As a teacher, I’m a huge believe that helping your child become a strong reader is one of the greatest things you can do to set them up for success. Reading will help your child develop their sense of creativity, empathy, confidence, and imagination.
Fostering a love of reading can often feel like an overwhelming task, however, especially for kids who might initially struggle or see themselves as “bad readers.” The good news is there are some great reading apps and programs out there, like Reading Eggs, that can help make this journey easier and more enjoyable for both you and your child.
In this Reading Eggs review, I’m going to take an in-depth look at the award-winning program, explaining how the app works and exploring the pros and cons so that you can determine if it might be the answer to your child’s reading needs.
What is Reading Eggs?
Reading Eggs
Reading Eggs captivates children with its engaging online reading games and activities, making the process of learning to read enjoyable. The combination of interactive elements like games, songs, and rewards not only keeps kids motivated but also instills a sense of pride in their reading achievements!
Reading Eggs, from edtech company Edmentum, is a digital curriculum designed to support kids in every step of their reading journey.
Reading Eggs is intended for kids ages 2-13. This is a much wider age range than most reading apps on the market today.
Once you’ve downloaded the app, your child will take a quick placement test to determine their reading level. This will put them on the appropriate learning program for their abilities.
I love this because it creates a more tailored experience for the child, ensuring they’re not overwhelmed by material that’s too hard for them or bored by content that’s too easy.
Reading Eggs is divided into three main learning programs:
- Reading Eggs Junior: Aimed at toddlers and preschoolers from ages 2-4, these lessons will help your child master the basics, like letter recognition and basic letter-sound awareness.
- Reading Eggs: The core program, built for learners ages 3-7, helps kids make the necessary connections to get them reading and decoding independently.
- Reading Eggspress: This set of lessons is for more advanced readers ages 7 and up. It includes higher level texts and an increased focus on comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary.
Once your child’s program has been determined, they’ll begin a series of comprehensive games, lessons, videos, songs, and books tailored to make them better, more competent readers.
The app is designed to progress along with your child, so every lesson they complete is logged, saved, and rewarded with celebratory eggs (hence the name of the app) that can be used to earn digital prizes.
Meanwhile, parents can monitor their child’s success with Reading Eggs’ automated progress reports.
How Does Reading Eggs Work?
Reading Eggs has a strong track record, and based on my experience, it’s for a good reason. The program has been implemented in over 12,000 elementary schools and has served over 20 million children.
Reviews of Reading Eggs are overwhelmingly positive, from teachers, parents, and kids alike.
In fact, the program is extremely popular with the homeschooling community, as it provides an easy and flexible framework for meaningful ring instruction.
So what’s the key to the Reading Eggs method?
The app works by focusing on the five essential components of reading: phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. As a teacher, I can tell you that these five building blocks are each essential to being a successful reader.
Read on for a quick overview of what each of these skills entail.
- Phonics refers to the relationship between sounds and letters or groups of letters. Phonics instruction means helping kids understand that each letter makes different sounds, and that we can put these together to form words.
- Phonemic awareness is similar to phonics, but requires readers to understand phonemes, or units of sound. For example, the word chair includes the phonemes ch/a/r.
- Fluency refers to a learner’s ability to read with smoothness and speed. A fluent reader is able to get through a text quickly and with expression, as opposed to painstakingly sounding out every individual sound or word.
- Vocabulary encompasses all of the new words that a reader will learn when they dive into a text. Vocabulary also includes a reader’s ability to infer what new words mean based on the context in the story.
- Comprehension is perhaps the most complex element of reading, as it means actually understanding the plot or action that took place. This is where imagination, emotion, and personal connection enter into the equation.
If these five elements sound like a lot, it’s because they are! Yet no child can be a successful reader without mastering all five.
Reading Eggs tailors their lessons, videos, songs, books, and animations to your child’s level in order to give them appropriate content that cover each of these five elements.
Pros of Using Reading Eggs
An Effective System
When it comes to a digital literacy program, the main thing parents want to know is if it works.
I love that Reading Eggs uses science-backed methods that are supported by current educational research.
Each lesson is designed to incorporate the five elements of reading that are required to help your child learn to read (and actually understand the story, too).
A Comprehensive Library
The Reading Eggs app includes an extremely comprehensive digital library, with over 3,500 eBooks to choose from. This is great for appealing to kids’ ever-changing interests, as you’re sure to be able to find a book about something they like.
Reading Eggs also offers parents the unique ability to filter their library, so you can curate what your child can access. This is a nice level of control (especially for young readers) that most other reading apps don’t include.
User-Friendly and Intuitive
The Reading Eggs interface is straightforward and simple for both parents and children. Instructions are clear (and are read aloud for the younger folks), and kids can easily navigate through lessons, games, and activities as needed.
eBooks are also easy to read, with an option for read-aloud as well as the ability to go back and reread pages as needed.
Reading Eggs automatically generates progress reports for parents, so you can stay aware of how your child is doing without any hassle.
Off-Screen Extensions
One of the reasons Reading Eggs is such a hit with homeschooling parents and teachers alike is that it’s not limited to just a screen.
In addition to the app’s extensive digital lessons and games, users can also access a wealth of corresponding worksheets and texts to print out. There are lesson ideas and hands-on activity suggestions, too.
Reading Eggs even includes storybooks and workbooks that can be purchased separately to supplement your child’s learning on the app.
This is a nice way to remind kids that screens aren’t the only place where they can enjoy a good story.
Cons of Using Reading Eggs
It Requires a Subscription
Reading Eggs offers prospective users a 30-day free trial, but beyond that, you will need to pay to enjoy everything the app has to offer.
Reading Eggs pricing includes 4 different plans ranging from $9.99 to $13.99 a month and $69.99 to $99.99 a year (at the time of this writing).
Most parents agree that this cost is worthwhile, especially if their child uses the app (or the corresponding worksheets or activities) every day.
However, if you’re looking for something free – or if you’re only expecting your child to use the app a few times a month – then Reading Eggs might not be the right choice for you.
It Leans on Memorization & Repetition
Some of the games and activities on Reading Eggs require your child to memorize a new sound or word by repeating it several times.
Rote memorization has gone out of favor as a reading strategy, as many educators prefer kids to understand why an answer is correct instead of just knowing the answer itself.
That being said, memorization and repetition is also a key part of learning to read, especially when it comes to sight words and basic letter sounds.
Consider this: kids need to know how multiplication works, but they’ll also be much quicker and more successful mathematicians if they have the times tables memorized.
The same is true with reading, though some parents prefer apps without any aspect of memorization.
The Games and Songs Appeal Mostly to Younger Kids
Reading Eggs does a fantastic job hooking younger students with fun videos, animations, songs, and activities.
Though the app does include a more advanced option for readers ages 7-13, I feel that kids on the upper bound of that age range might find the program a bit too juvenile.
That’s not to say there won’t be older students who enjoy everything the program has to offer, but more to suggest that it’s best for those who are still at the elementary level.
Final Thoughts
Reading Eggs is a well-designed program for anyone wanting to include more reading practice in your child’s routine.
Whether you plan to use the app as extra practice or as the basis for your homeschooling curriculum, Reading Eggs includes detailed, research-backed activities to help your child make progress no matter where they are starting from.
The app does a great job tailoring instructional activities to your child’s level, and includes an impressive library of eBooks, worksheets, and additional lesson plans to help your child connect to reading in a personal, hands-on way.
Though it requires a subscription and does include some rote memorization, I think that Reading Eggs is, overall, an excellent resource for families and teachers who want to help their kids love reading.
Has your child ever used Reading Eggs? Know of any other great ways to get kids involved with reading? I’d love to hear your input in the comments below!