Ooka Island: A Homeschool Mosaics Review

You ever think to yourself, boy it would be nice if my 4 year old could actually operate this really cool online game without me having to control the mouse? I do. All.the.time. I don't have time to sit for hours at a time and play games. The point of me setting him up on the game in the first place was to give me some time to work with his sisters! Well, let me introduce you to the first pre-reader learning site that is actually easy enough for my son to use without my help!

Ooka Island is a web based game that uses game to teach phonics and reading. Students as young as 3 can navigate through the guided games and earn independent time to explore other areas of the map. Students are encouraged to practice blends and other reading skills as they build on a solid foundation of pre-reading and early reading skills.

The Basics:

Format: Downloaded from the internet onto your computer.

Price: $19.95 per month or $149.95 per year but just for you here is a 30% off link!

Ages: 4-7 or pre-reader through emergent reader

You can also order copies of the Ooka Island Books.


Pros:

I loved the parent portal that give an online progress report for you child! I also get an email every time he reads a book. The phonics was sound and my son really did start learning his blends pretty quickly. The graphics moved beyond some of the cheesier ones that you can get with online pre-school games and were colorful and fun. The map was easy to navigate and my son had no problem playing most of the games with little to no help at all. The best thing though was that he loved it. He, being a 4 year old boy, doesn't usually get involved in anything for longer than a few minutes, but I had to make him turn Ooka Island off every single time. Even better though was that I didn't feel like it was wasted time by letting him play for a few hours at a time and we are a strict family when it comes to screen time.

Cons:

Could possibly be one of those things I use a "babysitting" device while I cook dinner and would feel no guilt doing so. Oops, I probably shouldn't have admitted that.

Seriously, we loved Ooka Island. I do a lot of reviews so when something really stands out it is an exciting moment for me. Ooka Island is one of those exciting moments.