Review: Reading Kingdom

 

The Reading Kingdom is a fun, easy-to-use online program that teaches children 4-10 years old how to read and write to a third grade level. 

 

What does Reading Kingdom offer your child?

• It customizes itself to each child (learn why here)
• Most children learn to do the program on their own in a few weeks
• It’s brief lessons are fun, interactive, and enjoyable for kids
• It works along with your other homeschool curriculum
• The lessons are brief – 15-20 minutes a day
• The lessons are colorful and full of cute characters kids enjoy
• It teaches 6 skills used to read and write (read more here)

What does RK cost?  

$19.99/ month (with no monthly minimum), or $199.99 per year. They offer scholarships for families who can not afford the program.  RK also offers a 30 – day free trial.  Check our their website for details - RK Pricing here.

 

Who is this program designed for? Readers and non-readers alike – more details here

If you have specific questions about the program, the Reading Kingdom website is packed full of answers – click here.

What do I think of Reading Kingdom?

My girls have really enjoyed the Reading Kingdom lessons.  The program has progressed each of them through the lessons based on their previous skills. 

My girls moved through the Skills Survey section in about 3 weeks.  It taught them keyboarding skills and sequencing. They did not enjoy the keyboarding lessons, most days, because the timing of the key strokes is essential to moving forward. But it helped them become more familiar with where the keys are on the keyboard. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, they moved to the Teaching activities which they found to be more fun!  I have them do this 4 to 5 times a week.  Their first few weeks of lessons taught them to spell, read and type words like:  bird, the, girl, boy, kids, here, some, and cannot.  I believe the program is set up as more of a whole-word reading program. 

What do I like best about Reading Kingdom?

My girls enjoyed doing the lessons.  They rarely complained when it was time to do RK (after they got past the keyboarding lessons).  It’s a colorful program with cute characters.  The lessons are brief and they could pause them once during their lesson for 12 minutes if needed.  It progressed them based on their personal skill level.  They did not have to type words they already knew.  They learned to type, read and spell common words for beginner readers. 

I will definitely use RK as a supplement to our homeschool curriculum.  I think it has taught the girls how to read, spell and type words that are very commonly used in their readers. 

What did I not like about Reading Kingdom?

I believe a phonics-based program for reading is better than whole word  - especially since I have a struggling reader.  The RK is not phonics based.  They address how their program will benefit struggling readers on their website here.  The only other issue we had with RK was the timed keyboard strokes were frustrating for the girls, until they got more comfortable with the letter placement on the keyboard.

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Check out their website for more details here - Reading Kingdom.

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Check out what the This Old Schoolhouse Review CREW had to say about the Reading Kingdom program here!

 

 

Disclaimer:  I received this program free of charge for review purposes only.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own.