I was particularly interested in trying out Lexia for home because of our past method of learning to read. Though my little one requested to learn to read when she was only 4.5 years old, the method we used MAY have given her some amazing ground work for rules of reading and spelling, but it killed any love of reading I hoped she would have at a young age. At the start I agreed with the method of the book, but the lessons eventually became tedious, caused a lot of struggle and we gave up without completing all of the lessons. We were left with a child who spent the next year and a half saying she didn't know how to read and being very resistant to trying much reading on her own. At the time the book promised a 3rd grade reading level (for a 5 year old) and I believe we achieved that, at the cost of enjoying reading. She has also lost some of her knowledge of reading since. Lexia tested her into the Primary Reading Level (and I believe into 2nd grade, but I didn't totally understand that part). She was nearly 7 when we started and at the end of 1st grade year.
We've used various free programs online, because she enjoys almost any computer "game" even when it is for the purpose of learning, but she has given up easily on many that require much reading (or spends the time asking me to read everything for her, which defeats the purpose of everyone have "self" time). At first she approached Lexia much the same way and felt very frustrated with the first few games she played, she was also disinterested in continuing day by day. I began to request she spend 20 minutes with Lexia each day and then she could choose some other game (this is the amount of time recommended by Lexia). It didn't take long and she was BEGGING to use Lexia each day. The program is VERY easy to navigate!
There are five games in the Primary Reading level and after completing enough drills in one game, when you exit there are bar graphs to show your progress through the game. I believe seeing her progress in this fashion, is a huge incentive in itself. She also began to understand each type of game a little better and came to know the "rules" for each game, which made learning even more fun. When we thought we'd lost the game entirely, after wiping our hard drive, she was literally in TEARS over not having access to her reading games. What a shift! And it is has been so fun watching her grasp some of the sight words with so much ease. Now we have to ask her to stop playing each time she gets on and she is easily reading and remembering words like "light" and "laugh" which are so hard to to teach children the rules for reading and spelling.
We are really excited about this program and SO glad that we were offered the opportunity to check out Lexia for Home. I've finally seen a bit of the love of reading in her and I've noticed that she applies her new found understanding to really decode a LOT of text these days that she would whine and cry through before beginning Lexia. I didn't even think to request a second trial license for my pre-preschooler, but I think she would absolutely benefit from and enjoy the Early Reading program. It is something I would certainly invest in, in the future.
If you have a child who could use a little help with reading skills, this is a great program to consider! For more information about Lexia for Home, visit http://www.lexiaforhome.com. Please "like" them on Facebook; when they have received 100 likes they will give away a set of their 72 Family Readers for FREE!!! These readers retail for $149 and cover K-2nd grade reading levels. Everyone likes FREE stuff, especially when that free stuff could make reading with your child so much more enjoyable!
