ABC Reading Eggs – New school parents give their honest opinions

Learning to read is an important skill for children, with most children developing a love of reading with their parents or carers from the day they are born. There are sessions of story time and rhyme time, and plenty of books being shared. Yet a love of reading is just the beginning of your child’s learning-to-read journey.

When we had a chat around the Kids on the Coast / Kids in the City office about online reading programs for kids and interactive reading programs, everyone knew about ABC Reading Eggs. It’s Australia’s leading learn-to-read program, renowned for making learning to read easy and fun. ReadingEggs uses self-paced online lessons, interactive phonics games and motivating rewards, which helps kids stay on track with their learning.

ABC Reading Eggs is also popular in schools.

When your children first enter the school gates, a whole new world opens up to them. These parents had children starting Prep in 2022. The learning-to-read program of choice at each of their schools is ABC Reading Eggs. Almost nine months into their child’s first year of schooling, we find out how their learn-to-read journey is going.

But first, what is ABC Reading Eggs?

Here are some quick facts:

• ABC Reading Eggs is an interactive digital program that helps your child learn to read
• It has been developed by Australian educators and is based on scientific research
• The program is suitable for children aged two to 13 years
• Activities, games and lessons are targeted for each skill level
• The program is self-paced and is complementary to the Australian curriculum.

ABC Reading Eggs has five programs, starting with ABC Reading Eggs Junior for children aged two to four years; ABC Reading Eggs is the program for three to seven-year-olds; Fast Phonics is for five to 10-year-olds; and ABC Reading Eggspress is for kids aged 7 to 13 years. Also, there is a maths program called ABC Mathseeds for three to nine-year-olds, which is included with ABC Reading Eggs. At the time of writing, more than 20 million kids worldwide use the programs.

The activities target five essential skills that children need to master to have success with reading. This includes phenomic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension and fluency.

Children develop at their own pace

“When my daughter, Penny, was four, we signed up to ABC Reading Eggs,” Jessica says. “I wasn’t sure if she would want to read or if the program would tempt her to read, so having a 30-day free trial was helpful.”

Jessica says the first thing Penny did was a placement test.

“It’s optional, but I recommend it,” she says. “You don’t want your child starting at the beginning if they’re competent at reading. Neither do you want them to struggle with activities if they aren’t capable.”

The program supports kids on their learning journey. The placement test puts them into the program at a point that aligns with their current skill set.

“I didn’t feel the placement test was onerous or difficult,” Jessica says. “Penny spent about five minutes completing the multiple choice questions. The instructions were read out to her and she could listen to the questions again if she needed to.”

Jessica says Penny’s starting level wasn’t too easy, but nor was it so difficult she was struggling.

Reading games and activities that are engaging

Father-of-three, Josh, says the series of games and activities in ABC Reading Eggs were engaging for his five-year-old, Oliver. They vary from character-based games to matching letters and sounds. There are also rhyming games and spelling games.

“The quizzes in the form of driving tests that took Oliver around a driving track as he got answers correct was a lot of fun,” Josh says.

He also likes that if kids answer a question incorrectly they are given a second chance to get it right.

“Getting an answer wrong, even if accidentally, can be dispiriting for some kids,” Josh says.

ABC Reading Eggs focuses on phonics

“When Paul started Prep this year, two words that became common in our house were ‘sight words’ and ‘phonics’,” Helen says.

Children using the program from an early age get a head start because the program teaches them the sounds each letter makes.

“Earlier in the year Paul was struggling with learning to read. I find ABC Reading Eggs is a solid companion to what he is learning at school,” Helen says.

She says she listens to the instructions encouraging her son to select words that start with a particular sound.

“Until we started using ABC Reading Eggs, his interest in learning to read was minimal. Now, he wants to use it while he’s having breakfast or an after school snack. He often prefers ABC Reading Eggs to watching TV,” Helen says.

Parents can still be hands-on

“Regardless of how keen your child is to use ABC Reading Eggs, I want to remain engaged with my kids’ learning,” says dad, Robbie.

He acknowledges the program is available on desktop, but says his children, Emme and Scarlett, prefer using it on a tablet.

“I sit with them while they do the activities, which gives us a chance to talk about what they are learning and also allows me to help them with any questions,” Robbie says. “The program is easy to use and easy to follow. Having them enjoy learning to read is a bonus.”

If you want to give your child a boost with their reading, ABC Reading Eggs offers a free 30-day trial. Click here to try it for yourself!

You can also find out more about the program on the ABC Reading Eggs Facebook page, Instagram or TikTok accounts.

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