TOS Review: Reading Kingdom

Probably the most important academic skill (and one that parents stress the most about) that your child will ever learn is learning how to read. If a child cannot read, they will struggle in every other subject as well. For the last several weeks, we have had the opportunity to use an review an online program called Reading Kingdom.

Reading Kingdom is an online reading program designed to teach children Pre-K - to 3 rd grade how to read and write. The program was designed by Dr. Marion Blank one of the world's top experts in literacy. The program teaches 6 necessary skills for reading and writing success: sequencing, motor skills, sounds, meaning, grammar, and comprehension. Reading Kingdom customizes itself to each child targeting their strengths and weaknesses and most children can do it on their own after a few weeks. The program can be used along with any curriculum the child is using and it's fun! Parents can easily keep track of what their child is doing and how well they are doing by opening a link that shows their progress.


To start the program there is an optional section of keyboard and mouse training for those children who are unfamiliar with the keyboard. Then the child takes a skills survey to assess what skills your child does/does not have and where the program needs to begin. There are 6 levels in the program that your child's teaching will begin and progress. The pre-reading level teaches visual sequencing and keyboarding skills. The seeing Sequence portion teaches visual scanning and memory skills while Letter Land teaches where to find and click letters smoothly. After getting through Letter Land the child goes on to a second skills survey to assess their reading skills and which level they need to be placed at. The reading portion is divided into 5 levels with 6 books to read at each level becoming more complex as you pass through each level. Before reading each book, the child is taught all of the words needed to read that book. Each word is taught in 4 fun and game like formats and each session takes about 15-20 minutes each. Before teaching each new word the program determines if the child knows the word and if so it skips that word and moves on to the next one.

Reading Kingdom is a subscription based online reading program. The cost is $19.99/per month with no minimum amount of months to buy. A full year's cost is $199.99 and for multiple children the cost is $9.99 per month for each additional child. Reading Kingdom offers a 30 day free trial. For more information click here.



To read more about how the program is organized click here.



To read more about their approach to reading click here.



Alex (7) has been my main user of Reading Kingdom, although Anthony (5) tried it also. Alex has had a very strong desire to read for a long time. In fact, he even takes books to bed with him at night like his big brother and sister, but nothing really has made blending sounds and reading/remembering words "click" for him and he has been starting to get frustrated. I was in the process of looking for something new for him to try when the opportunity to review Reading Kingdom came up. Alex is doing very well with the program. He started out in Letter Land which really built his confidence on using the keyboard and he really liked doing the program. After the second skills assessment he was placed in Level 1 and we have been working there for a couple of weeks. He has learned and remembered several new words even to the point of recognizing them in other places besides Reading Kingdom. He likes playing the "game" and he loves the owl that gives the instructions. The lessons are just long enough to keep his attention and not too long to bore him into not wanting to do it again. We have gotten through the first three books in level one and the first time he read the whole book I was so happy for him and what he accomplished. Reading Kingdom really has opened the world of reading to him like nothing else has been able to and given him the tools and confidence he needed to start succeeding. I am very impressed with the program and his progress and will continue to use it.



We have not been as successful with Anthony. Being able to locate the correct letters on the keyboard is an important part of this program because it is being done on a computer. But, there is a time limit on how long you have to type or point and click to answer. I believe that this is definitely too short for the younger (pre-k-k) age. It was very frustrating for Anthony that he could not get his answer in time even though he was paying attention. He kept saying, "It won't let me finish!" Also, if they don't type or click fast enough, the program erases what they have done on that question, shows them the answer, and they have to start their answer over again. I believe it would be much more beneficial to the child to keep the part of the answer that they have correct and let them go on from there instead of making them start over again.

To see what my other crew mates are saying click here.

I received a complimentary subscription to Reading Kingdom for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation.

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Our Birth Story

We went into the hospital Friday morning at 5:30 am for a scheduled induction due to "pregnancy induced hypertension." This was my first time being at this particular hospital as I had to find a new doctor for this pregnancy because my other doctor stopped delivering. After filling out paperwork and monitoring my blood pressure and the baby for an hour, they started the Pitocin. At 7:15 am my doctor came over and broke my water. She also gave permission for me to be able to get out of bed on occasion to use the bathroom (they usually won't let you do this when your water is broken.) I did not start having any contractions until 8:45 am so up until then I tried to rest a little bit. The contractions were not very painful until they started moving more into my back than in my stomach. Changing positions helped quite a bit as did the few walks I was able to make. At 12:30 my doc came back to check on me and I was 8 cm. She gave permission for me to get up one more time and said she would see me very soon. At the point the pain in my back was worse than anything I had ever experienced, but 2 contractions later I told Art to call the nurse. She came running in and paged the nursery and the doctor because it was TIME! Two pushes later, at 12:44 pm Emelia Rose was on my abdomen getting her first look at the world around her. After she was weighed( 6 lbs 6 oz and 19 in my smallest baby by far )and Apgar scores checked, I got to nurse her and she was nursing like a champ. She is doing very well (been asleep all day so who knows what tonight is going to be like.) I was very pleased with the hospital and could not have asked for a better nurse who was very supportive of natural childbirth and recognized that I have done this before and let me do what I needed to do to be successful. I could not imagine a better experience or outcome (unless it could have been completely pain free :) The children are thrilled with their new baby sister and have done a great job looking after me today and keeping me well stocked with water.

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Children Meeting Their Baby Sister

Some pictures when the children came to see us in the hospital Friday night. We were discharged yesterday at 3 pm and we are both doing well. Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers!

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Emelia Rose is Here!

Born today at 12:44. 6 lbs 6 oz and 19 inches long. She and I are both healthy and well. We had a fairly easy natural labor and delivery She has already been nursing like a champ! More detail at another time. Hoping to be home tomorrow!

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Baby Tomorrow!

Well we are 39 weeks pregnant and headed to the doctor for what I thought would be a quick check-up. I really believed I was going to be pregnant for another week or two. But, my blood pressure was high. Not dangerously high and there was no protein in my urine, but my blood pressure is always the same and never in any of my pregnancies has even been a little bit high. I also lost a pound and still measured for 38 weeks. So my doctor was a little concerned. She said I could either go on bed rest until I go into labor on my own with visits to her every other day to monitor me, or go ahead and induce labor. I am 3cm dilated and 75 percent effaced and so I elected to be induced in the morning. I also had to have a non stress test while I was there which was also a first, but the baby did fine. So, we will be heading to the hospital at 4:00 tomorrow morning to be there before 5:30 so they can get my paperwork done and Pitocin started. Hopefully my doctor will come break my water by 8:00 am and we will have a new baby by the afternoon. Prayers for an easy labor, healthy baby, and great nurses would be appreciated!

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Getting Ready for Baby

In between sickness, schoolwork, housework, transporting children from place to place, and did I mention sickness? I have been trying to get everything ready for our Baby Sister who by the way is "due" next Friday. There was such a big gap between Chelsea and Nick (and honestly we didn't even know if we were going to have more children) that I donated or gave all of my baby stuff away. After buying everything new for Nicholas, I told Art that we would have to have another baby to get our money's worth from everything we bought. After 9 more years and 5 more children, I don't think that's a problem!

Lily has been a great help to me getting everything ready. She was a March baby too (she will be 2 on the 15th) so baby sister will be able to wear all of the clothes that Lily wore and a lot of them still look brand new (especially the 0-3 month size.) Lily loves new clothes and was trying to put on everything that we washed. Then she would say, " That doesn't fit me. That's for baby sister." After a while I thought she would get tired of that so I pulled a spring dress out of the closet for Lily that she hadn't worn yet and she was thrilled to wear her new dress and put away clothes for baby sister.

The crib doesn't ever come down. It just sits beside my bed waiting for the new baby to be born and start using it. I did wash the bedding the other day and made up the crib so it is all ready whever she is. Most of our babies do spend some time sleeping in the bed with us at night (it is so nice to be able to nurse the baby and fall back to sleep especially when they are eating every hour and a half!)

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful church family. My Sunday School Class threw me a diaper/wipes shower 2 weeks a go at church. We are well stocked with diapers, baby wipes, baby lotion and shampoo. I also got some gift cards which I bought an outfit for the baby to come home in (so I will be able to tell her apart in pictures from Lily some day) and I am going to buy a new bouncy seat. The one we have now coverts to a rocking chair , holds up to 30 pounds, and Lily still uses it quite a bit. I did get a few little clothes and the most beautiful homemade burp cloths you have ever seen. I do not know how I am going to use them for what they are supposed to be for. They are too pretty!

I broke down the other day and even packed my suitcase. I always procrastinate on this and it stays empty until the last minute. A doctor told me once," You have a wonderful husband, but do you really want to rely on him to pack your bag?" All taken care of so he doesn't have to worry about taking on that task. The car seat is also washed and ready to be put in the van with the suitcase. Hmmmmm the van. Maybe we will clean that out today. That's one thing we haven't done yet.

I had intended on doing some freezer cooking before the baby was born. One of the hardest things for me after having a baby is getting back into the cooking/shopping routine. With everyone being sick (including me) it just did not happen. I am going to buy some extra frozen meals/canned foods when I go shopping today and hopefully that will hold us over for a little while after the baby is born. Art works across the street from Walmart and is always willing to go and get what we need even though he strongly dislikes having to go to Walmart.

Okay, we have all the stuff ready. Now we just need the baby to go with it. Anthony has been asking me a lot lately if it is time to get the baby out yet. We have been telling Christian for a long time that the baby needed to grow in my belly until she is ready to be born. Every day he stares at my belly and says, "I see your belly growing. I think the baby has grown and is ready to come out now." Lily comes over and kisses my belly all the time saying she is kissing baby sister. Nick, Alex, and Chelsea are pretty familiar with the whole having a baby routine and know what to expect. It won't be too much longer and she will be here!

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My Answers to Some Homeschooling Questions

I recently received an email from a lady who is taking a journalism class and looking for some input on an article she will be writing on homeschooling. Here are some of the questions she was asking about homeschooling and MY answers to those questions. I apologize in advance if some get a little long winded ;).

What are some of the reasons you decided to homeschool your children?

Originally, my reasons were purely academic. Even though we lived in a pretty good school system, Public School is designed to keep all children on the same page. Chelsea was getting into trouble at school because she was bored with what they were doing and I was told in a conference that they were "not allowed" to let her read more challenging books because then she would be too far ahead the next year. I still think that individualized learning is a great reason to homeschool, but my reasons go much deeper than that now. Lack of peer influence is another big reason, but being able to use a Christian Based Curriculum at home is my biggest reason. I am able to teach my children the "Truth" in everything we do. Every subject that is taught is from a Christian perspective and you can't do that when your children are in public school.

How do you react to the critics of homeschool who believe children will suffer socially if they are in a homeschool?

First of all, what is the main purpose of "school." Is it so our children can be educated, or be "socialized?" What kind of "social" interaction do you remember from school? Bullying, peer pressure to conform, self worth being based on looks/money are some of the socialization I remember. I am very happy that my children are missing out on those things and Thank God for that every day. We do have plenty of positive social interaction with other friends, homeschoolers, through 4-H, community service, and church activities. Since they are not stuck in a room with only children of the same age, my children are able to relate to and interact with people of all ages. They also have very good relationships with their siblings.

How do you think your children will benefit from having a homeschooled as opposed to public school education?

The lack of peer influence that I already mentioned is a big benefit as is the ability to provide a Christian Education. At home, you can tailor the education to the child in a way Public School will never be ale to do. If you have a 3rd grade child that is weak in Math but excels in reading you can use 1st grade Math and 5th grade reading materials. If you have a child that is fascinated with a particular area (like animals) you can focus their education on their passion. We can provide many hands on learning experiences and field trips. At home we don't teach our children what to think but instead teach them how to think. We are not teaching them to score high on a standardized test, but instead are educating them, preparing them for the world, and ultimately eternity.

There are parents who despise the public school situation their child is in, but still do not homeschool because it would place a heavy burden on them and keep them tied down to educating their children. What is your opinion on this?

When I started homeschooling, I had a 3rd grader, a 3 1/2 year old, 20 month old, and newborn. I was already committed to being a SAHM for at least 5 years until my youngest at that time would be old enough for K so that was something that really didn't concern me. We decided that we would take homeschooling one year at a time. I think that being a parent does require a lot of sacrifice. The benefits of homeschooling outweigh the sacrifice for me 100 times over. It isn't always easy but is always worth it. You may need some time to yourself so you don't feel tied down. Date-nights with your spouse, shopping with friends, homeschool support groups, co-ops might provide you with some of the break time you may need.

Many people have criticized the intellect of mother's who homeschool their children and assume the mother doesn't have a college education and isn't a qualified teacher. What is your opinion on this?

My children were given to me by God and He feels I am capable of teaching them everything they need to know. There is not one person on this world that knows them better than I do (not even my husband although he comes in a close 2nd but he has to go to work 50 hours a week) and that makes me the most qualified person to teach them. I do have a college degree but do not feel that a piece of paper is something that makes you qualified or not to teach. I know many people that are more educated than I am and would not be able to spend one day teaching my 7 year old how to read. There are many educated people in the Public School System that should not be spending their days teaching. Now, if I have a child that has an interest in something I know nothing about there are different ways we can handle that situation. We can find an "expert" in that area, take online classes, and/or gather and study everything we can find on that area/subject and learn all we can about it. In this technological age we are in, everyone has access to all kinds of information at their fingertips all of the time.

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