Hi David and the Easyread Team
Just a few words to thank you for the help, support and encouragement we have received whilst doing Easyread. We have found the programme really easy to use and follow, getting into the routine of reading each day in an enjoyable way has been very effective and made a big difference to. The previous daily battle and the stress of trying to make a reluctant reader read every day has now disappeared, Ania is happy to read a book now, her confidence has improved greatly. I have noticed her reading things from newspapers, notices around and about, previously she would have looked but would have found it hard so not bothered. Her reading at school has improved which has had a knock on effect in her school work.
Thanks Easyread, we are really glad we signed up for the programme.
– H (Ania, age 10)

Things are going well and Jessica’s class teacher is very pleased with the quick turn around in her reading ability in such a short time. We have also noticed her increased confidence in reading signs. Jessica will volunteer to read her novel Jane Eyre to me, and although the odd word stops her in her tracks and stops the flow, she has certainly improved.

– D

It was very useful to have you listen in today. Agent S really enjoyed it. I think he has a real sense of the progress he is making, which is great. I’m sure this will keep him motivated as he goes forward. His pleasure for reading is now extending beyond his Easyread lessons, which is also a delight and a real change from a few weeks ago. Thanks to you all at Easyread for the progress so far.

– K (S, age 5)

Andrin is enjoying his lessons still, even though they are getting more challenging. We are very impressed with the progress he’s making. His reading fluency and speed have greatly improved, and he is doing better now than his sister, who is a year older.

– W

I have seen a big improvement in Kaia’s confidence when it comes to reading. Over half term she brought some simple books back from school and was very keen to read them to me. I could see that she felt excited about, and proud of, her growing ability to read text.

She is not someone who gladly accepts help from anyone. She always says ‘I can do it by myself!’ Not easy for either her teachers or her parents! But when asked, she told me without hesitation, and with some emphasis, that Easyread had helped her. I love being able to share the lessons with her, and to be part of this big learning process for her. It’s also great to gain some insight into how we learn to read in the first place – I have always been mystified by the process! We think your prizes are really cool too-we loved the kinetic wheel. The prizes are such a good idea!

– H

Logan took to Easyread with great enthusiasm right from the start. He really got the characters and sounds right away, which was a big step forward for him as he just did not seem secure with all his sounds when he learnt them in Primary 1, and he was clearly struggling by P2.

Just as described on your website, we noticed he was guessing wildly at words instead of sounding them out or decoding them, and we noticed him starting to lose a bit of confidence too. His teachers also became aware of this and arranged for him to have some extra small group assistance with his reading at school at this stage. We decided that we wanted to do something extra at home to help him too, and after some research, settled on Easyread as it seemed to fit with his problems and looked fun for him to do. In fact, like most 7 year old boys he loves playing games on the computer so thoroughly enjoys the games in Easyread and sees the lesson as his daily treat, not at all a chore. The excellent prizes also help with motivation and he gets really excited about them.

We are several months into the program now, and are seeing some slow and steady progress in his reading. He can now blend sounds, which he couldn’t do before and is decoding all the words in Easyread, instead of guessing them. He can read the story page with just the Easyread characters much faster than I can now!

We are also starting to see this transfer to his school reading recently, with more decoding and less guessing going on now. We have a parent/teacher meeting later on this week, so looking forward to getting some feedback from the school about how he is progressing there too.

Finally, many thanks to all at Easyread for the excellent customer service and support that you have provided us with so far.

– L

Many thanks for all the support and the excellent Spellmagic programme.  I know it is very early days yet, but he really is enjoying the learning experience. During the lesson today Harry gave it a huge accolade saying “This is actually quite cool!”!

– J

We see a lot of changes in Annebelle. For one, all her English relatives and her speech therapist have commented on the fact that she is speaking a lot more English. I would also say that Annebelle is doing really well with the Monkey Jungle Juggle game. She is starting to recognise sounds and words. Thank you!

– S

We are so thrilled with how both our children are sticking at Easyread, and gaining confidence every day.

Many thanks,

– S

It’s a while since Cam finished Easyread. He is now in P7 and continues to enjoy reading. He is in top group in reading in his class.His favourite series is the Inheritance Cylcle by Christopher Paolini. We found Easyread at exactly the right time as he was really beginning to lose confidence with his reading. Thanks again for your help

– F

Really happy with Robert’s progress so far. He is reading every night and enjoying it and now can spell some sight words that were difficult to spell before.

– D

I received Owen’s results. In January 2012, before Easyread, his reading age was 5. In February 2013, once he had finished the program, his reading age was measured as being 6 years and 4 months. So a gain of 16 months reading age in just one year!

I am still so pleased with Owen’s progress, because now he is a boy who wants to read rather than a child who would have a tantrum at the mention of sitting down with a book. To be honest I still get tense when I remember those days.

Owen has always loved computers so using Easyread was a great option. He quickly picked up the characters and enjoyed playing the games. The Funky Monkey game for example was great for helping with spellings. We didn’t call the sessions Easyread we just told Owen everyday that “It’s Dave time”

Some days over the 9 months he needed a little more persuading and we still had some tense moments, but Owen is a typical 8 year old boy so I expect them! Doing it at the same time everyday helped with the routine. Owen was and I were always excited when we saw it was a codeword day and have had hours of fun with the fart machine! So all in all it has given Owen the confidence he needed and no matter how much I have tried at home in the past, having a third person ‘Dave’ in the room has relaxed the atmosphere so that Owen no longer felt I was pressuring him. He is now learning on his own.

– S

We are very pleased with how Easyread is going for Hannah. The pace is just right for her, she is rereading the text and decodes well.

– S

Sarah is very much enjoying the spell race game in level 5. She is consuming books rapidly and had the confidence to start reading the Hobbit recently. Although it is probably a bit advanced for her, the very fact that she wants to try is amazing. She is a true testament to the brilliance of your system.

– R

I’m really chuffed with how well Lewis has been doing since the last email. I was quite surprised to find that he actually seemed to find it easier without the highlighter mode on. He really has taken in the Easyread characters more than I thought; so much so that when the letters are switched off he is actually reading the story very well!

I’m very happy with his progression and the teachers at school seem to be quite happy with his attention span. I am sure this is making him more confident and less anxious when there is even the mention of reading. We have been doing more reading at home too and I have made sure that I take more time to sit down and just read to him through the day whenever he is a little bored. I have also taken his bookcase out of the cupboard and made a library corner in his room with a whole new selection of books and jigsaws to help his hand-eye co-ordination. It all seems to be going down well, thank you sooo much.

– R (after 6 weeks on the course)

Easyread has been a huge success for both Alexandra’s learning and my teaching (as I have been able to guide rather than teach. I believe this course has been far more beneficial than anything she has learnt at school.

– R

Just to say that Isla’s reading is great! She’s been moved up 2 groups in school because her reading has taken off and she’s finding the story really easy to do.

– S (90 days into the course)

Just a quick note to let you know that S is coping magnificently with the increase in text in the new story. She is not phased at all. Her comprehension is also keeping pace, as she comments on things she finds funny as she reads, or how Eric might be feeling. She reported she has gone up yet another level in reading at school.

– A (S age 7)

Thanks very much for Joshua’s recent gold certificate and helicopter, which he is delighted with. A great way to end the course!

We’ve definitely found the whole concept of Trainertext and symbols representing sounds to decode very helpful. To be able to prompt Josh about which type of sound a letter group might be making – an Ant or an Ark for example – has been very useful.

I’ve also found it very helpful to call on the team when we’ve hit rocky patches.

Thank you for supporting us so well over this past year and a half. It’s been a very interesting journey and Josh has definitely benefited from the process. He’ll never forget the delight of getting his favourite game, Letter Quest, on the game selector!

– S

Seren is still really enjoying Easyread. She is still keen to start in the morning. In fact she reminds me if I forget!

She was really excited that a friend’s mum enrolled her 2 boys on Easyread after I had told her how well Seren is getting on, and how much she loved it. The kids bonded over playing with their fart machines.

My friend and I were nattering about the story of ‘Jack and the Seal’ that all the kids are reading at the moment on the program. We were both really impressed with the variety of words and the level of difficult vocabulary the children can read as a result of the use of the pictures above.

– A

The fanfare in tonight’s lesson took both Killian and I by surprise  Killian was very excited to have completed level 2. It was the most pleased I’ve seen him since he received his last prize the “farting machine”! He laughed so hard when he opened the package and even managed to sneak it into school despite warnings from both his father and myself no to do so! We feel he is making good progress and are looking forward to this next level and what will follow in the future.

– D

I am very pleased with the progress my son has made from using the Easyread system. He reads more fluently and with more confidence now. I like the gifts that are sent in the post as they encourage my child to do more of the lessons and I find I don’t need to push my child to do them.

– L (J, age 7)