The Homer App for Kids Learning provides entertaining essays and books on science, nature, history and art using a smartphone or tablet for all ages. Do you need help teaching your kids while you work or are busy at home? The Homer app for kids has Writing, Alphabet, Math, Creativity, Songs, and Games for all ages!
I came upon the Homer App when we started our new Back-To-School routine in the fall of 2022. I was working full-time, and my children were in school part-time, but home part-time. And I was looking for a solution that didn’t result in them siting in front of the TV.
My children play together VERY WELL. I’ve perfected our independent play routine at home (see how I did it here!), but I’m always looking for new ideas that teach them, and stimulate their minds.
At first, we just used the 30 day Free Trial of the Homer app – and man was I IMPRESSED. We have quit MANY a child learning app because they just were dumb. But this one? We had great results after 30 days. Just keep reading to see!
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Two Months of Education Fun for CHEAP
- Tailored to age, learning level, and favorite interests
- 1,000+ activities for reading, math, SEL, and more for independent play
- Just 15 minutes a day proven to increase early reading scores by 74%
- Developed by experts, their research-based, four-step approach goes beyond rote memorization to build confidence, promote problem-solving, and foster a lifelong love of learning.
- What Is The Homer App for Kids?
- How Does The Homer Early Learning App Work?
- What Does It Cost?
- 30-Day Free Trial
- HOMER Reading
- Homer Stories
- Homer Math
- Homer App for Kids for your Family
- The Homer App on the Amazon Fire for Kids
- Why Is Screen Time Important?
- Develop Good Screen Time Habits & Behavior
- APA screen time guidelines
- Apply these guidelines to your family:
- A Successful Strategy to Try at Home
- How to make screen time work for you
What Is The Homer App for Kids?
The Homer Learning App is a customized app for ages Pre-K to Grade 2 that teaches: Creativity, Critical Thinking, English Language Arts, English-Language Learning, Math.
The app contains lessons for each age group, and customizes the levels depending on your child’s performance.
I love that when you set up child profiles, YOU to tell the Homer App what your child already knows and the app decides what learning level to start your child. You also get to chose what your child is interested in (dinosaurs! trucks! princesses! bugs! Thomas the train!).
Another thing I love is that the Homer Learning App sends me (the parent) emails telling me of my child’s progress. I am not always monitoring what my kids do on their Amazon Fire tablets, so it’s SO HELPFUL that I am emailed telling me what my child has practiced.
How Does The Homer Early Learning App Work?
Did you know that the Homer app is the first digital foundational reading program, created by literacy experts and advisors to the new Common Core standards? It’a not just another app to entertain your kids. But it’s really proven to teach your kids to read.
“HOMER is the first digital foundational reading program, created by literacy experts and advisors to
the new Common Core standards, combining decades of experience in education and in the classroom. Our program is both visually engaging for a child and highly effective, based on a proven body of research on how children best learn to read.
HOMER follows an explicit, systematic, and sequential approach to reading instruction.
Explicit teaching is a fancy way of saying that a teacher will teach sound and letter correspondences to children in a direct manner. A teacher who uses an alternative, non-explicit approach relies on a student’s ability to intuit relationships between sounds and letters through repeated exposure.
Systematic means a planned approach to instruction.
Sequential means working in a set order. The order might vary from program to program, but
all such approaches follow a planned sequence that is carried out systematically.”
What Does It Cost?
If you love it as much as we do, the annual subscription is totally worth the price. (We pay for this instead of the Amazon Plus Freetime Subscription – read how we do that here!)
Monthly | Yearly |
$9.99 | $59.99 |
45-Day Free Trial
My children had ad-free unlimited access for the 45-day trial. They were able to move up in their learning levels, and develop their skills in just a few weeks.
My son (who is three), chose this app instead of Disney Plus, PBS, or his prized train apps EVERY TIME.
My daughter who is in kindergarten loved the “My Daily Plays”. My Daily Plays are like your child’s homework and chosen exercises for that day. They login and begin with these chosen exercices.
For Kindergarten, she loved the Science and Discovery, the Art, and especially improving her early reading scores. After she completed the “My Daily Plays” she would be able to choose if she wanted to continue with Math, Reading, Practice or any of the Creativity Games. Once choosing a track, Homer would keep track of her progress and show her the next stage to work on.
HOMER Reading
The Homer Reading Resources expanded my daughter’s knowledge of the alphabet, sounds, sight words, and the skills and ability to sound out words. Your child’s reading will soar with these tools, and the confidence that Homer instills in each student.
According to their website, “HOMER’s reading pathway is proven to increase early reading scores by 74%!
As they master the connection between letters and their sounds, your child begins reading and spelling!
What They’ll Explore:
- Reading short words and sentences
- Spelling short words
- Learning essential sight words
- Beginning fluency”
(referenced from here.)
Homer Stories
I love that stories are based on my child’s favorite topics and subjects, and that they work to improve their vocabulary. The stories teach reading comprehension, word recognition, and the other phonics and learning skills needed at each age and skill level.
Homer Math
Homer math encourages number counting, math confidence, learning problem-solving strategies, mathematical thinking, and critical thinking skills at a young age.
If your child loves numbers and is advanced for their age, you can add that to their child profile so they can jump levels. I love how Homer is super personalized and knows that kids do not follow a one-size-fits-all formula.
Homer App for Kids for your Family
The Homer App for Kids Learning provides entertaining essays and books on science, nature, history and art using a smartphone or tablet for all ages. Do you need help teaching your kids while you work or are busy at home? The Homer app for kids has Writing, Alphabet, Math, Creativity, Songs, and Games for all ages!
Leave a comment below if you’ve tried Homer and how it’s helped your family!
The Homer App on the Amazon Fire for Kids
Fire HD 8 Kids Tablet
Let’s talk tablets.
We finally bought one for our family, and spent a lot of time researching. Kids tablets? iPads?
We finally settled on the Amazon Fire for kids, because of a few reasons:
- It is cheaper than other options (especially over Black Friday!), so I don’t mind if my kids toss it around
- It is a good “learning tool” for them to learn a tablet interface, before they jump into larger devices
- It already comes preloaded with content for the first month. I love downloading kids shows, but was really impressed with the repertoire.
- We also have Disney Plus on the tablet, which I feel is a little better than the pre-loaded items. I love the old Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse shows!
- To prevent my kids from becoming possessive and addicted, I only bought one so they could share it. And, I bought the blue one so my daughter didn’t think it was just hers!
- They have a 2 year warranty if anything breaks
Why Is Screen Time Important?
The debate is real. Is digital media entertainment good or bad? Pros? Cons?
Personally, I think it’s a really good skill for kids to use screens, know how to use them, and have a history with technology. But, I think it’s also really important to keep recommended screen time by age, and be cognizant of alternate ways for kids to spend their time.
I am a FIERCE advocate to protect kids online and with social media, but that is a completely different conversation. Please, please protect your kids from the unknown of the internet. They are too young and it is common for them to be sucked into something dangerous!
As a working mom, I rely on screen time to help occupy my kids while I work. We don’t use it all the time, and we definitely have “house rules”, but I find it very useful when my days get busy!
Lets talk more about high quality recommended screen time by age:
Develop Good Screen Time Habits & Behavior
Raising children in a digital world is not easy. With 8-12-year-olds in the US spending between 4 to 6 hours on screens, parents, childhood experts, and GP’s have expressed growing concerns about the effects digital devices have on children’s development, sleep, and ability to focus. When you think about all the online articles telling us to watch excessive screen time, it’s no wonder we feel guilty every time our children are gaming or streaming videos, especially when the sun is out.
If you’re wondering how much screen time is too much, then let’s look at official guidelines. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends no screens for under-twos and a maximum of 2 hours of screen time daily for older children and teens for years. But since 2016, they have relaxed their guidelines, recognizing that not all screen use is equal.
APA screen time guidelines
- Don’t throw out the good with the bad. Screens can give them positive experiences too. Say, your daughter might love listening to her grandmother telling her a story on Skype, or maybe your son turns out a surprisingly edible pizza margarita thanks to an online cookery class.
- If your young child is 18 months old or younger, use screens for video calling relatives or parents.
- Only let your toddler between 18 and 24 months watch educational shows with you or another caregiver.
- Are your kids between the ages of 2-5? Set a limit of non-educational screen time to around one hour daily and 3 hours on Saturday and Sunday.
Apply these guidelines to your family:
I like to think of child’s screen time as any activity. Too much reading without exercise is a bad thing. Too many crafts without reading isn’t great either. Too much screen time without creative, independent play, is not that great.
If you want to read my full guide to getting your child to independent play, click here.
So, when my daughter wants watch something I usually ask myself:
- Has she had creative independent play today?
- Has she read books?
- Has she had any physical activity yet?
- Does she need to do any homework?
- Does she need face interactions with real people?
If she’s done different versions of all these things, then I think it’s totally fine letting her watch a few kid-friendly shows. I know my daughter, and sometimes it’s really helpful for her to have alone “watching” time to recover from being social and active.
In the same light, you know your family best. Know what your priorities are for your family, and use screen time to get you there!
A Successful Strategy to Try at Home
- Switch off all screens during meal-times and family outings.
- Keep non-screen zones in your home.
- Turn off screens an hour before bedtime and keep them out of bedrooms.
- Try to avoid using them as a pacifier. Just like a regular soother, this habit will be hard to break in the long run.
- Use parental controls if you feel it’s necessary.
- Teach your kids how to stay safe online.
- Engage with your child to find out what he/she likes watching or playing. If you’re not happy with the content they consume, explain why and give them alternatives.
How to make screen time work for you
I like to think of child’s screen time as any activity. Too much reading without exercise is a bad thing. Too many crafts without reading isn’t great either. Too much screen time without creative, independent play, is not that great.
If you want to read my full guide to getting your child to independent play, click here.
So, when my daughter wants watch something I usually ask myself:
- Has she had creative independent play today?
- Has she read books?
- Has she had any physical activity yet?
- Does she need to do any homework?
- Does she need face interactions with real people?
If she’s done different versions of all these things, then I think it’s totally fine letting her watch a few kid-friendly shows. I know my daughter, and sometimes it’s really helpful for her to have alone “watching” time to recover from being social and active.
In the same light, you know your family best. Know what your priorities are for your family, and use screen time to get you there!
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