Parents' Guide to

HOMER Learn & Grow

By Dana Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 3+

Personalized early literacy program chock-full of choices.

App iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire Free to try Education
HOMER Learn & Grow Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • HOMER Learn & Grow App: Screenshot #1
  • HOMER Learn & Grow App: Screenshot #2
  • HOMER Learn & Grow App: Screenshot #3
  • HOMER Learn & Grow App: Screenshot #4
  • HOMER Learn & Grow App: Screenshot #5

Community Reviews

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age 3+

Based on 39 parent reviews

daart
daart Adult
December 8, 2021
age 3+

My kid loves this app

Boy, my kid really loves this app. It somehow hits the right spot for him. Whenever he gets home from daycare, it's often "Homer! Homer!" I like how it's very educational and how it's so much better than other distractions like TV (and he prefers this over them). He is getting quite good at the shapes game where you match what shapes are related to what the narrator is saying. There is also little drawing-practice/writing-practice style games, memory games, simple math-related games, sing-a-longs, and other things I haven't discovered yet. My kid rather loves all the sing-a-longs. Very engaging educational app!

This title has:

Easy to play/use
adridder
adridder Adult
April 19, 2021
age 2+

Overcharged us, App Lost Progress and Hassle to Cancel

Their site offer was one price, then they billed me nearly double. After working with their support they gave me a partial refund instead of canceling. Then when we got in the app, my kid gave up because his progress was lost over and over. Then we didn't use it for 11.5 months but they finally contacted us to let us know that we'll be charged again for renewal - nice to know they care about their customers. So I go to the site to try and log in. It says it sent me an email & try again. Never receiving an email - thus I can't even cancel. Now back on with support. At what point should I get paid for QA testing their app experience?
See all 39 parent reviews

What’s It About?

First, sign up for an account with HOMER LEARN & GROW. Then, indicate your kid's age and answer a series of questions about their interests and current reading level to establish a user profile for each kid (up to four users). Finally, tap Play. Kids can choose from seven areas: Math, Stories, Games, Reading, Songs, Creativity, and Practice. The Reading area puts kids on a personalized reading pathway that sequentially introduces skills and games to teach letters, phonics, and so on. For example, kids learn phonics skills and then record their own voice saying the sounds. The other areas offer kids a menu of activities to choose from, including song videos, coloring pages, letter writing practice, puzzles, and storybooks. Parents receive updates and supplemental information through the email address they provided when creating an account.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (39):
Kids say (4):

This award-winning, research-supported program shines most in its reading activities that encourage kids to actively engage with learning by tapping answers, recording their own voice, and choosing what they'd like to explore. Because HOMER Learn & Grow adapts to your kid's reading level and interests, it creates a personal learning path that helps guide kids toward literacy. Something (and probably many things) in this app will strike a chord of interest with almost any kid.

In addition to the excellent systematic phonics lessons here, there's also content related to literacy, such as songs and nursery rhymes, as well as content that touches on other early learning themes, such as numbers. The stories and songs sections nicely include many genre-specific selections, such as poetry and folk tales, as well as well-known classics like Harold and the Purple Crayon. However, the non-literacy-related content feels weak compared to the reading program. It's much less thorough and often feels simply like an add-on. On the other hand, the upside is that even kids who aren't quite ready to read can easily find something to do. One small nitpicky note: The positive feedback ("Hooray and Happy Day!" and "Wiggly ears, cheers!") can feel a bit over-the-top after a while. Overall, HOMER Learn & Grow is an excellent resource to help kids on their journey toward learning to read.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about using HOMER Learn & Grow to practice reading skills. Visit the developer's website to get ideas for extension activities to continue the lessons together off-screen.

  • If kids connect with music more than reading, use Songs and Rhymes to engage them with the app first before moving on to the more traditional phonics lessons.

  • Use your kid's interests to foster a love of reading and build off of the activities in the app to bridge learning and real life.

App Details

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