Got Reluctant Readers that are tough to crack? Try ABC Reading Eggs for “Eggsellent” Progress

“But muuumm I don’t want to do my reader!” my six and a half year old whined.
“Books are boring” stated his twin brother.
“But reading is important!” I cajoled. “Come on, your turn!”

A sigh and dramatic eye-roll would follow; another lackluster effort to complete tonight’s reader.

The whole process made significantly more difficult by an attention seeking 4-year-old, a second set of twins just a year old, and 2 parents run off their feet and exhausted trying to keep up.

Doing readers in our house quickly became a battleground.

Our twins were not picking up reading like we had hoped they would, and just getting through readers in the evenings was becoming such a chore for us and them. I adored reading from a young age so it is crucial to me that my boys can read competently; also that they are able to unlock the same joy in reading that I myself experience. I work full time and evenings after work are a busy whirl of dinner/bath/bed routine. By the time we got around to readers or list words near bed time; everyone was exhausted and over it; including the adults.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to do a free trial with ABC Reading Eggs.

I jumped at the chance. My boys love tech time, so being able to engage them with reading through the medium of technology was appealing.

The first night we used it I signed up, a process that was simple and straightforward and the website  was bright, colourful and attractive to kids and parents alike. This was welcome as I’d never navigated the program before. I was able to set up accounts for my elder two boys and added an account for my 4-year-old son later on.

The program starts off by asking the child’s age, from there they complete a quick test to ascertain their reading level.

Each child starts at their own ideal level, and works their way through the program.

 If it’s too easy, children risk being bored and if it’s too hard, they are likely to stop trying. Reading Eggs  did a great job of pitching it just right for my son’s current knowledge. At the level my son worked at, the program focused on a letter, a short word or a sound. He then completed a number of fun challenges in each level. After each challenge was completed, he received golden eggs. The chime sound of the eggs building up is engaging,  quickly my son caught on to the delight of collecting eggs and exclaiming over how many he had. As each challenge is overcome, the child’s character walks around the map to the next challenge. At the end of the level, the child reads a book that contains the sounds and words learned in that level.

My son was able to complete a whole level in around 30 minutes. He didn’t want to stop and was keen to do Reading Eggs  again the next morning.

Having fun while learning:

His twin brother approached the program with similar enthusiasm and both delighted in passing the levels and collecting eggs. Initially, the only problem I had was that both twins wanted to use Reading Eggs  at once. However, no need to worry, Reading Eggs  has got your back. I found I was able to log into my account through two separate devices and both twins could use the program at the same time. For anyone with more than one child, this is genius as it prevents fights and meant that both children could progress at the same time.
Our 4-year-old likes to have a turn on the junior level while his brothers are at school. Targeted at children aged 2-4, this is suitable for kids who are not reading yet. It is bright and interactive with simple tasks for littlies to complete.

Reading Eggs  also includes a huge library of well over two thousand books that kids can choose from to read.

The library is appealing to look at and is laid out in an interesting way. An easy to use slider helps to select the correct reading age for your child. They can browse the categories and choose a level-appropriate book to read from age 5 to age 12. This is a great feature as my boys often bring the same reader home repeatedly, or bring books home that are much too hard for them, meaning they quickly loose interest as the book is above what they are capable of reading.

There is also a maths program available called  Mathseeds for ages 3 to 9, which my sons have also enjoyed. This is structured in a similar way to Reading Eggs in that the child is tested to find their level and they progress through a series of interactive tasks, collecting golden acorns on the way.

Reading Eggs  slots into our evening routine.

We have settled into a routine of readers straight after school when the twins are fresher, and 20 minutes Reading Eggs  just before bedtime. They like this as a wind-down activity and they can progress through the program while we do the evening tidy-up and get our 16 month old twins in bed.

While we have only been using Reading Eggs  a short time; I can see improvement in their reading of certain words that they were having trouble remembering before. With Reading Eggs  in conjunction with school, readers and home list words; we hope to boost our boys’ literacy and give them the best start we can, so that reading for them becomes a pleasure.

I would definitely recommend Reading Eggs  to any parent, particularly those of reluctant readers.

Content sponsored by Reading Eggs.