum. Reading Eggs is a great way to make sure your child is getting a solid reading foundation without all the planning. It takes care of teaching your child sequentially at their developmental level.
My son loved Reading Eggs last year, and with Math Seeds and the new Fast Phonics program he’s tried, he’s found even more to look forward to this year!
If you’d like to learn more about Reading Eggs from other homeschoolers’ perspectives, please visit Homeschool Review Crew.
