Reading Eggs is an online program designed to help young children learn to read at their own pace. Combining both phonics and sight words, this interactive program is comprised of 120 learn-to-read lessons and ninety-six spelling lessons. The lessons start at the beginning, allowing children as young as three to begin learning basic reading skills with no prior experience.

My preschooler, just a month shy of turning four, was excited to have the opportunity to try out Reading Eggs. Because he has had no phonics or reading instruction, he began the  program at the very beginning. Older children, or those who have been introduced to letters and sounds, may take a placement test to ensure they start at the appropriate level.

Reading Eggs uses attractive graphics and animations to capture a child’s interest. The program includes a wide variety of learning activities and games, which can be repeated as often as desired in order to reinforce learning.

Oral instructions make it simple for a pre-reader to work alone and navigate through the activities. Word choices are narrated on mouse-over, enabling the child without reading experience to work independently. The voices used are pleasant and varied. We did find, however, that we occasionally had trouble understanding the sound or word being spoken.

The lessons require basic use of the mouse or mouse pad. Certain activities, such as those that require clicking and dragging, were quite difficult for my almost-four-year-old; they simply require more coordination than he has developed at his age. However, I wouldn’t expect this to be an issue for those children who are a bit older than my little guy.

The lessons progress fairly rapidly, moving from sounds to words, and even ordering words into simple sentences. The instruction may move too quickly for the very young child. However, activities may be repeated as often as desired, allowing the child to master each lesson before moving on.

Reading Eggs is an excellent and enjoyable supplement to phonics instruction, even for very young children. My son gives it two thumbs up!

Want to try it for yourself? Sign up for a FREE two-week trial of Reading Eggs!

As a member of The Homeschool Lounge Review Team, I was provided with a free trial of the Reading Eggs program to facilitate my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.