It’s that time again when we update you on the kiddo’s progress with the Reading Eggs online program. First of all the big news Evey has completed the program entirely and has actually willingly started to read a book!

This is BIG news in our home where mom and dad are avid readers but the kids – not so much. I have tried to take a balanced approach by supporting reading but not making it feel like a miserable chore and all of the kids have enjoyed being read to, but only two of the oldest three read for pleasure and neither of the younger two.

Until now. As she neared the end of Reading Eggs Evey became less resistant to reading and a couple of weeks ago after she had finished the program, I persuaded her to give reading Matilda a try. Not only did she take the book without complaining but then, get this, she took the book into the garden, sat down, and read over 100 pages in one sitting. We couldn’t believe it and I don’t think it would have happened if she hadn’t have worked through Reading Eggs.

Now, Gabriel, on the other hand, has hit a bit of a plateau. As well as being autistic, Gabe has learning disabilities and what one of his developmental pediatricians refers to as “scattered development.” Basically this means that he is at the average level for his age in some things, way ahead in some areas, and way behind in others. He also finds it pretty easy to pick things up but retention is a little more difficult for him.

Consequently, Gabriel has done an excellent job at sticking with Reading Eggs and is still happy to work on it, which is an achievement in itself because sometimes, if he becomes frustrated, he loses interest quickly.

Instead, the way Reading Eggs is structured your child can go back and complete a lesson as many times as they like. Forward progress is dependant on getting to a certain standard, but once you have reached a step you can go back and forth from that point to the beginning.

As a result, if Gabe has so much interesting stuff going on in his head that some of the words he has learned are “squeezed out” it’s not a problem. He just goes back a few steps and refreshes his memory and this allows him to keep up his forward momentum.

Fingers crossed this keeps up – I’ll let you know in February.