Heading into Big Sister E's first semester conference this past fall, I was pretty sure I already knew the basics of what her teacher would tell me. Who knows their child better than their mom, right?
Sure enough, I was proud that my girl pays attention in class, is helpful whenever possible, and shows caring towards her classmates. When it came to hearing about specifics, Big Sister E was also right on track for knowing the Kindergarten necessities, such as letters, numbers, basic math, and more.
Of course I left happy knowing that that my daughter is perfectly on track (or even slightly ahead) of where she should be, but that didn't stop me from wanting to continue to help her in one area in particular:
reading.
Starting before she was even a year old, Big Sister E has had a love for books that has outlasted every possible toy or game. Hours upon hours have been spent flipping the pages, making up stories to go along with the pictures and more... so I just
know that as soon as she can fully read that it's going to unlock a world of imagination and entertainment that is going to last a lifetime.
Which is why I was excited to have the opportunity to try out a program designed by people who believe that
reading is the single most important skill children need to succeed in school and in life and that every child has the right to learn to read. Of course I wanted to give
Reading Kingdom a try!
A site for children to learn to read and for adults looking to make sure the children in their lives have the best opportunities in life, Reading Kingdom is fun, easy-to-use and, best of all, kids can do most of the program on their own with minimal adult supervision.
This online reading program is based on a patented system developed by a world-renowned expert on reading that has helped children learn to read for over forty years and is the only system that customizes itself to each child. What more could I ask for?
As I began to look over the Reading Kingdom website, right away I appreciated their mindset in recognizing that
every child is different. But, unless you homeschool your child or have a private tutor, our education system is centered on group-based instruction, therefore making it difficult to accommodate individual differences and needs.
Instead, Reading Kingdom has been created so that, as the child progresses from the initial skills surveys throughout the reading/writing levels, the program will be customized to their particular reading needs based on their previous interactions. Whether your child is proficient at typing or has never touched a keyboard, they will be able to move at their own pace and continue to have the instruction move along with them.
Beginning with the Skills Survey, Big Sister E was more than happy to sit down and allow Reading Kingdom to assess what she already knew and didn't know.
From typing particular letters to left-to-right sequencing and visual memory skills, I was glad to see that Big Sister E was already interested in the colors and graphics of the program. As a big bonus, while Reading Kingdom isn't a typing program, it was easy to see that the repetitive use of the keyboard was helping improve the amount of time it took her to find each letter (a skill that definitely needed work).
By the time she completed the full Skills Survey, Big Sister E was more than ready to dive into the Reading and Writing Levels (there are five levels in all) and the six books that each one includes.
Each level introduces the child to new words by starting with the base word (e.g. kid) and then extending it to further formats (e.g. kids) to make sure that it is completely mastered...
...before moving on to the actual book. As the child has already learned all of the words (there are a total of 99 in Level 1, made up of 36 words + 63 variants), the six books for this level can then be completely successfully!
One of the areas that I really think that Reading Kingdom especially excels is in keeping the child engaged and interested. Whenever Big Sister E is just showing a hint of being bored, the program pops up with a new way to reinforce the letters, words or skills for that section.
For instance, while she thought she already had "walk" down and would start to sigh at having to type in the missing letter yet again, suddenly she had to select which of the four choices could be made into "walk." Maybe this isn't so easy after all!
Overall, I'm really happy with the customization of Reading Kingdom and the way that it truly does personalize the activities to a child's unique abilities.
Instead of being bored by things being too easy or getting frustrated or discouraged by material that is too advanced, Big Sister E jumps at the chance to get to do her "online books" as often as possible!
At the same time, I appreciate that I can quickly and easily check to see my daughter's progress in the individual levels, as well as in the program as a whole...
...and that Reading Kingdom keeps me up to date with emails as she moves to the next levels and a handy chart to see her progress and performance.
Reading Kingdom states that, based on the child's abilities, completing the full program might take as little as 3-6 months or as much as 12-15 months... at which time they will be reading at approximately a third grade level.
Considering that it is designed for ages 4-10, I love knowing that Big Sister E, at age 6, is not only getting extra help with the most important skill that she will ever learn, but that it is fun, entertaining, educational and fully customized just for her. Reading Kingdom even does periodic Progress Checks to make sure that the user's learning is completely solid and secure.
As a result, I can rest easy knowing that along with what she is learning in Kindergarten and what we have been teaching her here at home, Big Sister has another effective method boosting her abilities to read.
While I can't say for certain that Reading Kingdom is the one and only reason that she has shown marked improvement in these past few months, I do know that it has been a big help with not only reading but her keyboard skills as well.
The Reading Kingdom has been scientifically designed to teach children all the skills required to ensure that they become a strong and successful readers. But, if you're still not convinced, you can get a free, 30 day trial of
Reading Kingdom simply by signing up on their website and trying it out with your child. If you decide that it is indeed beneficial, the cost is then $19.99 per month or $199.99 for the full year.
Find out much more by visiting ReadingKingdom.com, reading their
FAQs, checking out their informative
blog, and connecting with this innovative and amazing company on
Facebook and
Twitter.
Other than the Reading Kingdom membership that I was provided in conjunction with Mom Bloggers Club, I was not compensated or enticed to do this review in any way. This post is solely my honest opinion about this wonderful website.
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