Freddy has Learned to Read with Everybody Learns

Our free trial of the Lexia Core 5 reading program from Everybody Learns has sadly come to an end. In the three months that Freddy has been using it, he has averaged about 100 minutes a week online. I have been kept regularly updated on his progress and he has been rewarded with certificates for completing the levels, that he has proudly taken in to show his class teacher.

When Freddy started the program he was not making good progress with his reading. A combination of being a summer born baby, having difficulty with his eyesight and generally being a reluctant learner meant that by the end of reception he had not reached the first level of attainment and had emerging skills only.

This was not a true representation of the smart, bright, eloquent, curious and thoughtful child that my son is. 

Having access to this program allowed me to support my son's learning, reinforcing the phonics sessions he was doing at school.  The progress made on his skills was really noticeable. Even his class teacher remarked on the fact that it seemed to be coming together for Freddy. Consequently, he has virtually caught up to his peers and is holding his own, rather than lagging behind. This is a huge relief to me.

By the end of his trial Freddy could read sentences, recognise sight words and use phonics to decode and write words independently. He also showed a good understanding of vocabulary and comprehension.

I was so impressed by his progress. The course helped build new skills and consolidated them with plenty of practice, moving on only when the skill had been mastered. This complemented what he was doing at school and helped build his confidence. The fun animations unlocked as a reward for completing the levels kept Freddy fully engaged and enjoying the learning process.

As Freddy approaches the Government's Year 1 phonics test, I hope the extra work he has done at home will help him get through it, so he can start Year 2 in a good position, and not from behind.

Here are my previous posts featuring the Everybody Learns Lexia workbooks and online reading course:

http://insidethewendyhouse.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/everybody-learns-lexia-reading-and.html
http://insidethewendyhouse.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/helping-freddy-to-catch-up-at-school.html
http://insidethewendyhouse.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/everybody-learns-freddys-progress.html

Find out more about this reading course at: www.everybodylearns.co.uk. You can also let your child complete a free reading quiz and receive the test results via email with advice on improving your child's progress.

Everybody Learns - Freddy's Progress

Freddy has been trialing the Lexia Reading Core 5 home reading course.  Doing a minimum of twenty minutes three times a week, is proving just about right for him. He remains a bit reluctant, until he actually starts a session, and then he really enjoys the word games.  He has powered through levels 3 and 4 and  is currently half way through the fifth level.  Every time he completes a level he gets a certificate, which he proudly takes to school to show his teacher! 

In addition to the certificates, I get a fortnightly progress update, giving the time spent on the program, his present position against chronological age expectations, his catch up rate and the time expected to complete the course.  I am delighted to see the rate that he is now catching up to his peers. The support team are there to also offer advice and give ideas on how to further encourage the child to maximize the impact of the reading course.

Each level has a different fun theme from the rainforest to the Scottish cliffs, and has characters that help make the games fun. The content of the levels gets more advanced as the child progresses and the format of each section changes to make it more of a challenge. If a mistake is made, the child is taken back to consolidate their knowledge before moving on. At the end of each game, the child is rewarded by a fun animation.

Children learn to recognise and spell high frequency sight words; recognise, blend and segment phonics in words; learn sequencing of stories and learn vocabulary.  The progress of the games in the levels is clearly displayed, giving the child the incentive to keep going.

Freddy is definitely getting to grips with recognising the beginning, medial and end sounds of words. This has improved his ability to read lots of different words.  He is still a reluctant reader when faced with a physical book, but I'm sure he will make the connection between what he is doing online and actually being able to read independently.  I think a lot of his reluctance is down to confidence after his difficult first year at school because of his eyesight. The home reading course is definitely making him more interested in reading words, so it'll just be a matter of time before that translates into reading stories for his own entertainment.

I am delighted that Freddy has been moved up a group in the phonics lessons he does at school and his teacher has reported an improvement. Fingers crossed, all this extra work will help him make the leap and he will soon be a confident and fluent reader.

everybodylearns.co.uk

Helping Freddy to catch up at school with Lexia

Freddy has recently helped review a series of reading and writing workbooks from Lexia.  I try and do some home learning with Freddy on a regular basis, because he is still struggling a little with learning to read and write.  His first year at school was hindered greatly because of a misdiagnosed eye problem resulting in him being unnecessarily patched.  Poor boy couldn't see a thing for three hours a day, and then had strained eyes all afternoon.  It didn't help him take in the visual cues needed when embarking on learning to read and write. He is now in year one and the penny is starting to drop, but he is still playing catch up.  Aside from being behind when it comes to reading and writing, Freddy is a bright spark.  He can tell you how an aeroplane flies, he can explain why tunnels are round and he can discuss the effect of gravity!  So I have no worries about him academically as a whole.  He is just playing catch up in reading and needs a little help to get there.

As well as making workbooks, Lexia has an online home reading course, which Freddy has been given three months access to.  The programme has two elements, the Lexia Reading software itself plus an ongoing pro-active support and advice service.  Progress reports are given to keep parents updated as to their child's usage and progress.  The course is suitable for pre-schoolers through to teens, with each child assessed before being given an individual personalised program to follow.

The Lexia Reading software is a phonics based program taking the form of interactive games with fun animations.  It covers a range of reading skills including phonological awareness, phonics, sight word recognition, sound-symbol correspondence, word-attack skills and comprehension.

Freddy was really eager to get going with his Lexia home reading course, which in itself is a really positive thing.  He loves using the computer, and he finds it much more appealing than using a pencil and paper!  Getting him to sit and write can sometimes prove a bit of a battle, whereas using the computer is seen as a fun activity.

I was impressed at how user friendly the program was and Freddy was able to complete his assessment completely independently before being placed at the appropriate level for his ability.  The animations and the theme of the program are very appealing, but this does not distract from the actual content, which I found to be excellent.

We have tried other online reading programs before, but I have always been frustrated by the fact that if a child got something wrong they would not be told why.  A wrong answer would just mean losing a point and the game would move on without the child really understanding why.  Lexia's home reading course has an excellent function which, if a child makes a mistake, goes on to offer further help.  It lets children look at things another way, simplifying the task until the knowledge is consolidated.  Freddy struggles with sight word recognition of high frequency words, and this function really helped him to recognise the words - their shape and their letter formation.  He was able to continue the task and he really understood what he was learning. I was very impressed by his determination to get it right and the program's ability to recognise that he needed extra help before moving on.  I also really like that children can see their progress and know how far through the level they have gone.

We are only one week into the Lexia home reading course and already I can see Freddy's confidence increase and his enthusiasm for the course is still strong.  Just 20 minutes three times a week can help a child's progress, and I am hoping that by the end of the three month programme, Freddy will have a skill base that will put him on a par with his peers.

I will continue to update my blog regarding Freddy's progress.

If you want to check out the Lexia products you can visit the website at everybodylearns.co.uk.

Learning to Read with Reading Eggs

Freddy is 3 and a half years old and eager to learn.  He isn't very keen on writing or drawing, but he loves playing educational games on tablets, phones and laptops.  So when I heard about Reading Eggs, an online program that teaches children to read, I was very interested in giving it a try.

Reading Eggs makes learning to read interesting and engaging for children, with great online reading games and activities which are fun to play.  It is suitable for children aged 3-7.  (Older children aged between 7 and 13 have Reading Eggspress which takes reading to a new level.)  There also apps available for little ones to play and learn on the go.

I was given a free trial to Reading Eggs (anyone can sign up for a two week trial to give the site a go with their child) after that it costs £39.95 for annual subscription which gives you access to games, activities and printable activity sheets, plus it monitors the child's progress and calculates their reading age.

Reading Eggs has a host of fun characters that lead the child through the lessons with songs, sound effects, praise and amusing graphics.  Children also have access to a great Playroom where they can enjoy some games to improve their skills.  The accent used in the speech throughout the game is British which is something that I was very pleased about.  A lot of phonics based games and apps are American and I find that it can confuse children to hear the letters and words pronounced with an American accent.

Both lower and upper case letters are included as children explore the sounds, picking out the letter from words and finding it on a wordsearch grid.  They can even make their own virtual letter book featuring words beginning with each letter.  As they progress, children begin to explore first words, building the foundations for reading.  There is loads of unlockable content to work towards which keeps the game fresh and challenging.

Freddy has taken to Reading Eggs with enthusiasm   He is very good at using the touch pad to drag and drop, click on and draw letters.  He loves the Playroom games and can explore the site map independently.  It is very user friendly, intuitive and safe.  Parents have their own area where the child's progress can be monitored.  Freddy loves the characters and really enjoys working through the lessons.  It is definitely helping with his letter recognition and it is lovely seeing him take these first steps towards being a confident reader.

Reading Eggs are offering readers of Inside the Wendy House the opportunity to extend their free trial from 2 weeks to 5 weeks if they sign up now using the code UKB24MBT.  I would definitely recommend it.

Find out more and sign up for a free trial at Reading Eggs.