Reading Kingdom--TOS Review

If you know me even a tiny bit, you know that I love reading, so I was excited to be able to review a reading program for the TOS crew!  Reading Kingdom is a program designed to teach 4-10 year-olds how to read and write at a 3rd grade level.  Here are some of the advantages of the Reading Kingdom program, according to its website:

• It customizes itself to each child
• Most children can do the program on their own after just a few weeks
• It's fun and children enjoy doing it
• It's created by Dr. Marion Blank, one of the world's top experts in literacy
• It works with any other curriculum a child may be using
• And, it's the only system that teaches all 6 skills needed for reading & writing success!

Kids are first run through a skills survey that helps to place them in the correct level.  If kids are not yet able to maneuver quickly around a keyboard, they complete a series of lessons helping them become more comfortable using a mouse and a keyboard.  Amélie is quite comfortable with finding letters on the keyboard (in fact, I was surprised at how well she did!), so I skipped this portion with her and then moved on into the skills survey.  She placed in Level 2, which honestly surprised me, because she is a very good reader.  However, I will admit I wondered if she would be placed lower than her ability level when she was doing the skills survey, because sometimes she made errors when she did not quite understand what she was supposed to do, or she accidentally tapped the wrong key.  (And I do realize that I am sounding here like a parent who thinks her daughter is smarter than she actually is, but I'm genuinely sincere--and genuinely correct--in believing that she was placed at a lower level than she should have been.)  :)  I wish that what she was doing in Level 2 was more of a challenge for her, but she enjoys the days that I let her use this program to supplement our reading program, and I think that the review is great practice for her. 

I am honestly the most excited about using this program with my 3 1/2 year-old son, who, while certainly still a pre-reader, knows most of his letter sounds (he knows more letter sounds than he does letter names, which I think is funny), and is starting to understand that the text on a page contains words that make up a story.  He is a tiny bit young for this program as of yet, I think.  When he uses Reading Kingdom right now he is just working on knowing where the letters are on the keyboard.  He got a little tired of this, so I am letting him take a bit of a break, and then we will dive back in.  I have access to this program until next February, and I am fairly convinced, based on what I have seen Amélie do, that he will have fun using this program...and it will help him learn how to read while he thinks he is just having fun.  :)

Subscriptions to Reading Kingdom are $19.99/month with no monthly minimum, or $199.99 if you purchase a 12 month subscription. If you have multiple children using the program, the cost per each additional child in your family is $9.99/month.  If you think you might like to try this program, but you just aren't quite sure you wan to make the commitment, you can try out Reading Kingdom completely risk-free for one month--you don't even have to give your credit card number!  :)  If you have any questions about the program, I am convinced, based on my experience in corresponding with this company, that you will also receive excellent customer service.  You can't lose!  And I think you will do more than not lose--I think that your kids could easily become yet another Reading Kingdom success story.

If you would like to see what my other crewmates are saying about this product, you can check out their reviews here.


Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product for my honest evaluation. I was given no other compensation for this review.