Reading Kingdom

It's

REVIEW DAY

and today we are in

the Kingdom...

Reading Kingdom

An online Reading program for elementary aged children Pre-k through the 3rd grade level. 

I began the program with my 5 year old daughter who is in the beginning stages of her reading development as a kindergartner and my 9 year old son in the 4th grade who is more advanced in his reading [just to get his perspective and encourage more development in his reading skills].  Though he is a 4th grader and reading above level, I wanted to get his point of view.  He felt the graphics and approach were a little 'young' for his age, as was expected.  But he worked well through the exercises, enjoying the ability to answer, without too much of a challenge. 

My 5 year old really enjoys the sights and sounds making this learning program fun.  Reading Kingdom is so full of color it really draws her in to the lessons and makes them seem like a game instead of school.

I have to say for any beginning and/or struggling learner this is a good choice to help them grasp more solidly letters, reading, writing and keyboard mastery.  Overall, we have been please with Reading Kingdom and look forward to getting even deeper into the program.  We would recommend this as a supplemental program to your regular phonics/reading program.

Now, As you enter the program exercises a cute little owl pops up and guides students through the different stages.

Keyboard and Mouse Training stage
This is the initial  stage of the program that determines your child's ability to use the mouse and the keyboard to complete the lessons.  There is one lesson a day to complete and can be done with assistance from you, the parent.

This stage was a bit frustrating to My Princess due to the fact that once she types in, as in the above, e m, she is not told that is correct,  it prompts her to type it again.  After a few sessions I realized that this was the process of having them learn by type over and over again.  But she found that be a mistake because she wasn't told 'right' or 'correct'.  Then once she was taken to the 'stage'  she typed the letters/words in correctly and the cheering begins.  Otherwise, this is a valuable teaching tool. 

Skills Survey Part One
This section is the stage of the program the determines your child's level of learning with reading and writing.  They see and hear the word and then type the word on the keyboard. 

Each skill is recorded as not yet started, in progress or completed.  These are the parents easy to read reports to track your students success. 

"A child is assessed on skills related to left-to-right visual sequencing and the ability to use a keyboard to type words."

My 5 year old was unable to begin in the left-to-right visual sequencing stage so she was directed to the Seeing Sequences and Letter Land to teach her better keyboard skills.  With fun, colorful pictures she is given memory and keyboard activities to complete. 

My 9 year old was able to breeze through this because he is more comfortable with the keyboard and is more advanced in his reading and writing.  He then is moved to the next levels.

Sentence completion

Auditory/Visual spelling

FROM THE READING KINGDOM:

"The Reading Program that Is Customized for Every Child

Every child is different! We all know this instinctively, but our education system, due to budget concerns and historical precedent, tends to take a one-size-fits-all approach. Classroom teaching may aim to accommodate individual differences, but its group-based instruction places this goal out of reach. But the use of computers offers amazing new opportunities for customized teaching that is tailored to each child’s skills and needs.

The Reading Kingdom has been created with this in mind. As a child moves through the program, the path they take will be customized to their particular needs based on their previous interactions. Because of this, each child’s experience in the Reading Kingdom is unique. You could say that the Reading Kingdom is "kid customized".

You can see this right from the start with the Skills Survey. This is an activity that a child completes before starting the actual teaching. It assesses his or her skills in pre-reading, reading and writing. Based on the results, the program places each child at the point that is just right for his or her skill level. This prevents children from wasting time learning something they already know (which leads to boredom) or being faced with tasks that are too difficult for them (which leads to frustration).

Then, all the teaching activities that follow have been scientifically designed to take advantage of a child’s strengths and to help him or her overcome any weaknesses. For example, The Reading Kingdom:

is structured so that a child skips over words that he or she can already read and write. That not only saves precious time, but accelerates learning which adds to a child’s motivation.

offers tutoring techniques that enable a child to overcome any errors he or she may encounter with the material. That allows every activity to end successfully, with a resulting increase in levels of skill and confidence.

includes a Progress Check at the end of each of the five levels of reading/writing, to assess whether a child has mastered that level. If the achievement is on track, he or she moves to the next level; if it is not, a set of review activities is provided to bring a child to the level needed for continued progress.

Finally, there is another component that is vital to learning which is rarely found in most programs. It relates to having a sense of control over your life. Children, of course, do not have the option of deciding whether they want to learn to read. But the fact that reading is required doesn't mean that children cannot have a sense of control over their experience. The Reading Kingdom gives them this power by offering optional post lesson activities where they choose what to do . This optional component provides a sense of control that is invaluable in motivating learning."

The Reading Kingdom is a subscription-based online reading program. To get your subscription sign up for our 30 day free trial. After you've created an account you can purchase a subscription.

READING KINGDOM'S ~ 9 Reasons to Sign Up for the Reading Kingdom Today!

• It's easy and risk-free. You receive a free 30 day trial. If after that you choose to start a paid subscription you can cancel at anytime for any reason at all.
• It's the only program that teaches all 6 skills a child needs to read and write effectively.
• It's kid customized. Unlike any other program, the Reading Kingdom customizes itself to a child so they don't become frustrated with material that is too advanced for them or bored with material they already know.
• It's affordable, and if you can't afford it, you can apply to our scholarship program.
• It's A LOT OF FUN so kids enjoy doing it.
• Once you get them going, children can do this program on their own with minimal adult supervision.
• Join a community of successful, happy people. Thousands of kids and ex-kids have used this program (in its previous offline form) to learn how to read and they RAVE about it. So parents and teachers. And we're committed to fostering a vibrant community of parents and educators whose children are using the program right now and want tips, advice, and mutual support.
• Easily follow your child's progress with reports that are emailed to you or always available on our website.
• When you sign up all of your information will be kept private. Spamming is rude, unethical and we don't do it."

The cost of the program is  $19.99 per month *or* $199 per year but if you have multiple children in the family each additional child is $9.99 per month.  You can sign up here.

From My Heart to Yours,

Mindy B.

I was provided free access to this program as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew for review purposes only.

These opinions expressed are my own.