In all my years homeschooling, I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard anyone suggest an online reading program for teaching a child to read.
Expensive curricula with hands-on tools or books that aim to keep reading lessons short and sweet? I’ve heard plenty of accolades for those options, but mention your child is learning to read through an online program and you’re likely to be met with a skeptical stare. Ask me how I know.
*I received free access to Reading Eggs for review purposes and have been compensated for my time, but was a paid Reading Eggs subscriber prior to receiving access. As always, I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own. See disclosure for details.*
When I was looking for a new approach to teach reading last year, I heard those standard suggestions but knew they weren’t right for my then 5 year-old. She was intimidated and overwhelmed by the tried and true reading programs. She needed something fun and different. That’s where Reading Eggs comes into the picture.
Can an Online Reading Program Teach Your Child to Read?
It’s been a little over a year since we put away our well-loved reading curriculum and turned to an online program for reading help. My daughter began with Lesson 21 in Reading Eggs after using the placement test to help us decide where to start. Since then, she worked through the lessons a little at a time and completed the final lesson in the main program.
Although she completed the primary program, she graduated to Reading Eggspress and continues to work on reading comprehension and vocabulary through the Storylands component of Reading Eggs.
I’ve shared why we use online reading games in the past, but the nutshell explanation is that my daughter needed a chance to learn through playing, boost her confidence, and work independently.
A year later, these reasons still hold true. Even now that the lessons are more challenging for her, she still enjoys the games, songs, and puzzles.
And her confidence? She’s made so much progress in that area! In fact, she happily reads from our McGuffey readers, library books, and even over my shoulder as I’m checking email or researching. Serious business, confidence isn’t an issue these days!
Lastly, our 12-Month Family Membership allows her to progress independently. She’s a perfectionist and prefers to deal with difficulty privately. This gives her much-needed time and space to work it out and grow as a reader without the pressure of being watched.
Learning to Read with Reading Eggs
Even after all of that progress, it’s easy to wonder if an online reading program is really enough to teach your child to read. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few years of homeschooling, it’s to trust the system.
In other words, we’ve got to give something time to work before we count it out. Our time with Reading Eggs is a perfect example of how trusting the system pays off.
Ultimately, Reading Eggs works so well because it’s not just an educational app or website to occupy the kids. Instead, it’s a solid curriculum that teaches phonics, sight words, spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension. I’ve seen that for myself through my daughter’s growth as a reader, her excitement about reading, and the detailed email reports I receive.
Reading Eggs and Homeschooling
What sets it apart from more traditional teaching methods is that it’s not on homeschooling parents to make all of this reading instruction happen. Instead, Reading Eggs does the heavy lifting.
That said, Reading Eggs doesn’t have to stay on the screen. There are printable activity packs to go along with each lesson and there are detailed lesson plans that help you know how to use Reading Eggs for your full curriculum. Once again, it’s so much more than an app!
In addition to the resources available on the website, each email report includes easy extension activities especially for home learning and direct links to the printable sheets that go with the lessons referenced in the report. That means you can make the most of the program without adding more to your homeschool planning to-do list.
*Free 4-Week Trial for Reading Eggs*
So, can an online reading program really teach your child to read? Absolutely, but you don’t have to take my word for it! Check it out for yourself with a 4-week free trial for Reading Eggs.
>>> Reading Eggs 4-Week Trial <<<
Better yet, the free trial also comes with access to everything under the Reading Eggs umbrella: Reading Eggs Junior for ages 2-4, Reading Eggs for ages 3-7, Reading Eggspress for ages 7-13, and Mathseeds for ages 3-9.
After you check out your your free trial, you’ll want to follow Reading Eggs on your favorite social media platforms. You can find them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.
We really loved Reading Eggs and Math Seeds at our house too! And one thing I hear from so many moms of new readers is that they lack confidence to really READ even when they can do it. (We don’t struggle with that here though.) I’m really glad to hear you say that your daughter’s confidence has been boosted by the program.