the WRITE Balance: Reading Eggs: An Online Reading Program Review

With learning to read being one of the big milestones for our kids to hit, we are always looking for new and creative ways to encourage them during that process. We were given the chance to review Reading Eggs with my almost 7 and 4 year old this past month and half and were absolutely blown away. Reading Eggs is an enormous program full of a zillion activities that teach everything from phonics to comprehension with very clever games and reward systems. In this one program there is so much content that this review will not begin to give you a full picture. Regardless of what I share with you today, you should take advantage of their Free Trial by November 30th because it gives you free access for 4 weeks!

What do eggs have to do with reading, anyway? Before I explored the site, the name always made me think of chickens - certainly not reading! The eggs are actually a currency all over the website to access different activities, rewards and levels. This is what makes it such a hit with the kids, I think. It's a great combination of a typical video game format and a reading program.

The Reading Eggs website contains 3 reading levels: Junior Reading Eggs (for ages 2-4), Reading Eggs (for ages 3-7) and Reading Eggspress (for ages 7-13). There is a Bonus Material Section that includes Activity Sheets, a Parents User Guide, Homeschool Curriculum Guides for Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Grade, and access to The Eggsperts, an animated series about solving problems with letters and sounds. There is also a Mathseeds area in a just as clever video game format that is all about math. For this review, we're focusing on the reading portion but the math is a fantastic bonus with your subscription!

Before beginning any program, each child has the option of taking a placement test where they can begin where most appropriate rather than at the beginning of the program. If your child has some reading skills, this is a wise option. My 4 year old was just learning about word formation so beginning at the start of Reading Eggs worked perfectly, but also spent some useful time in the Junior section where things were a little easier. My almost 7 year old is a great reader and the test started him near the end of the Reading Eggs for some comprehension work. He also tried out the Reading Eggspress, where he really liked the games, but sometimes grew tired of the higher level work.

If you are familiar with my family and homeschooling style, you know that I prefer hands-on, screen-free curriculum whenever possible. Send us outside and it's a perfect day! However, if I didn't know before, the past two years have taught me that life is full of less than ideal circumstances. This program does a solid job of teaching children to read while getting them excited about their schoolwork! Whenever I need something they can work on independently this is one of everyone's top pick. For our household, this program was used as a supplement to their other reading activities. If you are in the market for a complete reading program, Reading Eggs offers a Parent User Guide that lays out the different ways you could use the various elements. A new option they offer is a complete homeschool curriculum guide (as seen in the picture below) that uses Reading Eggs, Mathseeds, activity sheets and all of its online books for the entire program of work for the school year.

The incremental levels just seem to be unending and the games continue to entertain long after the newness wears off. This program exceeded our expectations and has provided loads of educational fun for both of my school age children. Don't forget to try it out yourself for free before November 30th!