Rime to Read

I have another review for you! Ella and I have had the chance to use the Rime to Read online program and we love it! This is a cumulative 20 book program for beginning readers. The books are online, but you are able to print them out at any time. The books are based on "rimes", which are words that sound alike AND look alike (i.e. "mat", "Pat", & "sat"). Rimes are sometimes referred to as word families and are an effective way to teach reading skills. The books on Rime to Read are color coded so that your child can clearly see the part of the word that sounds the same. The really great thing about the books is that you can click on the words that are emphasized in the story and they will be read back to you! Sight words are also a part of the books, with 35 sight words introduced throughout the series.

I have been teaching Ella to read using "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". It's a wonderful book and I highly recommend it...BUT, at times Ella has become frustrated with it. She is not very patient when it comes to learning something new and she wants to be able to just "know" it! This is where Rime to Read comes in handy. Now that she's gotten some of the basic words and most of the sounds down, she is able to read the Rime to Read books almost by herself. The books are very helpful in reinforcing the things she's learned. Every other day, we put down "100 Easy Lessons", and log in at Rime to Read. She views it as fun because it's on the computer, but it is a huge confidence booster for her and it encourages her to be ready to pick back up on her lessons the next day. She loves hearing the words read to her. The color coding is very beneficial for reading words introduced later in the story - once she's sounded out "mat", it's easy for her to find words that sound the same. Ella looks forward to each new book she gets to read!

Rime to Read is not only a great resource for homeschoolers, but I could also see parents of traditionally schooled children using this as an exciting way to foster the reading skills taught at school. I would probably not use this as a stand-alone reading curriculum, but it is an excellent supplement. At first glance, the program may appear to be a bit pricey, but once you start hearing your child read, you will see definite value in this product. The entire set of 20 books costs $44.99, or you can buy 4-book vowel sets for $9.99 each by heading over to the Rime to Read website.

If you'd like to read reviews of Rime to Read by other members of the TOS Crew, click HERE!