See-N-Read™ Reading Tools: Review

I don’t often write about my children’s reading problems, per their request. So without giving away any names and too much detail, allow me to say that learning to read was a very long, drawn out and painful experience at the Prater household.

I’ll never forget one of the conversations I had with my little one when we were in the car one day. We were discussing ways that they could serve others at their young age and other ways that they could serve as they grew. One of my suggestions was to help children and adults learn to read. From the back seat, I heard a small voice say words that brought tears to my eyes.

“But mommy, how can I teach someone to read when I don’t even know how to read?” spoken quietly from my nearly 10- year old child. Trying to gain composure I replied with words that the Lord Himself must have given me because I was dumbfounded and speechless. “You will be the best teacher. Do you know why? Because one day you will be a wonderful reader and you will know exactly what it feels like not to read. You will be able to empathize with your students and that will make you an extra special teacher“. I tell you this because when I received a package from See-n-Read Reading Tools, I was reminded of that conversation just like it was yesterday.

For years, my children struggled to read. I spent hundreds of dollars on the best, guaranteed to-make- your-child- read phonics programs hoping one of them would work. I never considered for a moment that my child had a visual processing disorder and at that time I didn’t know the signs to look for. It wasn’t until after we finally visited a reading specialist, who referred us to a pediatric optometrist that I learned that to my children the words written on the page seemed to move around. This resulted in them skipping words, substituting words, re-reading the same lines, skipping lines and frequently losing their place. We were told to always use a bookmark, but this product is so much more effective!

See-N-Read™ Reading Tools were created with this and similar types of problems in mind.

Ideal for readers of any age, from K-adult, the See-N-Read™ Reading Tools help readers build reading speed, fluency and comprehension by allowing the readers eyes to focus on the text one sentence at a time. This tool is research based and classroom tested.

Interested? Want to know how this nifty, inexpensive tool works? You simply align the See-N-Read™ tool over the text that you would like to read. The See-N-Read™ has a clear window that allows you to see one line clearly at a time, while the rest of the See-N-Read™ is a transparent color, allowing the user to see the words on the page, but not focusing on them which promote left-to-right eye tracking.

To build fluency in reading, you must read. If you have a difficult time, reading becomes a chore. The harder you or your child tries the more discouraged you both become. See-N-Read™ is a great product for helping your child’s eyes to stay where they are supposed to be, which makes reading easier, allowing them to focus and concentrate on what they are reading, which also improves their comprehension.

See-N-Read™ is conveniently available in two sizes, Book (3 ½ x 5”) and Document (3 ½ x 8 ½”), sold individually beginning at $2.99, with combo pack pricing beginning at $5.99.

Memory Mark is exactly like the See-N-Read™ only it has a clear window allowing you or your child to highlight and mark through onto the page without losing your place, pricing begins at $2.99 for an individual Memory Mark™.

There is also an electronic program, eSee-N-Read™, for personal computers (available for Mac computers soon) that allows you to take this innovative product and activate it as needed. I was less than thrilled with this product until just a few days ago when I was trying to add figures to an Excel spreadsheet. I have to be honest, I’m nearing 40 and my eyes just aren’t what they once were. I found the eSee-N-Read™ extremely helpful in this instance and I know there are times I will continue to use this product for myself. This program is $29.99 and is available for purchase at the company website and payment is conveniently accepted through Paypal. You can also contact the company via phone at (630) 236-5592.

If you have a child that struggles to read or is a slow reader, I would absolutely recommend giving the See-N-Read™ products a try, but that’s just my opinion. You can see what other TOS Homeschool Crew members had to say here. 

I received these products free of charge from See-N-Read as part of the TOS Review Crew in exchange for my honest review.