School may be out, but what’s next? Over the last several months, parents have resorted to home-schooling their children. Those with full-time jobs found it even more difficult to keep their children occupied and on-task. Now that the school year is almost over, parents are breathing a heavy sigh of relief.
But what will children do for the Summer? Most Summer camps are closed and nearly all outdoor activities are being put on hold. The last thing anybody wants is for their child to sit in front of the television all day.
Online learning is in high demand. While people are stuck indoors, more are jumping at the opportunity to add a foreign language to their child’s curriculum. Children, in particular, are the best suited to learn new languages– from age two to ten, learning a second language is as easy as learning a first, so it is vital that parents capitalize on this window of opportunity.
We did some research, and based on reviews from customers and notable publications, three of the most popular are- Muzzy, ABCMouse.com, and ReadingIQ. Here are three online learning subscriptions that every parent should purchase for their child right now:
ABCMouse.com
ABCMouse.com is a subscription-based online education program for children ages 2-8. The program offers 10 levels to choose from with 850 lessons and over 9,000 individual learning activities. Children are motivated to learn through ABCMouse.com’s Tickets and Rewards Systems which allows children to redeem good behavior for virtual prizes.
This online learning program features several academic subjects that range English and Language Arts, Math, Geography, Astronomy, History, and Art, and is better suited for parents who want to give their students a more holistic education as opposed to a single topic.
ABCMouse.com charges $9.95 for a monthly subscription.
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ReadingIQ
ReadingIQ is a fantastic digital subscription for growing readers or children specifically between the ages of 5 and 8. ReadingIQ provides subscribers with a comprehensive digital library that can be accessed anywhere and anytime. The online learning platform boasts an impressive offering of award-winning titles, as well as more than 700 professionally voiced titles.
Parents can host up to 3 children per account and have the ability to preview the content their children are exploring. ReadingIQ is 100% safe and kid-friendly and is a great option for any parent who is looking for ways to incentivize their child to read.
ReadingIQ charges $7.99 for a monthly subscription.
Muzzy
Muzzy is the world’s leading language program for children developed by language experts at the BBC. Muzzy teaches children a second language through having them simply watch the fun Muzzy movies and playing online games. The secret of Muzzy is children love the movies and don’t even realize they are learning a new language.
Children have a natural ability to learn a new language and Muzzy was created with that in mind. Muzzy’s cartoons use the natural immersion method which is designed to teach children the same way they learned their first language. Each successive episode builds off of the previous episode which allows your child to naturally learn a second language.
For over 30 years, Muzzy has introduced millions of kids around the world to new languages. Muzzy teaches Spanish from Spain and Latin America, French, English, Chinese Mandarin, German, Italian, and Korean.
Because of the school closings, Muzzy is now giving all subscribers access to the 38 homeschool lesson plans for free (valued at over $150) and over 200 printable puzzles and mazes for kids to help them pass the time at home.
Muzzy charges as low as $3.29 for a monthly subscription.
Overall Verdict: Muzzy
Out of all of the online learning subscriptions mentioned above, our favorite for children is Muzzy. Muzzyis uniquely tailored to children through its immersion learning process. The service is more like a cartoon than it is a lesson plan so your children are more likely to actively listen (especially now that they’re out of school). Language learning has been proven to dramatically improve a child’s development including higher test scores (ACT & SAT), better career opportunities, higher confidence, and improved reading ability.
There is also a limited window of opportunity for children to learn a new language before age 10. During the first decade of life, your brain is wired to learn languages, so learning a second language comes naturally and more easily. And once that window is closed, it gets harder and harder for someone to learn a new language every year. If you’re going to spend the time and money, we recommend that your child learn a new language (as opposed to another subject or topic) due to this limited window.
ABCMouse.com and Reading IQ, on the other hand, are not specifically designed for language learning with the former emphasizing an array of educational subjects and the latter focusing on reading and literature. Not to mention, Muzzy shares a significant amount of material with ABCMouse.com making it the best value for your dollar.
If you’re looking to give your child the best start in life, we recommend you stick with Muzzy for its immersive lesson plans and credited history of success.
Update: Muzzy is running a limited time offer: Save up to 67% off Muzzy if you purchase today!