Best reading/phonics apps or interactive games

[abs103]

Hi, my daughter has now finished school for the summer.

She's kind of a middle of the road child, not fantastic at everything, but is just plodding on and I've no issues as she's happy.

The only thing I would like is for her to be better with reading and phonics. She's upset because some of her friends at school can read fluently. I'm hoping that over the next 2 months whilst we are in the summer holidays that I can help her with it so that when she goes back in September she'll feel more confident with her ready.

When we try and read with her if she struggles at any point she just loses her temper, gets upset and says she can't do it.

We've tried bribing her, games and things but she just isn't fussed.

I wondered if anyone knew of any apps that are great for helping with reading and phonics. I'm happy to pay monthly/yearly for the app if it helps her.

Teach your monster to read is good

How old is your daughter? Teach your monster to read is good, but I think geared more towards early reading (reception level and a bit earlier). Nessy offers a variety of options tailored to different age groups and levels. We used Hairy Reading through y1 at school’s recommendation and I think there was an assessment at the start to make sure material was at right level. There is ‘Nessy Reading and Spelling’ that is next level up (6-11 year olds) which we will probably use this summer (finishing y1 and moving to y2).

There is no sub for reading actual books though. I know it can be difficult - mine also gets frustrated easily and wants to give up, but it is part of the daily routine and non-negotiable part of her day. Lots of encouragement and praise helps. To try and make it fun during the holidays we are also doing a summer reading challenge where we make a chart of all the books she reads, and have promised 20p per book. I have a massive stack of books ready for the summer - some a bit easier than her level, some a bit more of a stretch.

Oh yea! Should have put that on there! 😂

She's 5 (so has just finished reception)

I think ‘teach your monster’ is free, so no harm in checking it out first. I think you can also do a free trial with Nessy (probably Hairy Reading?) and see which is a better fit. I do think the progression is better with Nessy, but teach your monster is maybe more ‘fun’ and might be more likely to keep your dc engaged