Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales: The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, and Other Stories

My favorite thing about LightSail for Homeschoolers is that it helps kids improve their reading skills without them even knowing it! Through the assessment tool and asking your child about their preferred book genres, the program finds books for your child. These books are not only at their reading level, but also from their chosen genres. That way, it’s a win-win.

"I need something for a teenager that won’t make him start at a basic level and that takes his large vocabulary into account as well. So, when I discovered LightSail for Homeschoolers, I got excited."

[LightSail] cleverly designed the questions to test not only reading ability, but comprehension and vocabulary at the same time. Their assessment tool prevents kids from just guessing or copying what the passage said. I really liked this because my kids have been known to figure out how to “beat the test.”

LightSail offers books from all your favorite publishers, so there’s no hokey “formula” readers. Personally, I hate that! LightSail contains an extensive collection of tens of thousands of engaging books and multimedia content from respected publishers such as World Book and Lerner Publishing, as well as trusted homeschool and faith-based publishers. Parents customize this collection to the individual needs of their children and their family values through LightSail’s ChildSafe Content Control Service and reading- and grade-level appropriateness controls. These are books that their friends are reading, that they’re talking about, that they’ve heard of on social media or elsewhere.

LightSail is an excellent option for struggling readers. Every step of the way is designed in an accessible, multisensory format. And, best of all, it accommodates both reading level and maturity in it’s application.

LightSail has writing activities that complement the reading assignments. There is also a chat feature for parents and children to interact within the platform. This allows learners to practice writing in ways that are natural and integrated into the reading itself. (No more random worksheets!)

LightSail fluency tools allow your child to record themselves reading a portion of a book aloud and then send it to you. The learner can play their own recording back, and re-record it until they are happy with it. This interactive and multisensory approach to reading practice is revolutionary. It’s also so much more fun!

LightSail also has tools for struggling learners. The line isolator tool is a game changer and I literally had tears when I found it. In addition to dyslexia, my daughter has a history of saccadic eye movement which makes reading even more difficult. She did vision therapy for years and does eye exercises to control the rapid shifts of gaze, but when she’s tired, isolating lines is very helpful for her. She can change the number of lines that are isolated and she can change the color of the isolated lines and background. She can also have the lines read to hear. Game. Changer.

Every 15 days, LightSail automatically updates your child’s Lexile score, allowing every feature to be tailored precisely to their reading level. There are built-in comprehension assessments that help you determine whether your child is absorbing what they’re reading. With over 150 new Library Collections, curated by homeschoolers, there’s sure to be something to snag your child’s interest!

I am really excited about are the LightSail fluency tools. These tools allow your child to record themselves reading a portion of a book aloud and send it to you for assessment. Students can play their own recording back and re-record it until they are happy with it. It then allows you to listen to the recording with text on screen, so you can assess what they’ve omitted, inserted, mispronounced, substituted, repeated, or self corrected. This is huge for us, since our 12yo has dyslexia and fluency is a struggle. It’s difficult to assess at times, though, because I either have to be reading over her shoulder (which she hates) or I have to have a second copy of the text (which can run expensive). This will enable us to work on fluency in a non-intimidating way.

"You can access great books for your kids… without taking library trips or incurring library fines. Ya’ll, I’m the queen of library fines. Sometimes I think that my family single-handedly supports the budget of our local library. Combine that tendency to never return books on time with the struggle of trying to find specific books I want the kids to read, and you’ll understand why the ease of finding books in the LightSail platform is such a benefit."

There is a HUGE variety of content available with your LightSail for Homeschoolers membership. But that doesn’t mean that you have to let your kids access it all. When you see the platform, you might find titles you don’t want your kids to read. Maybe they are too young for some books. Or, perhaps there are some books you object to because of content. And you can always choose to restrict access to some books. You can also assign specific books to your children. In other words, even though there is a huge library, you still have control over what they’re reading.

[O]ne benefit of reading aloud that I love is the great discussions that it can facilitate. But when kids are reading a book independently, those discussions can be more difficult to carry on. Yes, you can talk about the book after they finish it or as they finish chapters. But often those important ideas and conversations come in the midst of reading. LightSail for Homeschoolers has a chat option that is perfect for this. As your child reads and something comes up- a question, a comment, an opinion- they can just click the chat button. When you check the chat later, you can keep the conversation going. Awesome!

LightSail for Homeschoolers is interactive, so there is no reason for your students NOT to be actively involved in their lessons. From clicking on words to strengthen their vocabulary to learning how to pronounce the words properly, it’s all there. It seems the program designers have thought of every scenario and helped us land in a positive way each and every time.

"I’ve found that with work picking up for me these days with my nonprofit, I’m not always able to focus for hours on end and have to trust that my children can be self-led to complete there work. However, I have the world’s smartest kids and sometimes I’ve found that they have perfect the illusion of completing schoolwork without actually doing it. This often leads to my husband or I having to sit with them as they complete their schoolwork and listen while they read out loud or share what they have learned. Instead, I’m directing them to discuss the information with each other – and help process what they’ve read in a peer-to-peer way. This curriculum supports that and more."

"Writing activities complement reading assignments, and LightSail’s chat feature allows parents and children to interact and engage through the platform. Furthermore, LightSail parents have real-time access to meaningful data about their children’s reading and writing trends, comprehension, and growth that allows them to guide, create, and enhance the learning experience. This is where we actually struggle the most. In a digital world, it’s proven difficult in our homeschool to get the kids to write in a way that is conclusive. In order to foster this, we’ve had them all write letters regularly to people in our family. Paired with the writing assignments in LightSail for Homeschoolers, they have more to talk about and they can put those skills to the test both on screen and on paper."

I have a bit of nostalgia when seeing that so many of the books are published by World Book. If you don’t recognize that publisher, just know that for so many afternoons I poured over the set of encyclopedias that we had in our home thanks to my dad being employed there. Those were the days.

LightSail offers a family-friendly learning experience for all ages! It’s the best thing to hit the homeschool world since denim jumpers! 😉

LightSail offers tens of thousands of child-friendly books from some of the world’s leading publishers for all ages! These are an amazing way to get your hands on some of the best books in the world, without hundreds of trips to the library! (Not to mention, we save money each month by avoiding those pesky library fines that we seem to accrue each month.)

If you’re wondering how to improve reading and writing skills, this is it! It’s exactly what you need if your child loves to be challenged and earn rewards. You simply can’t miss this personalized educational journey!

"Just think about it for a second. You get access to tens of thousands of books for your children should the libraries shut down again this fall. You won’t clutter up your house trying to store these books. And you won’t spend a fortune purchasing each and every book! And what I love the most, is there’s a classics tab right in the library that takes you straight to beloved children’s classics."

"I only have so much room in my house to store books and I don’t have an unlimited budget to purchase all the books I want. That’s why I was thrilled to run across LightSail for Homeschoolers."

And what I love the most, is there’s a classics tab right in the library that takes you straight to beloved children’s classics... And to make your life easier, each book or poem includes a reading Lexile score. You’ll know instantly if the books are a good reading level for your kids… not too hard and not too easy!

I think it is an excellent tool, not only for homeschoolers, but also for any parents looking to help improve their child’s reading abilities in the evenings, weekends, or during the summer.

"I tested my advanced reader, who just completed his sophomore year of high school. He tested out of all power texts, with a lexile score of 1759, the program does not have texts to help him improve from there. The highest lexile score is 2000, and I find very few books with a rating that high. But the truth is, with a score like that, he doesn’t need to work on improving reading comprehension. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the program could still be useful for such a student. The library full of classics ensures he will have plenty to read, and the search abilities make it easy to match his literature to other subjects. "

Overall, I would say the biggest strength of this program is that it is very easy for both parents and kids to use. I also love that it includes a lot of classics. The library is huge and your child can find books on topics they find interesting. I am excited to continue using this with my kids.

The LightSail for Homeschoolers language arts platform provides parents with a comprehensive and engaging online reading and writing program for children in grades pre-K through 12. That means you can use it with all of your children at the same time! As a homeschool mom with three children all at different reading levels – this is a huge plus. I could have my dyslexic son reading a book at his level while my advanced reader reads a book at his – all while using the same program and not having to buy yet another program.

A foundation in the science of reading and writing combined with the experience of a team of home educators creates a family-friendly learning experience advancing skills in reading, writing, vocabulary, and fluency. The LightSail literacy platform that has enhanced learning for over 5 million school students is now tailored especially to the educational goals of homeschoolers. As a former teacher, this was really important to me, because there are so many programs out there that are not backed by science and research and it shows. So, to have a reading library that is, just makes it even more wonderful.

Parents customize this collection to the individual needs of their children and their family values through LightSail’s ChildSafe Content Control Service and reading- and grade-level appropriateness controls. That means that if you only want your child to read faith-based publications you can set that up. Conversely, if you want to keep religion out of their readings, you can customize it so those don’t appear in their searches.

LightSail offers a comprehensive and complete homeschool reading curriculum that is full to the brim with super cool features.

I have always been a big fan of online homeschooling and electronic resources. I adore books but they can be expensive, especially if you have kids who are avid readers like mine. And as their tastes and abilities change, it can be hard to keep up! The sheer size of the LightSail libraries offers kids everything they could possibly want to read.

The Flip-Flop Mode requires kids to read a Power Text, and then allows them to read in Free Mode. This works really well for us because my kids are ADHD and can easily flit from book to book. With this tool I know that they’re reading a text that will help them to improve their skills. And then they can go wild after that.

The fluency part of [LightSail] is also super cool! I remember how daunting reading aloud in class was for me. LightSail overcomes this by allowing kids to record and re-record themselves reading aloud, and then submitting their reading for grading or feedback. I think it’s a fantastic way to build confidence in a safe environment.

I particularly like that when your child clicks on a book, LightSail loads available related content. It gives them links to videos, audiobooks, World Book articles, and more to dive deeper if the subject grabs their interest. With tens of thousands of books to choose from, there is the perfect title waiting to be found. Not to mention, no library late fees!

"LightSail truly is an all-in-one online reading program tailored to homeschoolers, and that will help your child increase their fluency and comprehension. The many features also allow you to use it as you would like in your homeschool. It can be simply an online library for your children to access, or you can tailor it to include unit studies, assessments, and writing practice.

It might take you a bit of time, but your homeschool will benefit from the power of LightSail."

Controls on content within LIghtSail are beneficial and precise. They have taken the time and effort to identify topics and content families may have an issue with and give you the tools to filter what you want your child to access.

One feature I particularly enjoy is the Collections. Think of them as unit studies, and it all makes sense. There are many premade collections for you to choose from and more to be added, but the best is that you can create your own right within LightSail.

"First of all, I loved the level of parental settings available. I didn’t have to worry about my children accessing any books with content I wasn’t comfortable with.

In fact, you can set it so that they have to request approval for a book and you can review it and decide whether it’s okay for them to read or not."

"[T]here are several tools to make reading easier for the child who might struggle with distractions or overwhelm.

I found this particularly helpful for my 6-year old son who is still a budding reader.

You’re able to have them focus on just one word at a time and really reduce outside distractions."

"I think this program is perfect for travelling families, international families, or those who just don’t have room for a lot of physical curriculum.

This program is easily accessible from many devices and would work really well if you are on the go a lot or can’t afford shipping costs for traditional paper curriculum."

I also love the idea that my child can learn to read while also gaining basic computer-use skills. It’s a win-win in that sense.

This program is going to be a great addition to our homeschool year, and give everyone something to do while I work one on one with each of my kids.

There are some great books available in both fiction and non-fiction. And you know what features they both have are? Questions about the book for your child to answer. This really gets them thinking about what they have read which I, personally, love.

This online platform and eLibrary adapts to and challenges growing readers and writers while personalizing their educational journey.

Setting goals in terms of habits and achievements is a great way to improve reading skills. LightSail for Homeschoolers helps learners to set their goals and to help them track.

Besides reading various genres in several media, learners will need to use their reading skills in all academic subjects, such as social studies and science. LightSail for Homeschoolers has a rich library with non-fiction resources that includes geography, history, science, religion, and classics.

One of my favorite aspects of LightSail is the TED Videos that you can assign to your students. I love to introduce my units or concepts with a video, so I found this very useful. You can assign a video on a topic to your students, and LightSail will give you suggested books on a topic.

I love the fact that the whole family can read the same book. This will create wonderful and intriguing conversations at the dinner table.

The program contains all of our favorite classics that we read growing up. It includes The Bobbsey Twins, Aesop Fables, Shakespeare, and Beatrice Potter, and so many more.

The price is a steal when you consider all that LightSail has to offer.

An online language arts curriculum is no longer a mythical unicorn in the homeschool world. Now you can combine reading, writing, vocabulary, and fluency for pre-K through high school, all with one unique online program!

LightSail gives you access to some of the best books in the world. You don’t have to worry about multiple trips to the library, library fines, or if the unthinkable happens and the library gets shut down again!

[LightSail] is customizable through LightSail’s Childsafe Content Control Service, making it perfect for all types of homeschoolers, from classical to interest-led and everything in between. You can even turn off certain features if they do not work for your kids.

LightSail is entirely customizable to your child and their needs!

I think LightSail is a fantastic resource for homeschoolers from Pre-K through high school and an excellent option for struggling readers.

It’s perfect for interest-led homeschoolers because there are so many rabbit trails to follow. One book can lead to other similar articles, subjects, and videos. There is a wealth of information at your fingertips. Best of all, I don’t have to worry about my kiddos stumbling onto inappropriate content while diving deep into the subject of their choosing. That’s awesome.

With over ten thousand books they are sure to find something they enjoy.

The writing program complements the reading assignments, and for us more importantly, they are in small chunks. So no struggling to write for hours at a time.

The first thing that caught my attention was how bright and colorful this program is.

What is great with Lightsail is that the child can record themselves reading aloud, and send the recording to us, the parents!

The key to enthusiastic readers is having a wide variety of books available. However, building that personal library can get expensive. Even if you’re using the library, there are still late fees (come on admit you frequently have overdue books). Well, Lightsail for Homeschoolers has solved the problem of building your library with an online reading program you’ll love.

This site is a bonanza of books for any homeschoolers using Living Books, or Classical Education.

I like their search and the ability to not just search by grade level, but also topics of all sorts from history, author, current events (like political topics), themes, and more.

[T]he big thing that will appeal to homeschool moms of all stripes is the ability to pre-approve different types of books depending on different categories.

"I am a busy lady. Throughout any given day, I’m homeschooling the kids, working on the blog, creating new educational resources, cooking, cleaning, running errands. Like so many other parents, I’m running around and taking care of approximately a billion things before my head hits the pillow each night.

Using the LightSail for Homeschoolers program for my own kids takes a load off my shoulders."

The LightSail for Homeschoolers Library is enormous. Not only does the library include texts on a variety of subjects and content areas, but videos, audiobooks, images, and even TED talks are all available at my disposal. It’s no longer necessary for me to scour the internet for appropriate videos or drive over to the library to borrow books (that, inevitably, will result in late fees because…life) to supplement our homeschool lessons. Now, I just need to log-in to my LightSail for Homeschoolers account, search by keyword or subject, and then assign my findings to my kids. As my kids would say, “easy peasy, lemon squeezy!”

LightSail parents have real-time access to meaningful data about their children’s reading and writing trends, comprehension, and growth that allows them to guide, create, and enhance the learning experience.

LightSail for Homeschoolers IS a language arts platform, but I absolutely love that I can take advantage of its offerings to supplement and teach my kids in all of their homeschool subjects.

Do you remember 2020? . . . Oh, how I wish I knew of LightSail – a homeschool online reading program during those months of not having access to books.

Another great function tool of LightSail is selecting if you want faith-based material offered, and if you do, you are then able to include what faiths.

My kids go through books so fast! Having tons of books available for them to read without having tons of library books getting lost at my house is a big win. When they finish a book, there is always another one available.

I’m probably a little more excited about LightSail’s ChildSafe Content Controls than a normal person should be, but well, this is one company that got it right.

What I like about their ChildSafe Content Control is the different levels of management. I can choose to completely block entire categories if I know my child is not yet ready for them or if they are simply controversial topics. But, I can also choose to have my child ask permission and this would allow me to make decisions on a case-by-case basis.

One of the biggest benefits of an online language arts program that includes all the books online, is you can easily take it with you. Beautiful day out? Head outside. Traveling? No problem. Being online makes it easy to adapt to where you are.

These features along with LightSail’s four pillars of literacy (reading, writing, vocabulary, and fluency) make LighSail for Homeschoolers the best online language arts platform I have found. Because LighSail uses active home educators in developing their content, they know what we as homeschoolers are looking for.

I love that this program is based on science and that it is already proven to be effective with millions of students. As a teacher with a degree in education, I am always looking for ways to incorporate the science of how kids learn best in my homeschool. I was excited to see all the ways that LightSail for Homeschoolers uses the research to help kids learn better with this platform.

LightSail’s platform is an effective reading program that is designed based on the science of reading and writing and is already used by more than 5 million students in public schools. Now a team of home educators has customized LightSail for home use to create an amazing homeschool curriculum!

The library inside LightSail for Homeschoolers is the best thing about this program! The collection includes over 12,000 books and multimedia resources from publishers including World Book and Lerner Publishing. There are also faith-based collections and classic homeschool books.

I like that LightSail leaves it up to individual parents to decide what content they would like their children to be able to access.

The LightSail parent dashboard is a really helpful tool for homeschool parents. The dashboard allows me to see at a glance exactly which books my kids are reading. I can see which assignments they have completed and where they are in the learning process. I can also see their Lexile scores, and how many questions they answered correctly in the books they have read.

It is great to be able to create a customized goal for each child, and then assign a reward from me that will display when they complete their goal. I love that parents can create both the goals and the rewards for their kids themselves. This is such a meaningful way to celebrate their kids’ hard work.

My son has always had a love of reading, but he tends to read quickly and has a hard time remembering what he has read. I noticed that the comprehension checks forced him to slow down and think about what the text was saying. I am already seeing improvements in his reading comprehension, and I know that this literacy program is making him a better reader.

"When reading in LightSail, the minutes read are automatically tracked and recorded. This is super helpful for me because record keeping is not my strength.

MOM-WIN At the end of the year, I’ll have a record of all the online books read (including minutes and pages)."

LightSail records the books, minutes and pages read. The gradebook keeps track of assessments. At the end of the year it’ll be there ready and waiting!

RJ (third grade) loved recording her voice and listening to herself reading.

Using ChildSafe Content Controls, I am able to block or require approval for books based on content. For example, I’ve blocked content that includes scary imagery from my third grader. She has too many scary dreams!