Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.
For my family reading is something we take very seriously. If we can build a strong foundation in this area, there is are just so many doors that open wide. When you can read, you can learn and do just about anything. For that reason I really looked forward to using Volcanic Panic Reading Success Online from EdAlive with my girls who are 6 and 9. My oldest struggles at really developing in this area and my younger girl, she is new to reading but just loving it so much!
Something we have been exploring more in the past few months is the method of gameschooling. Just like it sounds, we use games, to teach various things. I think reading and spelling and math (anything really) can be so much fun when we learn them using a game. This program seemed to fit in quite well with that!
This is recommended for ages 5-15 – quite a range right?- Designed in Australia, the voices used have that lovely accent. I could listen all day. Initially it was a little bit of a challenge for my girls but they have also come to enjoy the sound and are able to work quite well with it.
In this program there are options to choose when you log on each day: you can choose to play against the computer, host a game, join a game or just play a quick game. In it, you must race around the island, to escape before the volcano explodes. There are five boards you can choose from to play; you can also set the time or number of questions for your game.
My oldest girl would usually play either the first or second board; typically for around 10 minutes. My younger girl always played board one and would play for ten questions. Sometimes she would do that a few times throughout the day. I really didn’t push for them to do much more than that but was pleasantly surprised at how they would engage with one another while they were playing.
This was a welcome addition to our regular reading that we do together each day. I definitely appreciated how there was a spot where my girls could click if something was “too hard” and they would be able to move forward without completing that question.
There is also an area for parents to click on so we can see their progress in the game. You can also choose the level and curriculum your kids use in the program. There is an option for Common Core material however we prefer not to use that and just stayed with the EdAlive curriculum. While this is definitely not a teaching tool per se, this really is a great way for our kids to practice reading.
As tends to be the case with my kids, we have a hard time not chasing those rabbit trails and so many of the reading selections used in this were so interesting that we had to explore them more! We will be continuing to use this I am certain; however often my girls feel led to explore on here. There is so much learning that takes place when we play; things like this are a wonderful way to gently encourage our kids to press on and in to things that matter so – like reading!
EdAlive Online Learning on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdAlive
Twitter: https://twitter.com/edalive
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edalive_onlinelearning/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/edalive/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/EdAliveTube
Don’t forget to click on the banner below to read how other Crew members used the various programs we were given for this review – EdAlive certainly has much to offer for gameschooling!
A "Peace" of Mind 