Through the years, Reading Eggs has become popular as a learning platform beloved by parents and educators alike!
But if you’re new to the app, you may wonder whether it can actually help your little one develop their reading skills. That’s where our Reading Eggs review comes in!
Here, we’ll thoroughly examine Reading Eggs’s principles, lessons, and activities. Then we’ll offer a list of its pros and cons and a few tips about maximizing its benefits!
Key Takeaways
- Reading Eggs offers self-paced, personalized lessons and activities that cater to each child’s reading level and help them develop the five foundational steps for reading success.
- Through its gamification approach, children are motivated to learn and practice reading.
- The program’s effectiveness may vary depending on the child’s learning style.
- Setting realistic screen time limits and creating opportunities for interactive learning can help parents maximize the benefits of Reading Eggs.
What Is Reading Eggs?
Reading Eggs is an online reading and learning platform that helps children ages 2 to 13 years old learn how to read and develop their reading skills in a fun and engaging way using the following tools and resources:
- Interactive lessons and games
- Animation with different characters
- Fun songs
- E-books
- Printable activity sheets
- Quizzes with rewards
All these activities are built around allowing kids to develop the five foremost reading skills, namely the following:
Skill | What It Involves | How Reading Eggs Teaches It |
Hearing, identifying, and manipulating individual sounds (phonemes) and understanding how they form words | Step-by-step demonstrations, songs, rhymes, and phonemic awareness games | |
Recognizing the connection between letters and sounds | Activities and books that help children learn to sound out words, blend sounds together, and read with accuracy and confidence | |
Vocabulary | Understanding the definition of words and the context in which they’re used | Visual aids with word definitions, such as pictures, animations, and videos in each lesson |
Reading Comprehension | Understanding and making meaning from the texts being read | E-books and dedicated comprehension-building quizzes and activities |
Fluency | Reading at a good pace, understanding the information presented in each text accurately, and reading aloud with proper expression | Word activities that help children become more familiar with high-frequency words and find out how to decode new or unfamiliar words; a read-to-me option for beginners who need a guide toward reading fluently |
What Can You Expect From Reading Eggs Lessons?
A Reading Eggs lesson usually goes as follows:
- Parts 1 and 2 introduce kids to specific letters and sounds with interactive animations featuring a beloved character.
- Parts 3 and 4 help kids match sounds to letters and allow them to put together two to three letters to form words.
- Part 5 teaches content words and providing their meaning using visual and auditory aids. Additionally, it offers activities to help kids recall high-frequency sight words (such as “I,” “and,” “the,” and “it”).
- Part 6 provides e-books for kids to practice reading; this may end with a quiz to help them hone comprehension skills.
- Part 7 gives kids rewards for finishing the lesson in the form of golden eggs that can hatch into a fun critter. It can also be used to get different items to decorate their Reading Eggs house or pick new outfits for their avatars.
All these lessons are part of the maps in the app’s Stepping Stones Reading Lessons:
Stage | Target Audience | Learning Objectives |
Maps 1 to 4: Starting Out in the Zoo | Toddlers and kids |
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Maps 5 to 8: Beginning to Read in the Playground | Young readers |
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Maps 9 to 12: Building Confidence at the Theme Park | More advanced readers |
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Benefits and Drawbacks of Reading Eggs
To help you make an informed decision about whether this program is right for your child, our Reading Eggs review will provide a list of its benefits and drawbacks.
Pros | Cons |
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Let’s take a look at each of these in detail.
Benefits of Reading Eggs
First, here are the benefits of using Reading Eggs:
Strong Reading Foundation
The strategies Reading Eggs uses and the activities it provides to help children build strong fundamental reading skills are all backed by research and years of experience.
So you can be sure that using it will set your child up for reading success.
Tailored Learning
Reading Eggs’ lessons and activities are designed to be self-paced.
- Ensures that lessons align with their individual skill level and progress
- Helps keep children challenged and motivated
- Aids in fostering continuous growth and encouraging confidence
Adaptability to Different Reading Levels
Got a struggling reader or a proficient one who gets bored with the same old books? Well, Reading Eggs has got you covered either way.
Before beginning the program, Reading Eggs conducts a placement test to determine each child’s reading level and ensure they get lessons suited to them specifically.
Effective Use of Gamification
With Reading Eggs, the process of learning to read becomes an adventure! Your child will earn rewards, tackle exciting challenges, and earn virtual trophies, all of which motivate them to complete lessons and achieve milestones.
This is why so many children love Reading Eggs. Its gamified approach instills a sense of accomplishment and enthusiasm for learning.
Comprehensive Progress Tracking
Remember those maps we mentioned? Well, at the end of each one, Reading Eggs provides a quiz to test your little one’s progress.
The results of this quiz, the assessment of each child’s progress, and the skills and concepts they learned will be described in emails sent to the parents and laid out in the app’s Family Dashboard.
These tools allow you to do the following:
- Monitor your kid’s development closely
- Understand their strengths
- Identify areas that need improvement
- Provide targeted support when necessary
Wide Range of Books
Reading Eggs offers thousands of books that little readers can enjoy and devour as much as they please, letting them practice all the skills they’ve learned and expand their vocabulary further.
According to several reviews, the Reading Eggs books are really engaging for kids, regardless of their skill level.
Guaranteed Convenience
The Reading Eggs app is available on Google Play and the App Store, and it can be downloaded on various devices, including your phone, tablet, and PC or Mac.
The program’s accessibility on various devices provides flexibility for learning at home or on the go, accommodating the busy schedules of families and homeschooling parents.
Family-Friendly Interface
The reviews of the Reading Eggs app are mostly positive, with many parents saying their kids have no trouble navigating its interface and going from one lesson to another.
Also, the program caters to families with multiple children. It offers content suitable for various age groups, making it a versatile choice for households with diverse learning needs.
And it allows you to add up to four kids onto one account.
Drawbacks of Reading Eggs
While Reading Eggs offers numerous benefits, it’s essential to consider its drawbacks and limitations too.
Here are some noted disadvantages of the program to be aware of based on different Reading Eggs reviews:
Automated Learning
Some parents feel that the interactive lessons of Reading Eggs — which offer a certain number of possible answers to different questions — allow kids to guess the correct answers without properly learning why they’re correct.
For example, let’s say a child is asked to choose between the words “cat” and “dog” and identify which one has the letter A.
If they guess and choose “dog,” the program simply says it’s wrong without offering more guidance to help them understand why.
The child can then choose “cat” on their second try, and unfortunately, there’s no guarantee as to whether they understand the logic behind the right answer.
Because of this, some parents opt to monitor their kids while they use the app to supplement its lessons with their help and guidance.
Subscription Cost
Unfortunately, Reading Eggs isn’t free. It requires a subscription plan. You can choose between monthly, six-month, and annual plans, each with a distinct pricing structure.
While most parents find that Reading Eggs’ subscription fee is well worth it for the vast educational resources it provides, some find it too costly for their budget.
Extended Screen Time
As an online platform, using Reading Eggs naturally requires extended screen time, which may be a concern for some parents.
So if you’re considering subscribing to the Reading Eggs program, remember to aim to strike a balance between digital learning and other traditional reading activities.
Limited Social Interaction
It goes without saying that learning to read with the Reading Eggs app may not provide your child the same level of social interaction that they’ll get in a classroom setting or conventional reading programs.
You may want to supplement it with opportunities for peer interaction.
Incompatibility With Certain Readers
In a few Reading Eggs reviews, some parents say that their kids find the lessons too challenging or advanced, especially those designed for ages 7 to 13 years old.
And while some kids with dyslexia or other learning disabilities find the tool useful, others may struggle with the format of its lessons and require additional support or resources.
Requirement of Parental Involvement
When using Reading Eggs, parents will need to be actively engaged in tracking their kids’ reading progress and providing support as needed — in addition to staying on top of their kids’ actual schoolwork.
While this is certainly beneficial, it also requires time and commitment on your part.
Tips for Using Reading Eggs
To maximize the benefits of Reading Eggs and address any potential drawbacks effectively, consider the following tips for using the program:
- Set realistic screen time limits. Determine a reasonable daily or weekly allocation of screen time for your child to use Reading Eggs.
- Create opportunities for interactive learning. Balancing the use of Reading Eggs with other activities, such as reading physical books and reading with family members, can help ensure well-rounded learning.
You can also arrange reading playdates in which your kids use Reading Eggs with a friend! - Maintain a supportive and encouraging attitude. Celebrate your child’s achievements within Reading Eggs, and be patient and understanding when they face challenges. This will help keep them motivated and boost their confidence too.
- Communicate with educators. If your child uses Reading Eggs in a school setting, maintain open communication with their educators and ask them to share your child’s progress reports with you.
Also, make sure to discuss how the program aligns with the classroom curriculum and helps support your child’s educational goals. - Reassess as needed. Periodically reassess your child’s experience with Reading Eggs. This way, you can help your child adjust how they use Reading Eggs based on their progress or changes in their preferred learning style.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is There a Free Trial Available for Reading Eggs?
Reading Eggs offers a free trial period, allowing parents and caregivers to explore the program’s features and assess its suitability for each child before committing to a subscription.
Is Reading Eggs Good for Homeschooling?
Absolutely! Reading Eggs is a valuable resource for homeschooling families.
Its adaptable, interactive lessons and comprehensive progress assessments make it a convenient and effective tool that can be integrated into any homeschool curriculum.
Many reviews from homeschooling parents also say Reading Eggs gives them the confidence to let their kids explore reading materials independently while ensuring they don’t get exposed to inappropriate content.
What Do Teachers Think of Reading Eggs?
If glowing teacher reviews of Reading Eggs are anything to go by, educators love this app!
Teachers of young learners really appreciate the app for helping make reading more fun for their kids and giving them an additional tool to help enhance their comprehension skills.
Can Reading Eggs Help Kids With Math?
Reading Eggs offers a separate program for learning math called Mathseeds. This program also uses fun lessons with games, songs, and activities to help young children develop their math skills.
Celebrate the Joy of Reading With Reading Eggs!
With its engaging lessons, personalized learning paths, and the joy of gamified adventures, we highly recommend giving Reading Eggs a try!
It doesn’t give your child the average boring reading lessons. Instead, it ensures they’ll have a blast while learning, thanks to the program’s fun and personalized approach.
Just be sure to weigh the pros and cons of using the app to see if it’s right for your child. And remember that you can always supplement Reading Eggs with other tools and materials so your child will truly thrive and discover different ways to enjoy reading.
