Epic: Free Kids Reading and Learning Platform!

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A study found that kids whose parents read them five books a day have heard 1.4 million more words than those kids whose parents don't read to them. So, when these kids enter kindergarten, they will have better reading skills and a vast vocabulary. Jessica Logan, an assistant professor at Ohio State University, states that kids who hear vocabulary words often are better prepared for school than those who are not. 

If a kid reads one story a day, they would have been exposed to 290,000 more words when they reach their fifth birthday than those kids who don't read regularly. On the other hand, if a kid never read or never listened to any story, they would only have exposure to 4,662 words.

These facts tell us the importance of reading books to young kids. Jessica Logan emphasized that exposure to vocabulary is good for kids so parents should provide them books or read to them daily. 

But, finding a library, borrowing a book and reading from it can be a tiring task. Moreover, finding an age-appropriate book for your kid can be a haphazard task. Fortunately, there is an app that can make finding and getting age-appropriate books easy. That app is Epic!

What is an Epic App for Kids Books and Reading?

Two parents were concerned about their kid's safety on the internet. They acknowledged that the internet is not for kids so they need to do something to keep them safe in the digital world. Keeping this fact in mind, they created Epic. It is a reading app that contains textbooks, picture books, audiobooks and informative videos for kids of every age. It is a subscription-based reading app for kids below the age of 12.

The books and audiobooks on this app are from reputable writers and publishers. The content on it is curated by partnering with National Geographic Kids and Sesame Workshop. Moreover, different parents, guardians and teachers have also contributed to selecting content for this app. Computers and algorithms have nothing to do with choosing the content. So parents don't need to worry about the quality of these books or videos. Moreover, there are no ads or in-app purchases in the app that make it safe for kids to use it unsupervised.

There are almost 40,000 videos, books and audiobooks on this platform that are written by 250-plus writers around the globe. They are award-winning writers so your kid can enhance their vocabulary easily through this reading app.

Subscription Model of Epic

There are two subscription models of Epic: One is for Educators and the second is for parents and homeschoolers. Educators can get this app for free for their students and institutes. This aspect makes it accessible for a lot of underprivileged students and institutes that have low budgets. To get this subscription model, you need to be a teacher at a school and can log in to this app from your school code only. Your students also need that code. Moreover, you can only access this app from 7 am to 3 pm of your local time.

Parents and homeschoolers can get this app for 11.99 dollars per month. You can also get a free 7-day trial so that you can test this app before subscribing to it. It also provides an annual subscription plan where you can save 44 percent of your total budget.

How Does an Epic App Work?

As a parent or educator, you need to subscribe to the Epic plan and make yourself a parent account. This would be the main account through which you can handle your kid’s account. After creating your main account, you need to create your children’s account. Educators can make accounts for each student in their classroom. These accounts will contain the avatars and names of their students. 

Then, they can give a special code or login details to their learners to access their accounts. Parents or homeschoolers can only make four profiles- parent profile is not included.

Teachers or parents can select books or learning videos for kids to read through their parent accounts. It would appear in the mailbox of their accounts. The mailbox is actually like an assignment page where you have given a reading task to them and they will check it off when they are done.

Students or kids can add their favorite books to the library too from their accounts. As a parent or educator, you can check their libraries and can delete or add books if you want. This app also tracks the reading progress of youngsters and tells you how much time they took to read a certain book. These insights can help you to know whether your kid has read the whole book or does they flip around the pages only. You can switch accounts from the avatar present in the top right corner of the screen so that you can quickly check every account of your children by going into their libraries.

Primary Reading Features of Epic App

Chapter and Picture Books

You can find chapter books, picture books and middle-grade books by award-winning writers on this app. There are Newberry award winners, Caldecott book award winners and more amazing writers. You can find classics and most modern book collections in various categories on this app. There are fiction and nonfiction children's books of every type on Epic. 

A blogger shares that she wanted to start the Torchlight curriculum (modern literary-based curriculum) while homeschooling her kid and she found various books related to the curriculum on this app. So, it shows how much it is helpful for homeschoolers and educators.

Read-to-Me Books

Different parents and educators are fans of the Read-to-Me books feature of Epic. In this feature, kids can see the text of the book while the app reads it to them. It is beneficial when no adult is around to read the book to a kid and they can't read it on their own.

The app also highlights different words while it is reading. It is similar to tracking words through fingers when an adult is reading a book to a kid. This highlighting of words tells kids which word is spoken so that they can learn vocabulary through visual and auditory senses. Chapter books and picture books of various levels are in this category.

Audiobooks

There are audiobooks too that are without any text. They are enhancing the listening skills of kids. The best thing about audiobooks is that Epic Original audiobooks contain different sound effects. Examples of sound effects are the ringing of bells, the meowing of cats, the barking of dogs and cartoonish giggles. These sound effects give a lively feeling to these books and keep the students engaged. Cat Ninja, Bark Park, and Kitty and Dragon are some Epic Originals that are favorites of different bloggers.

Learning Videos

There are animated fiction or nonfiction videos on this app. These videos are the animation of some award-winning books that make them interesting. You can find various sound effects in the videos too with amazing animations and pictures that make these videos captivating for young kids.

Technical Features of Epic

Available in App Form

The website is available in an app form for Android and iOS users. You can download it on your mobile, tablet or iPad. Moreover, you can use it on your computers. 

Offline Library

You can download some books in the library of the app. In this way, you can read books offline when you are traveling or your internet is rocky. Moreover, you can disconnect your WiFi when you give the device to your kid for unsupervised use.

Changing Colors of Interface

Your kid can change the color of their interface from settings. In this way, they can customize their screen in their favorite colors which would make the app interesting and captivating.

Quizzes 

If you want to check the understanding level of your kid regarding a book, you can do it through the quizzes or assessments feature of this app. Every book contains a specific quiz at the end that you can use for assessment purposes. Moreover, audiobooks, chapter books or picture books also have some activities in the middle of their book. These activities enhance the engagement level of kids.

Reading Levels

You can search for a book by reading level. Or, you can find the reading level of any specific book when you click on it. This reading level ensures that you give the appropriate book to your kid.

Reading Time and Insights 

Each book also tells you the estimated time it can take to complete the reading. Moreover, you can keep track of your kids' reading progress as it provides you insights into how much reading time has been spent. It also bookmarked the page when you stop reading a book. So, when you open it the next time, it will open from the page that you leave.

Gamification Aspects

There are different badges for achieving a specific milestone. These badges can enhance the avatar of your kids making it amusing for youngsters. This gamification aspect makes the books interesting and motivates kids to keep reading.

No Ads

You can literally read 500 books and no single ad will pop up on your screen. The owner of this app ensures that it is a safe place for kids so they haven't added any ad in the app.

Collections

You can create collections of your favorite books on this app. You can also find collections of other users which is helpful to explore new books.

Conclusion 

In short, Epic is considered a Netflix of books for kids. It enhances their reading skills which is the base for all future skills. There are no ads or inappropriate content on this app which makes it ideal for young kids to use it without any supervision. 95 percent of parents agreed that Epic enhances their kid's reading levels and other literacy skills. They use this app to develop vocabulary and reading habits in their kids and they become successful in it. Homeschoolers, parents and educators could take various benefits from this app in an affordable range.

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