Creating A Great Reading Foundation With Reading Eggs {Curriculum Review}

Most of early elementary homeschooling focuses on reading and math skills. For our homeschool, we place the majority of our focus on these two aspects as they directly impact the rest of our children’s education. So it was an easy decision for us to take part in a review of Reading Eggs. Yet, we weren’t technically reviewing their online program. Instead we had the unique opportunity to try out a brand new feature in the Reading Eggs program – workbooks – with our copy of 200 Essential Reading Skills for 3rd Grade.

What Is Reading Eggs?

If you are not familiar with Reading Eggs, you may be wondering just what I am talking about. Reading Eggs is an online program originally designed to help children with early elementary reading skills. Through a variety of lessons and interactive games, children ages 2-13 can learn to read and increase their comprehension skills in a fun and easy way. Through what appears to be gameplay, your child learns and is encouraged to keep learning.

This was our first experience with Reading Eggs, and my third grader really enjoyed setting up his online account. We created his character, customized his appearance, and started with an easy to follow placement test. The test automatically assigns the proper level to your child making it easy to start anytime. The placement test also takes the guesswork out of proper placement and is key to their success in the program. Rather then the parent selecting the grade level they feel is right, the program automatically determines where your child should start. This helps ensure there are no gaps moving forward.

Following the initial set up we simply began with his first lesson. The lessons themselves contained several different parts and we quickly found him earning eggs. These eggs are the reward your child earns for successfully completing a part of the lesson and can be used in the arcade, to purchase pets, or to decorate the character’s apartment. My son loves animals, so he has already purchased several, including a couple of cats.

Time To Check Out The Workbook

This review technically started before we had the actual workbooks. It was kind of strange, however, it gave us the opportunity to check out the website. Reading Eggs also supplied us with a digital version of the workbook. Aptly named, 200 Essential Reading Skills for 3rd Grade, the file itself was large. We opted to look and print only a few pages while we waited for the physical workbook to arrive.

When it came I was pretty excited! This was a new-to-the-market item, and if it was anything like the online program and what we had printed, I knew it was going to work out pretty well.

The first thing I did with the workbook was sigh. No joke. It had been damaged in shipping and the cover along with a large majority of the pages had creases in them. Not Reading Eggs fault, yet I wondered how much of that damage would appear in any pictures I took for this review. You can be the judge.

With nothing that could be done about it, it was time to get to work.

The inside cover of the workbook tells you about what your student will be doing with this workbook. Days 1 and 2 are all about comprehension. Days 3 and 4 work on spelling. And day 5 is the grammar lesson. This program is designed to take only about 15 minutes per day, which is something most homeschool parents will agree is the length of time you can successfully maintain your early elementary student’s attention. After completing 9 weeks of material there is a built-in review to check for learning and retention.

Also, there is a year-long planner in the workbook, allowing you to see what you will be working on and when. Helpful if you are trying to coordinate other subjects or simply plan ahead.

Working Together

The workbooks are designed to work with the online program. Due to this, it’s important to have your child complete the online placement test. I’m telling you this because at the time I started this review I simply selected the workbook I felt would be appropriate for my son. However, his placement test did not agree. So for the majority of the review, we were actually working on two different levels.

However, this did not impede our success with the workbook. The lessons are fun, engaging, and easy to complete. It’s an open and go system that allows you to simply work on the pages in order. One page a day typically takes less than 15 minutes yet in that time you are working on valuable skills for reading and writing success. I include writing success in there because even though this program focuses on building good reading skills, those skills will transfer to writing as well.

Contained in our workbook are 72 lessons on comprehension. These are designed to get your child thinking about what they are reading rather than just reading the material. There are 72 spelling lessons as well, helping to build a great vocabulary base. The 36 grammar lessons help your child understand sentence structure and how words are connected. Also included are 4 reviews to check for understanding of the concepts taught. An answer key is located at the back of the workbook for easy reference.

Not Just Reading Skills

While we only focused on the reading side of the Reading Eggs program, I do want to let you know that they do offer math lessons as well. Mathseeds is available online for ages 3-9, and they currently offer math workbooks for k-2 as well.

Setting Your Child Up For Reading Success With Reading Eggs

My son really enjoyed the online program that Reading Eggs offers. To him, it was more fun than work. While online we explored the arcade, the library, and the multitudes of trading cards he could earn. I simply sat back and watched as he navigated the easy to use program with ease, and offered minimal support where he needed it. This is the type of learning my son really enjoys.

The workbooks were more hands-on and I will admit, more in the style of learning that I enjoy. While physical products require more of my time, I enjoy the process of explaining the skills and working together.

By combining the two methods, online learning and physical workbooks, we have a great balance that appeals to both the homeschooled child and parent. In my opinion, this is a win-win combination!

Ready To Try Reading Eggs In Your Homeschool?

Just in time for the new school year, I am super excited to let you know about a great offer from Reading Eggs! Try out their online program today free for 4 weeks. And when you are ready to buy the workbooks, use promo code WK10107MV0D to save 10%!