Category: Struggling Reader Tips

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 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.

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.

[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.

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!