Learning to Read with new iPad app, Learn with Homer!

Learning to read is a HUGE accomplishment in a child’s life.  I have to admit that I can’t wait to watch my kids curl up on the couch reading book after book.  I LOVE to read.  I always have and even despite the chaos of three children, I try to sneak in a few minutes of reading for myself each day.  Teaching kids to read is no easy feat, though!  As an elementary school teacher turned stay at home mom, I know that the most important thing that I try to do every day with toddlers and preschoolers is to just read to them.  We read throughout the day and always read before naps and bedtime.  We love to visit the library, watch books on video, listen to books on cd, and sneak in some “reading time” amidst the wild chaos that these boys bring to the house everyday.

I haven’t formally started to teach Aiden, my four year old, to read but I have introduced several things to help build the basics of reading.  We “read” sight word books, play letter and word games, read together the “Learn to Read” books, done a few letter and reading worksheets, and have worked through several reading games and activities found on Pinterest!  But today, I have something I am REALLY excited to share with you all, more about an AWESOME new iPad app:  Learn with Homer.   Learn with Homer builds reading skills, vocabulary, and general knowledge for children aged 3-6.

Learn with Homer is a complete, comprehensive literacy program for preschool aged children.  Designed by mom and education reformer, Stephanie Dua, this app was created to inspire and teach children the building blocks of literacy.  She was struggling to find quality ways to teach her own children to read and that’s how Learn with Homer started.  Click here to learn more about this amazing woman and the team behind the Learn with Homer app.  Learn with Homer launched on August 1st and we are LOVING this app in our house since it has become a new addition on our iPad.

You start out the Learn with Homer app by taking a picture of the child user and picking out his or her own silly “thinking cap”, may it be a taco hat or deer antlers.  There are four different areas on the homepage:  Discover the World, Learn to Read, Homer’s Clubhouse, and Story Time.

Aiden has been working through the Learn to Read lessons each day.  These lessons are great because they work on letter sounds in words, phonetics, sight words, and identification of letters and words.  There are games intertwined in the lessons, keeping kids engaged and having fun.  My son loves to record his voice of saying letters or telling stories to Homer at the end of each lesson.  Aiden enjoys working through these lessons on his own, calling me over to watch him swing through the trees while he picks the correct sight words or drag “letter treasures” to the treasure chest.

The Story Time area excites readers with short stories, fables, nursery rhymes, poems, and more.  Today, after listening to the fable “The Lion and the Mouse”, my two boys acted out this well-known fable for the next hour.

Learn with Homer app is FREE from the App store on the iPad.  There is also a great tool for parents, where they can their child’s learning, at the Learn with Homer parent website.  I HIGHLY recommend this app to any parent of preschool aged children.  It is free to download and you can add on some more in-app purchases to enrich your Homer experience.  You can download it here or search for it in the iPad app store.  To learn more about Learn with Homer, make sure to visit their Facebook and Twitter pages as well!