Reading Eggs ~ TOS Crew Review

 

I could easily sum this one up in two words: LOVE IT.

Simon is five, and he has known his letter sounds for awhile but blending was difficult, almost impossible, and just not happening. Reading Eggs filled the gap from letter sounds to blending and reading words! I now have a reader.  Here are some program highlights:

Quality Animation

Amazing Variety of Games
Each day I'm amazed at the new games Simon gets to experience while learning to read.

Fabulously Motivating
This program is designed to keep kids wanting more. At the end of each lesson a critter hatches out of an egg. Simon wants to discover and collect all the critters, so this keeps him reading.

The more kids play, the more golden eggs they earn. They can use the golden eggs to play games in the arcade or to buy fun things for their house and character. 

Here is Simon's guy (pirate-dragon-army tank style, anyone?) and his house. 

Reading Right Away!
The child starts reading words before they learn all the letter sounds. In lesson 3 the child learns the word I and the sound /am/. This enables the child to start reading words very quickly — what a wonderful confidence booster!

Even though I heart-heart-heart this program, there are some things I don't like:

1. Some of the words in the games (zee and queu) are irrelevant for this age group.

2. In one activity the word wing was read by sounding out each letter individually. I think /ing/ should be taught as one sound. I've had a few other minor phonics issues as well.

3. The biggest annoyance is the inconsistency of the sound throughout the activities. One game is too loud and we practically pop out of our seats while the next might be very, very quiet. We are constantly fiddling with the volume control to keep it at a comfortable setting. 

Other Things You Should Know
There is a placement test, but I started Simon at the beginning (even though he already knew his letter sounds). I'm glad I did this.

Reading Eggs has FREE activity sheets to go with each lesson. We used a few of these, but I didn't like the FULL color pages. I wish they were simply black and white.

Simon and I have done the majority of the lessons together. I think this has factored into Simon's success. I have him slow down and really read words rather than just guess. He does get time each day to play on his own (revisiting old lessons to earn more eggs, playing in the Playroom, shopping at Reggie's, decking out his house, and having fun at Puzzle Park — there is SO much to do on Reading Eggs!). 

You can check it out for yourself by signing up for a free two week trial. The monthly subscription is $9.95, or you buy 6 months for $49.95 or 12 months for $75.00. 

Read what other crew members are saying about Reading Eggs on the TOS blog.

Disclaimer: I received a free subscription to Reading Eggs in exchange for an honest review.