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Saturday, February 15th
Homer's learn to read program is powered by Begin, an award-winning company offering digital, physical, and experiential learning programs for early learning. Begin is also behind products like KidPass, codeSpark Academy, and Little Passports. Begin has the advantage of partnering with some of the most famous names in early childhood development, including Sesame Workshop, LEGO, and Gymboree Play and Music. This is a huge advantage, as they are able to include licensed characters that kids love in their learn to read program.
Homer values traditional children's literature
Unlike other reading programs, Homer's learn to read program places a high value on traditional children's literature and themes. They want to help children learn classic stories, nursery rhymes, fables and fairy tales. They focus on kids not only learning the fundamentals of reading, but on literature skills like classic story arcs ("once upon a time” to "happily ever after”). They also want them to understand idioms and references like "a mouse saving a lion”.
Available offline, with some limitations
You can download lessons from the Homer learn to read program to use offline, but the app has to be running in the background for access. You will need an internet connection to access any custom settings.
A personalized approach
Homer takes a custom approach to each child, offering a pre-test to learn more about the child's interests, age, and skill level. This means that the activities and games and lessons will be geared toward their personal interests and developmental level.
Over a thousand lessons and more
In a world where many people feel that more is better, the thousands of games and lessons and activities in the Homer learn to read program may seem like a plus. However, parents complain that with so many options and an at-times clunky interface, it may be overkill. There is really no way to preview all the available activities and things to do, so parents who want to monitor their kids' content will need to sit with the child and observe them in real time.
Effective, even if a bit glitchy
Many parents and teachers have been pleased with how effective Homer is at teaching phonics and other basics in learning to read. With over 4,000 mostly positive ratings for the iPhone app, and over 1 million downloads in the Google Play store, it is a well-known and loved app. However, parents do complain about glitchy performance - with several parents saying they consistently have to completely shut down their devices to get the app to perform properly, and updates often result in more glitches than fixes.
Customer service doesn't measure up
While parents and subscribers are happy with many of the features of the app, when there is a glitch or problem, users report that Homer customer service is very, very slow to answer. When paying a premium for an app, customer service should be highly responsive. This just doesn't seem to be the case with Homer, with parents complaining of responses taking days.
Problems with auto-renewal
Like other online learn to read programs, Homer is plagued with complaints about lack of notification for auto-renewals, and a lack of clarification of how auto-renewal works. Some users described situations in which they were charged unknowingly after canceling. That, coupled with the slow customer response knocked off a few stars for the Homer learn to read program. There are less glitchy learn to read programs out there, and we recommend that you give those a shot before possibly circling back to Homer.
Choosing the best learn to read program is a daunting task because every child is unique and learns differently. But there are a few tried and true ways to narrow down your search to find a perfect program that can help a child learn to read.
While every child is unique, there are some tried and true methods to teach literacy that have stood the test of time and are pretty universal in application. These are teaching reading and literacy through a phonics emphasis (teaching letter sounds) or a sight words emphasis (teaching children to memorize common words in the English language).
Phonics tends to be easier and more helpful since children can come across an unfamiliar word and, with the help of phonics, sound it out. Sight words tend to be trickier because memorization is favored over learning. This can also be problematic in spelling, too. If children don't understand phonics, they have a more difficult time spelling unfamiliar words.
Learn to read programs can utilize these principles in tailored, customized ways that fit with the individual student, and that is where you can really decide which program is best for your child. Some learning programs focus on games while others make use of songs. Still others have a multisensory approach, which works well for children who have disabilities or problems focusing. Some programs are not just for reading but offer a comprehensive curriculum.
As you consider different learn to read programs, there are a few key aspects you'll find to be most important:
To help your child learn to read, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked the top programs available today. We're confident that this information will make it simple and even fun to find a learn to read program that is perfect for your emerging reader!
Select any 2 Learn to Read Programs to compare them head to head