Get a Head Start on Summer Reading With the Ruckus Reader

written by Dakotapam on May 17, 2012 in Retired giveaways and reviews and Techie Thursday with 8 comments

I remember reading my very first eBook on my iPod touch a few years ago. I remember how freeing it was to me to have a book or ten with me anytime, anywhere, and I loved that I could read with one hand while nursing the twins.

I thought electronic books were fun, but I did not feel that they replaced actual paper copies.

Then I received my iPad for Christmas almost a year and a half ago . . . and my vision for eBooks expanded. I read a lot. I live in a small house. All of a sudden I am envisioning my book clutter disappearing.

Last summer I was sitting on my porch reading on my iPad and I thought to myself, “I bet that the little girls will learn to read from a tablet computer.”

I was not far off!

The girls and I have been enjoying Ruckus Media group reading apps for quite some time now. One of our first apps was Spot the Dot, and it is still a favorite app, buying us lots of extra time in waiting rooms and even in line at the grocery store! We more recently discovered the joy of My Little Pony. The girls and I have been enjoying a lot of pre-reading activities on the iPad through many different children’s story books. I also have older brothers hone their reading skills by being designated readers for the girls.

I was super excited to learn that Ruckus was releasing a targeted reading app: The Ruckus Reader.

The Ruckus Reader is different from many of the story apps that can be found in the App Store. The Ruckus Reader combines high interest stories with fun reading practice, engaging games, video and music. The Ruckus Reader curriculum was developed by professional educators and meets Core Standards, including: book knowledge and appreciation, phonological awareness, visual discrimination, book concepts, phonics and word recognition, print awareness and concepts, fluency, alphabetic knowledge and comprehension. The Ruckus Reader offers leveled readers, meaning your child is reading the right book at the right time, and the activities paired with the book will be appropriate for his skill level.

But I think that the very best feature of the Ruckus Reader is the built in parent support. I have six kids, I can’t always be everywhere! But, when my kids use the Ruckus Reader, I get a customized parent report every week. The Ruckus Reader utilizes and invisible assessment system to let me know what my kids are reading, what they are learning and even suggests other books to check out at our library or bookstore!

The Ruckus Reader app is free in the iTunes App store, and it is a trending best seller. There are also several books that are free with the reader. Others can be purchased individually, or, better yet, a subscription gives you unlimited access to all of the current readers! I am especially excited about the Ruckus Premium Library. . . these books are available for purchase outside of the subscription, but include some of our family favorites such as Curious George and the Five Little Monkeys!

The awesome folks at Ruckus Reader have set me up with a six month subscription to all of the reader content, and have offered to give two of my readers the same gift!  So, if you have an iPad, make sure you enter via the Rafflecopter form below!
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