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Anyone using The Ooka Island Adventure? Is it good? I am trying to get my math oriented 4.5 year old more motivated when it comes to reading. At first he had no interest at all (other than knowing letters and phonetic sounds) but the last 2 weeks or so he seems to be a lot more interested in the beginning sounds in words, breaking the words into syllables, etc. I was waiting for him to show me the signs that he's ready so maybe he is now? Anyone used this program? Did your kids like it? Is it ok for fast pace learning kids?

Hi Mk13,
We are using Ooka Island and my son loves it. He is a language guy and we definitely got it too late (he could have used it even more at 3). But here's the interesting thing: he loves doing it even though it covers quite a bit of stuff he already knows. And that never happens - he has zero tolerance for repetition!
The game introduces all phonemes so even if your son knows the letter sounds there is still a lot of new stuff. The games are fun and I especially love the books (with comprehension questions). My son now switched to Reading Eggspress (all for one price) - tons of books there, including lots of science books!
They have a two week trial - check it out and see if he likes it.
Stef

Did you also do Reading Eggs? I am trying to decide between Reading Eggs and Ooka Island. Oooka Island has a great deal right now on HSBC but it ends tonight so I am debating what to go for. I didn't even realize there was Reading Eggspress! That might be something for my younger one (DS3) once he finally tackles the mouse. He's our advanced reader.

Hi!
We also did reading eggs. And I just realized that I mixed those two up regarding reading eggspress (that is on reading eggs - maybe worth getting when he's reading more).
I would definitely go with Ooka Island. DS got bored very quickly with Reading Eggs and is still going strong with Ooka Island. Also their customer service is outstanding! Very fast and knowledgeable (the agent checked with the educational team immediatly when I had a question about how to progress).
I also love how the program doesn't throw out "excellent" every time!

One more thing to add: I was actually so happy that I sent them a glowing e-mail. They asked if they could use it as a testimonial so it's on their website (I think it says my name or something like S Gray, homeschooling mom).

thank you! Sounds like Ooka Island is a better choice for us for now.

Regarding Reading Eggspress: not too complicated on the mouse skills - just forward arrows to click on to turn the page. They have books ranging from 5 to 12 years reading level. And then a whole bunch of other stuff, such as grammar. Most of those are timed so we're not doing those yet.
If you can afford it you could sign up the reader for Reading Eggs and he can do reading eggspress - then you'll get reading eggs practically for free. They also have a math program coming soon.

Great - have fun!
Once your son makes it to the top of alphabet mountain he will get a zopet (a little robot dog) he can play with during his free play time (kind of a reward). My son loves it.

oh, so if you get Reading Eggs, you can use the Reading Eggspress too? great!

sounds perfect for him. He loves anything where he gets rewards and things like that. We tried Starfall too but it was too boring for him. He likes ABCMouse and PBS Play and right now is addicted to Dreambox for math. He has a laptop in his room and when he wakes up too early in the morning he just turns it on and plays before it's time for preschool.