Showing posts with label Reading Eggs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reading Eggs. Show all posts

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Reading Eggs review via US Family Guide

Recently I mentioned a promotion being sent out from US Family Guide for a website called Reading Eggs. As home schooling mom, I can't tell you how much help this has been for me. It helps your child starting at age three, to learn reading and math skills. The Math Seeds is a new addition to their service.
First you sign up for a trial. The free trial lasts for two weeks I believe. No credit card is required for this. Simply put in basic information like your name and email address. Then you put in your child's name and age. Your child (or children if you have more than one) can take a practice test that allows Reading Eggs to know which level they need to start on. I love this option since you never want to start a child at the basics if they are ready for an advanced level. It causes them to be bored and give up far quicker.
After your child is at the correct level, they can begin their lessons. Its simple but so much fun that my boys actually fought over who could go first. I had to start timing them and keep one of them busy. Then if they both got to computer at the same time, they would tell each other what the answers were. My boys are ages 3 and 4 (almost 5) years old.
I love how the lessons are voiced over by proper English accented people. Although, you might need some good speakers as I've noticed there are a couple words they have said that can be confusing to American English speaking children. It does remind me of how awful I pronounce some words, being raised in the South....
As the child goes through the lessons and completes sections, they are awards Eggs. These Eggs can be used to purchase items for their "home" and avatar as well as games they can play at the Arcade.
The avatar can be personalized to whatever they want it to be with the many things they offer. After completing so many sections, they are awarded "pets" that live in the garden next to their home.
When we first signed up, I had them using my laptop hooked up to our TV. Then my husband pulled out an older computer for them to use.
There are many other things they can do besides the lessons.
 Start with this, then you can go to the Lessons, to a Playroom with music and exploration options, the Music CafĂ© that has songs from the lessons and games they play, and so much more! It really does give them hours of learning fun.

So if you want to check it out and see more about them, check out their website. Look it over closely. They have even been emailing me offers for 16-50% off to sign up for the service after my trial ends. Pricing is for 6 or 12 month subscriptions that have various options.
Its really great if you need help as a home schooling parent or even if your child just needs an extra boost like they would have with tutoring. They have also added the ability to take it on the go with apps for the iPhone and iPad! They have various apps that are free and some that you can purchase. I've been putting them on my kids iPad for those trips where they get bored.

The only issue I had with them, was that at times, it wouldn't load. Mostly the Math Seeds. After I contacted them, I found out that they work better with Google Chrome or an updated version of Windows. My boys computer hasn't been updated yet, so that was something they had to do on my laptop. The help desk sent an email that was detailed with instructions on how to fix the problem:
Please note that there are currently some known issues with Mathseeds working on a few web browsers.  Although this is a temporary situation (our tech team is hard at work making sure the program is fully compatible across all browsers), we understand that you would like to use the program immediately.  Please see below (and please read each step in succession) for a list of web browsers and possible solutions towards your problem(s):
 
I.  Please make sure that you are using  the latest version of your respective browser available for your operating system (Windows Vista and higher or MAC OSX 10.6 and higher)

a.  If you are using the latest version of your browser and it is still not functioning properly, we recommend downloading and installing Google Chrome (www.google.com/chrome)
II.  If you are using Internet Explorer Version 6, 7, 8, or 9, and can’t upgrade, don’t want to upgrade, or don’t want to change your browser, please download and install Google Chrome Frame which can be located here (http://www.google.com/chromeframe?prefersystemlevel=true).  This is just a plug in that will make your browser compatible.
III.  If you are using Safari Browser or Mozilla Firefox and still experiencing problems, please note that at this time, the best solution is to download and install Google Chrome as instructed above.
IV.  If you are using the latest version of Google Chrome and still having problems, please see below:
Open a Private browsing session in Chrome (ctrl+shift+n) and try the program >> If that works then clear your cache and try again in a non-private session>> If the problem persists, try disabling your extensions: 
a.  Click the Chrome menu on the browser toolbar.
b.  Select Tools.
c.  Select Extensions.
d.  disable everything
If this works, then you'll need to turn them on, one by one to see which one is affecting the program.
 
V.  If you have exhausted ALL options provided above and still experience technical problems, please click here, enter your name & email address and press “Send Details.”  This will provide us with a brief look at your system information so that we can provide an accurate response. 

You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Wordpress and on Study Island. Let me know what you think and if you would consider something like this for your child!