Learning to read with HOMER
Learning to Read with HOMER
Sometimes my youngest doesn’t make homeschool easy. There is a lot of effort on my part that goes into getting him excited and engaged in sitting and learning. This year I wanted to make our homeschool days run smoother somehow. I was on a quest to make learning fun, easy, and exciting for my seven-year-old. On my search, I found a way for my son to learn to read with HOMER, and I am so glad I did. Before I share all about HOMER Reading, please take a moment to pin this post to your homeschool board.
What is HOMER
HOMER Reading creates personalized learn-to-read plans based on your child’s age, reading ability, and interests. HOMER grows with your children as they learn!
HOMER Reading is based online which is great for kids on the go, no need to worry about lugging books around, all you need is an internet connection and you are good to rock and roll. You get so much in one place with HOMER Reading, over 1,000 lessons, stories, and activities including songs and games. No matter where they are on their learning journey they have countless opportunities to have fun while learning.
HOMER Reading honestly helps me hold my homeschool together for my little guy, with their short lessons, just 15 minutes of practice per day can still increase his reading skills. However, he is always asking for more. Whether he is on his learning path or playing around with the songs, games, and activities he is learning and having fun.
HOMER Reading is available as an app for tablets. We downloaded in on our Kindle Fire and also used it on our PC. Both devices sync to your account, so you don’t have to worry about losing your child’s progress.
Benefits of HOMER?
HOMER is a kid-friendly website and app, that offers high-quality educational content for children from 2-8 years old.
Many of us homeschoolers worry about how challenging it will be to teach our children to read, especially if you have a reluctant or struggling reader. HOMER Reading helps both children and parents get past some of those struggles with more than 400 books in their library, personalized settings, your child is bound to find something that interests them.
My son loves “doing school” when it comes to using HOMER. He is eager to sit down for a time on the tablet or computer. The friendly characters, bright colors, and positive reinforcement that HOMER Reading provides settles my child down for some real-time learning.
It isn’t only my son who is happy, I am too. With short, fun, and engaging lessons there is no more struggling to get him focused. Another bonus is that Homer Reading is simple enough for him to use all by himself, so if I need to help my daughter with one of her lessons he can work on his, and I will see all his progress in the parent portal.
Even More with HOMER
When your child enters into the HOMER Reading app, your child can easily follow My Pathway. The pathway is the custom path that my son follows as he progresses through the program. Everything he needs is right there for him, lessons, games, stories, and more. In addition to the My Pathway, there are a variety of items to explore in the Activity Center.
HOMER offers the following interactive learning sections within the app:
- My Pathway
- Learn to Read
- Songs & Rhymes
- First Readers
- StoryTime
- Discover the World
- Brain Games
- Art
All of these sections of the app support reading and exploration that are not only a blast but high quality educational content that will give your child a rich experience.
One of my son’s favorite sections is StoryTime, which offers simple short stories about letters, words, and various topics, including classic folktales, fables, poetry, and myths (These stories are also on My Pathway). These stories can be read to your child, or your child can read it themselves! My son loves reading the stories and recording his voice in the app and hearing it back.
PRINTABLES! Yep, HOMER Reading offers printables that go along with each lesson, so your child can have tactile learning as well. Working on handwriting, puzzles and so much more. You can also print out certificates as they complete their levels (there are 22 levels in all).
How is HOMER Reading Different from the other apps?
I have tried other apps and while they can be beneficial, some things I really loved about HOMER was that it is actually personalized. When you sign up for HOMER Reading, you can choose your child’s interests as well as select their current reading ability.
This personalization is amazing because as we know, each child is unique and when their learning is catered to them, their skills, their interests they are more likely to be more engaged and learn more!
Another thing I personally loved is that they show an animation of how your mouth looks when you make the letter sound and also require voice recording when your child “reads it themselves”. I found this to be a great asset as I have been working with my son’s speech and minor articulation problems. While my son is an advanced reader this asset knocks it out of the park.
How does HOMER Reading Personalize their program for your child?
HOMER asks a variety of questions which I have listed below, in order to personalize the program for your children. They also take into account what your child is interested in, which helps to grab your child’s attention and ensures your child is having fun while learning. Which is essential in my homeschool, because children who make strong connections to what they are learning to retain the information better.
Some questions HOMER Reading takes into account when you begin are:
- Can my child match lowercase letters to uppercase letters?
- Can my child identify the specific sound a letter makes?
- Can my child recognize rhyming words?
- Can my child hear the first sound in a word?
- Does my child know how to read Consonant – Vowel – Consonant words? (e.g.“dog” or “cat”)
- Can my child spell Consonant – Vowel – Consonant words? (e.g. “dog” or “cat”)
These questions help select the correct level for your child.
They also have over 20 categories of interest including:
- Sports
- Bugs
- Outer Space
- Wild Animals
- Pets
- Ocean
- Farm Animals
- Dinosaurs
- Reptiles
- Trucks & Cars
- Trains
- Planes & Boats
- How Things Work
- Seasons & Weather
- Ocean Adventures
- Princesses
- Fairytales
- Friendships
- Kindness
- Famous People
- Ancient Worlds
- Around the World
Why You Should Choose HOMER Reading
HOMER Reading is unlike many of the learn to read programs in the market. It works with your child. So, whether they have tried learning to read before or are just starting out learning their letter sounds, HOMER Reading is her to help them and motivate them along the way.
With their fun personalized lessons, colorful, engaging characters who support your kids through their progress, HOMER combines what kids want and need.
Did you know that HOMER has found that in just 15 minutes per day on their program helps increase kids’ reading ability by 74%! That is amazing!
Did you also know that HOMER Reading is completely ad-free! There is no marketing to your child while they are learning, no up-selling either. Whether you work on a mobile device or computer you can rest assured that your child will not be distracted by ads.
HOMER Free Trial
There’s no reason not to give HOMER a try. They offer a FREE 30-day trial with no obligation. Yearly subscriptions are very affordable and provide a wide variety of learning tools easily adjusted for age and ability. Give this interest-based learning tool a try to see what a difference it can make in your child’s attitude toward reading and learning.
Continuing with HOMER Reading
HOMER Reading is not just part of our homeschool it’s part of our life. My 7-year-old son loves to play on the HOMER Reading app because it’s fun and challenging.
He is learning to spell and speak more clearly along with sharpening his reading skills. We can not be more excited to continue with HOMER throughout this year.
Ready to Try HOMER Reading in Your Homeschool?
If you are ready to try HOMER Reading in your home or homeschool now is a great time! HOMER understands that education looks different this year and they want to help. Right now you can try HOMER Reading risk-free for 30-days. Or, if you are ready to purchase, you can use this link and get a full year of access for just $45!
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