Cap’n M doesn’t remember a time when we weren’t a homeschool family. As the third baby, he’s grown up watching his big brothers “do school”, and he’s SO excited to be doing school this year too! That said, he’s not even four yet, and he has a developmental delay that makes more traditional school activities difficult at times. Luckily, we have been using online reading games to “do school” in preschool, and so far it’s been a huge success!
This post is sponsored by Reading Eggs. I was given access to the program and was compensated for my time, but I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Please see my full disclosure for details.
Using Online Reading Games to “Do School” in Preschool
When Cap’n M started getting so excited for school to start this year, we knew we needed to have plenty of “school work” to keep him busy. But what does that possibly look like in preschool? Giving him play doh and coloring pages is great, but they only keep him occupied for a very short time. Even starting to give him scissors helped, but we knew we needed something more for him. (PS: Keep reading to get a free 4-week trial to our favorite online reading games!)
How to Help Him “Do School” When the Big Kids Need Help
We knew that we needed a solution that would keep Cap’n M busy while A-Man and Mr. C needed help with their schoolwork. In a large family homeschool, it can be difficult to balance everyone’s need for one-on-one help and attention. Especially when the preschooler is trying to “do school” as long as his 4th grade brother. Let me tell you, it takes a LOT to keep an almost-four-year-old entertained that long!
Thankfully, we’ve learned that the secret to letting our preschooler “do school” like his big brothers is to have a ton of independent activities that Cap’n M can do throughout the day!
Incorporating Independent Activities Into Our Preschooler’s Day
The key to independent activities that make our preschooler’s “school day” run so smoothly is that we make sure they are truly independent. Not “independent” but he has to ask us for help 247 times because he has no idea what he’s supposed to be doing or he gets frustrated because it’s above his level.
For me to consider an activity to be an independent activity for our preschooler, it must require less than 5 minutes set up from me, and should keep him occupied for a minimum of 15-20 minutes with no input from me at all.
Yes, that’s a tall order, but thankfully I’ve found a few things that fit the bill beautifully! Today I wanted to share with you one of my very favorite independent activities that we use to let Cap’n M “do school” with his brothers, Reading Eggs online reading games!
Reading Eggs Online Reading Games
Reading Eggs is a program that offers online reading games for kids that help them practice reading skills in super fun and interactive ways at their own pace. With a huge variety of videos, activities, and more, the kids don’t get bored and half the time they don’t even realize they’re learning!
The Reading Eggs games aren’t timed, so Cap’n M could truly do them at his pace, and he never got frustrated with a question timing out on him. We also loved that the same concept was presented in multiple ways, so he got better results the further he got into the program.
I was shocked that this “silly reading game” I planned just to keep him busy and out of my hair has made such a huge difference in him. He’s recognizing more letters and sounds, and overall he’s been a more confident learner. He literally asks to pull out the tablet and work on his Reading Eggs every single day, and for the first time we had a meltdown when I said we weren’t doing school for the day!
Overall I would highly recommend the Reading Eggs program to any busy homeschool family. You never have enough independent activities, and Reading Eggs has different programs based on your child’s age and reading abilities. You can sign up for a free 4-week trial here to see if it’s a perfect fit for your family!
