Little Reader by Brill Kids,-TOS Review

The Product:

The Little Reader by Brill Kids. I was given access to the downloadable version of the Little Reader product for this review.

From the Brill Kids website:

What is Little Reader?

Ideal for babies and young children, Little Reader is the most effective learning system for teaching your child to read. At the heart of Little Reader is a revolutionary software system that delivers lessons in ways never before possible, making learning ENGAGING for your child, and EASY for you.

This is one of those "teach your baby to read" programs. Ever try one of those? I hadn't but this program seems to be one of very great quality.

The McMama Experience:

For me this was pretty easy to get started on. I easily downloaded the software and then the curriculum content for both semesters. After that I was ready to go. I know that we were informed that this product was their newest version (2.0) and hadn't been released to the public yet. Because of that there was a possiblity of having some difficulties with some portions. I know that others did experience some problems but I however have not. Downloading on my Windows Vista computer was easy peasy.

When we sat down for our first session I wasn't sure how it would go but I gathered Littlest and Brother (just for fun) and hit play for lesson one. Littlest sat inthralled as words in large print such as eye, head, sit, stand, horse and fish flashed across the screen during the word flash section. Then when the multisensory portion came up she was shown the same bold print words along with a picture and then an animated character or a live shot of an animal.

As the words and pictures are being shown a voice is saying the words for the children to hear. It was no time at all before Littlest began repeating these words. And I do have to say she was doing it rather clearly as well.

The session was quick and very easy to implement. Both children enjoyed it very much although it was without a doubt meant for very young children.


See what a lesson looks like here.




Image is from the Little Reader Deluxe Kit.


The Breakdown:

Pricing-

$149 for 1 semester
$199 for 2 semesters
You also gain access to forums and other downloadable items created by others. I was excited to see some material in Spanish available.

Pros-
I love how you can personalize it by adding your own photo for words like Mom and Dad (and even a pet if you're so inclined).
I like how you can print out flash cards and the many ways that you can personalize those.
I loved the ease of using the program and the short amount of time each lesson took.
Littlest had fun and learned some new words.

Cons-
Although I'm sure results may be different for longer usage my Littlest was not reading any of the words herself.
The cost is quite high-it's a terrific product and seems to be a worthy cause but still pricey for me personally. Although considering the cost of some phonics programs I guess it would be very comparable to most of what is offered today.
Compatible only with Windows (Windows XP, Vista, and 7 for both 32 and 64-bit.) That really wasn't a problem for me but I wanted to mention it.


So my opinion is that if you are truly interested in teaching your young baby/toddler to read then go ahead and try the trial version. I have no doubts that you will like this program but I do think though that you will have to like it enough and desire for your baby or toddler to read enough to spend $199 on it. (But again, if you think of the phonics programs that you would be buying at age 5. This may not be too bad of an offer.)

Other Products Available-

Little Math to teach your baby or toddler the fundamentals of arithmetic and the understanding of numerals.

Chinese Curriculum Add-On Pack that will help you teach your young child to recognize thousands of Simplified or Traditional Chinese characters, understand their meanings, and to learn to speak Mandarin.
*You must already have purchased the Little Reader to use this program.

You can also bundle the programs together to save even more $$. Gotta love that! You can find those products and the aboved mentioned ones at the bottom of this page.

Click on the banner to see what other Crew Members have to say about their experience!!



**Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.**
Lovin' Learnin'