I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Rosetta Stone. I received a product and a promotional item to thank me for participating.
As you know, I have three children, two of which I home school. My daughter is 7 years old and my son is 4 years old. I was excited to have the opportunity to try out Rosestta Stone’s reading program since my 7 year old daughter has been struggling when it comes to reading. We’ve tried numerous programs, curriculum, DVDs, books, tutoring, etc trying to get through to her and so far nothing has turned on the light bulb for her. The poor thing wants to read now but has a hard time applying herself and concentrating due to her ADHD and SPD. Things like math and science come so easy to her but reading has been a struggle. For comparison, she’s Kindergarten level with reading and at least Second Grade level when it comes to math and sciences.
I was surprised to learn that more than 47% of U.S. children are below grade-level reading. Sadly, my daughter is definitely part of that statistic. It’s not because we haven’t tried because I swear we’ve tried over a dozen different programs and methods but reaching someone who’s attention span is about 2 minutes proves to be quite difficult.
Honestly, I was really looking forward to her trying Rosetta Stone® Kids Reading in hopes it would work for her. Rosetta Stone is such a trusted company so I had high expectations.
At first glace, I was dazzled by the rich graphics and easy to use interface. My daughter’s first reaction to meeting “The Lingos” was that it was too “baby-ish” and not for big girl’s. Admittedly, she’s right. But in Rosetta Stone’s defense, the program is suited for kids 3-7 so she is at the upper limit of the age range which could be why the cute little Lingos didn’t appeal to her. I convinced her to give it a try anyway.
I set the account up easily and everything loaded perfectly in both Firefox and Chrome browser on my daughter’s Windows 8 touchscreen laptop.
She started off on level 4 and it was challenging but fun at the same time. I stood with her and did the first two activities with level 4 with her just to coach her along and see how the program worked. When she got to the third activity she told me to quote “Go away Mom. I got this,” and assured me she could handle it on her own. Seven year old girls are so fun…
Much to my surprise she went through almost 10 activities in an hour and wanted to keep going but I convinced her to take a break at which point my 4 year old son insisted it was his turn.
I decided to try out the Rosetta Stone® Kids Reading app for Android on my Intel Tablet. It installed quickly, I logged in and was actually impressed that everything loaded even faster on my tablet than on my daughter’s laptop! Out of curiosity, I then downloaded the app in iTunes for my iPad and it worked great on there too!
If you have multiple children, each child can have their own profiles so you can keep track of their progress separately. The Parent’s Corner allows you to see each child’s progress and where they need help so you know which items to focus on during your other studies.
My son was absolutely over-the-moon stoked about using his big sister’s school work program on top of the novelty of being allowed to touch my tablet. The kid was in heaven. He squealed with excitement every time he got an answer correct, earned stars or moved up a level. It was delightful to see how much he enjoyed learning!!!
The Program Teaches:
- Phonological Awareness
- Phonics
- Vocabulary
- Fluency
- Comprehension
Another exciting moment was when I told them that when they completed all the activities in the level that it would unlock a whole new area of games. See the red button in the picture above? That section is locked until they finish all the lessons in that level (I think this was level 4!) My daughter unlocked the games and was so proud of herself!
After just 3 weeks of using Rosetta Stone® Kids Reading, she is finally remembering letter names, corresponding sounds and sounding words out as well as memorizing sight words. It’s honestly been a tearful time for me seeing her FINALLY get it. I love seeing her get excited about learning how to read. In the past with other programs and curricula, it’s been torture. Rosetta Stone figured out how to make it fun AND actually work. I’m so thankful we found this program. It has literally changed our family’s lives for the better.
With over 50 games and 600 activities, I know we’ll be enjoying Rosetta Stone’s Kids Reading for a while.
This is a great program to supplement your home school teachings with or to prep your child for school. The program would make an awesome Christmas gift too! This would be the perfect thing to ask grandparents to get for the kids.
Sign up for a free trial of Rosetta Stone Kids Reading Program now!
