If you’ve been following Thinking Kids for a while, you’ll notice that there are tons of literature-based learning ideas, and lots of screen-free activity lists. I’m a big fan of critical thinking and spending most of the day learning off screens.
You know what else I’m a big fan of? Drama-free learning.
It’s just a fact that teaching math and reading are two of the most drama-filled tasks a homeschool mom will take on.
So, here’s a secret about how I taught my kids to read: I used phonics videos. They were fun, they were easy, the kids didn’t approach sounding out words like their teeth were about to be pulled, and–voila!–they learned to read fast and early.
Here’s another secret: My kids did arithmetic drills online, too. They learned to do quick mental math so they could spend their time contemplating tougher math concepts.
A little screen-learning in the right places can go a long way!
Take a look at a fun–and effective–resource you and your kids will love.
Reading Eggs & Mathseeds
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What if, in just 15 minutes a day, your kids could learn to read–or to level up their reading, grammar, spelling, and comprehension skills?
What if, in another 15 minutes each day, your kids could do math speed drills, learn to master word problems, understand fractions, the order of operations, and even geometry?
What if, in just two 15-minute sessions online each day, your kids could learn to read and level up their math skills?
Well, the team over at Reading Eggs has developed a fantastic resource just for you that will help your kids learn to read and do quick mental math. With fun videos, engaging quizzes, books to read online, a reading log, and tons of rewards, your children will find they actually look forward to advancing their math and reading skills!
I’m going to take you through my review of both Reading Eggs and Mathseeds. If you just can’t wait until the end, you can always head over to Reading Eggs and create an account. You’ll have 30 days to check it out for free!
Learn more about Reading Eggs and Mathseeds (new customers get 30 days FREE) here.
Reading Eggs | Where Children Learn to Read Online
Reading Eggs is a fun (and effective) program for kids, ages 2-13, to learn to read. With videos, interactive game-style activities, awards and mapped achievement, your kids will look forward to their time learning to read each day. You might even have to set a time cap!
There are four programs included with Reading Eggs:
- Reading Eggs Jr. | 2-4 year olds will learn basic ABC and reading skills with:
- Early reader books (you can turn the audio on or turn it off and read aloud to your kids)
- Animated videos of classic preschool songs
- Activities such as: matching and memory games, phonics games, handwriting, and colors
- Reading Eggs | 3-7 year olds will learn to read with:
- A reading journal to track their reading
- Driving tests to help them recall phonics
- Spelling lessons
- Songs that teach reading skills and phonics
- Awards that allow kids to access games, puzzles, and more
- Fast Phonics | Your 5-10 year olds will enter a yeti-based world (yes, yeti: the cute ice gorilla at the North Pole) where they will work to learn important phonics skills through:
- Short animated videos that teach phonics
- Games that reinforce the phonics learned from the videos
- Coins earned after successfully completing a video and a game
- The ability to upgrade your yeti with coins earned
- Reading Eggspress | Readers from ages 7-13 will find the most activities here as they utilize:
- Lessons with:
- Analysis of the book cover
- Dictionary skills, like alphabetizing, and learning vocabulary
- Grammar and punctuation
- Vocabulary definitions learned through context
- Drawing conclusions from the text
- Reading the text (with or without the audiobook activated)
- A quiz on the reading
- Reading the book
- Rewards are a central part of the encouragement
- Lessons with:
There’s more available in the Reading Eggs program! Your children will find:
- Placement Test | So your children can begin at an appropriate level.
- English Skills| Through quick videos and quizzes, your kids will learn about parts of speech, vowels versus consonants, spelling, and more.
- Stadium | Kids are able to compete to show their grasp of grammar.
- Library | Your children can read books from a library with over 3,500 books in genres including: science, earth science, animals, plants, space, ocean, art, sci-fi, comedy, myths, adventure, and fantasy.
- Reading Journal | Reading Eggs keeps a reading log for your kids. They can choose their cover and customize the theme of their journal.
- Mall * Apartment * Targets * Trophy Room *Arcade | Awards are more fun when you can use them for something. The Reading Eggs program allows kids to view their awards, trade them for games, clothes and pets for their avatar, decorate their apartment, and track their progress.
As an important note, you can create your own teacher library to share with your kids. That way, you know exactly what your kids are accessing.
Reading Eggs is a great way for your kids to gain a foundation in reading, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar.
Mathseeds
Mathseeds is an “extra” for children using Reading Eggs. The program is aimed at children ages 3-9 (Reading Eggs is for ages 2-13).
Through videos, interactive problems and quizzes, and rewards, children will be able to visualize math and improve their memory of important math facts during each session.
The Mathseeds program (a part of the Reading Eggs subscription) includes:
- Placement Test | Or, you can just have your child begin at the beginning by opting out of the placement test.
- Lessons | Through 17 (or so) activities, each lesson will help your child visualize math concepts and solutions with interactive videos explaining what they will be doing. Your child will work on the problem, then reverse engineer their answer to check their accuracy.
- Mental Minute | Kids practice “sprints”: quick, timed tests of their math facts.
- Driving Tests | These are tests that help kids work on numbers, operations, patterns & fractions, measurement, geometry, and data & chance.
- Rewards! | In addition to fun animations and sounds, your kids will receive badges, acorns, and awards when they succeed.
- Play * Shop * Awards * Arcade * Treehouse | Awards are more fun when you can use them for something. The Mathseeds program allows kids to view their awards, trade them for games, clothes and accessories for their avatar, decorate their treehouse, and choose fun musical math videos.
Mathseeds is a fun way for your kids to practice their math skills and for them to enhance their understanding of important math concepts.
More Info on Reading Eggs & Mathseeds
There’s some other stuff you should know about Reading Eggs & Mathseeds, too, like:
- ReadingEggs.com is an award winning program. In fact, it’s won a bunch of awards!
- Your children can access books at reading levels appropriate to them–and learn in just 15 minutes a day.
- The program is certified kidSAFE. It’s also ad-free.
- Over 20,000 families use Reading Eggs! (And, more than 16,000 schools.)
- You can have up to four children logged in on multiple devices at the same time.
- Reading Eggs is perfect for ages 2-13. Mathseeds is great for ages 3-9.
Learn more about Reading Eggs and Mathseeds (and new customers get 30 days FREE) here.
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