Can Technology Help Teach a Child to Read Independently?

To answer the question, in our case, it is a resounding “yes!” My oldest has been reading since he was very young, but my 3-year old has been showing an interest, but her learning style is different from my son’s, so I needed to find something that was appealing to her. I was asked to review a program that seemed to be very complete and effective.

The program that I am talking about is called Reading Kingdom Online. I went to the main page and scrolled down to read more about it. I saw that they have an introductory video. It is about 16 minutes long, but just watching it convinced me that it would be a program that my children would enjoy.

More importantly, that my son could learn typing skills and my daughter could learn how to read! Take a look at this post and see how we used it with my two children and what we think about it.

How does Reading Kingdom work?

Reading Kingdom Online is an online program that assesses children’s learning every step of the way. This is not busy work, simply put there to entertain them. Every single activity and step is with a purpose and it is backed up with research. I appreciate that, especially because I am a mom that doesn’t like her children idly sitting in front of technology with no specific academic purpose.

Reading Kingdom Online is individualized and it is adjustable and editable, which means that I can adjust levels for each child and I can also adjust response time for my children, too. There are so many unique features to this program that by the time you are done, it will look like it was made specifically for your child. Amazing!

Another important thing to point out is that this program has been created to be done independently by the child. In the introduction, parents and teachers are actually encouraged to NOT help their children/students in any way.

Reading Kingdom Online was created to foster independence, to learn to follow instructions and to grow self-esteem in your children. You can use Reading Kingdom Online alone as a reading curriculum or it can be used in addition to what you are already using.

Additional Information

The lessons are short and to the point, so you can rest assured that your child won’t sit in front of a screen longer than 8-10 minutes per day. There are specific instructions on frequency and duration of the lessons for an effective reading experience. Here is a very helpful document with more information about Reading Kingdom Online.

We have been using Reading Kingdom almost every weekday for about 6 weeks now and I can see how for the first few uses, it was helpful for me to sit with them for us to become familiarized with the program. I suggest you sit with your child for the first few lessons for sure, because that is an assessment so the program knows where your child is at and he/she is placed in the right level.

My son (5.5 years old) picked it up right away, after explaining to him that he needs to pause the program if he needs to get up for a drink or to use the restroom (it is a timed program). I sat with him at the beginning, but he has been using it independently since then.

My daughter is 3.5 years old, so I sat with her for about 5 sessions and have been sitting next to her off and on since then. I just want to make sure she is understanding what to do and to keep tabs on what she is learning.

What is our opinion of Reading Kingdom?

We are really enjoying it and I can tell that my daughter is picking up words that she is being taught only in Reading Kingdom. I love it that they are learning to type on the computer keyboard and they work on speed and agility. Dexterity is important, too.

Reading Kingdom Online is fun, colorful and effective. I asked my children what they think of it and this is what they said: (son) “I like how I am learning to be polite and to type words and read words faster.” (daughter) “I like how I get things right and the birds nod their heads. They are so sweet when I am learning.”

I know that it will be different for every family and that is why Reading Kingdom offers a free 30-day trial period. This will let your children try it, for you to see it for yourself and see how much they are learning and advancing during this time. Give the free trial a try! 🙂