I am looking for educational software based on learning to read for beginners (Kindergarten through 3rd?). I am not interested in "web-based" applications. Any suggestions?

I never found one I liked. My DS4 responded better to one-on-one time. We used How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. He finished all 100, and now he's just reading books to learn more. If you're child is reading, just read with them, and they can pick up new phonics and new sight words as you go.

If your child hasn't learned blending yet, there are some games to play, like say it fast, say it slow. You say "mmmmm-aaaaa-nnnn" and your child says, "man." Once blending works, find easy books to read, and keep progressing!

My DD really liked the Reader Rabbit products at 3-6yo.

I consider them to be quite high quality. My mom (an elementary educator and reading specialist) was also very fond of them and used them in her classroom. I have no idea how compatible they are with modern operating systems, though-- the ones that we used were for W-95 or W-98, maybe as late as XP (though I doubt it).


Also-- Between the Lions (there should be clips on YouTube) is particularly appealing to gifted children because of the slightly snarky edge that this production had.


A leap pad, Reader Rabbit, some Between the Lions at random, and a single set of phonetically-controlled readers (like Bob books, but again-- snarkier)...

that was all that DD needed to become a fluent reader.

Not a computer program, but a set of videos. My son watched a DVD set called Preschool Prep that include letter sounds, blends, etc when he was 3 for a couple times, and never really needed phonics instruction again.

I found these videos to be high quality and I like them better than the LeapFrog ones, calmer and more complete.

I know you said nothing web-based, but my DD taught herself to read using Starfall. She was OBSESSED with using it every day from the time she was 2.5 on. She used to wake us up at 5:30 am asking, "Can I play the letter game?" By early 3, she was reading simple sentences; by mid-3, she was reading picture books to her preschool class during story time. Best part is that it's free!

Starfall was also a hit for ds3 when he was desperate to learn how to read.

Thirding "Starfall taught my three-year-old to read," although it was really that plus DH reading to him every night. He just started reading words back to us one day.

Yep, Starfall for early readers. I think there's one called Reading Eggs, too, that's supposed to be good. My daughter's kindergarten used both, but she was a good reader by K so we never did Reading Eggs.

Starfall has a few very cheap iPad apps, too, so not web based.