Reading Eggs

[anxiouswaiting]

Does anyone use Reading Eggs? Is it worth getting the programme? And the workbook set for it too?

My son is 4, goes to school in September and wondering if this is a good way to help him before he starts.

Or any suggestions of something similar?

Thanks

I wouldn’t bother with reading eggs (I was quite keen on the idea of getting my DS confident with letters before starting school and tried it). It’s overly American, very slow and doesn’t actually teach phonics the way schools do.

Out of all the apps we tried, I think “Teach your monster to read” was the best but it did progress quickly.

I’d concentrate on looking at the phonics scheme your school uses and hopefully they have some videos on pronunciation of the letters (not all are as we’d naturally say them - when my son started calling a “y” a sound that was something like “yee” I was perplexed!) and just helping your child recognise these and possibly starts blending some easier words together.

I didn’t go past single letter sounds before he started school and once he’d started I let up quite a bit and followed the schools lead more on which sounds were appropriate, although I think my son is a natural sight reader anyway so recognises so many words he “shouldn’t” know from a phonics perspective just because he’s seen them before.

Whilst I don’t claim to be an expert (and some will no doubt call me a pushy/boastful parent) - I definitely think giving my DS the headstart in reading has benefitted him. In year 1 (and as a summer born boy) he’s in the top reading groups and can read short chapter books at home. Finding the reading part of school easy helps with everything (instructions are everywhere) but also allows him to spend his “learning energy” now on things he finds tricky, like writing!

My 4yo enjoys the Fast Phonics section of Reading Eggs. I think it has helped him progress. He knew all the letter sounds before starting school and has picked up readilng easily.

I taught my son reading with reading eggs, using for my 3 y old now. We liked it, he thought it was fun to use.

My son loved it - they usually have a 30 day trial so you can see if they like it first

We used Reading Eggs during the first lockdown with our then 3.5 year old DD. We liked it and so did she.

Having said that, we don't still have the subscription now that my younger DD is 3 (nearly 4). We used Read Write Inc flashcards to teach her the phonics and then blending and now we use very basic phonics books such as Songbirds and Oxford Owl to help her practice. If we want her to do any maths games we use a free website such as Topmarks.

I don't see any differences in the abilities of my DDs despite one using Reading Eggs and one not.