Frequently asked questions
Before kids can start to read they must learn letter sounds (often called phonemes), how to blend and segment, and understand the ABCs. Blending is the ability to put letter sounds together to read a word. After children know letter sounds they must learn to blend those sounds together to read the whole word. Segmenting involves breaking down words into their sequential letter sounds. It’s like spelling by sounds instead of with letters. Play Roly engages children in learning these essential foundational skills while having fun. By the end of the Play Roly videos, children can begin to read simple words, understand the fundamentals of reading, and are excited to learn to read.
You can help your child begin to read by teaching him or her the foundations of early reading with Play Roly. The essential foundations of early reading include learning letter sounds, learning how to blend and segment, and understanding the ABCs. Play Roly is a fun, fast, easy, and free way to help your child learn to read in under two minutes a day by singing along to 26 Play Roly videos found on this website. Some children can easily learn the foundations of reading at school in a classroom setting while as many as 25% find it more challenging. However, playing Roly in a relaxed setting at home, one-on-one, can boost your child’s confidence, and make learning to read easy.
Because children learn at different speeds, learning to read in a classroom setting can be challenging to children. Studies indicate that slower learners learn ten times slower than fast learners. No matter whether your child is a fast or slow learner, he/she will benefit and have fun when engaged in playful learning with you and Play Roly—and gain confidence.
Play Roly is founded on decades of science of reading research and utilizes unique techniques from reading interventions to make it easier for kids to learn early reading skills. By teaching the essential foundations of learning early reading skills at home, with a loved one in a relaxed and fun atmosphere, children learn without even noticing it. Play Roly teaches kids letter sounds and blending so they can put letter sounds together to read a word. It also teaches kids segmenting, which involves breaking down words into their sequential letter sounds. As soon as kids know their letter sounds, can blend letter sounds, and segment words into letter sounds, learning to read is easy.
It’s free! Play Roly app and website videos are free and accessible to everyone. We’ll never ask you for your credit card.
Play Roly delivers the foundational skills required by every child learning to read. These skills include learning a few initial letter sounds, blending these letter sounds into words, and segmenting words into letter sounds. Practicing these skills at home with you and Play Roly will enhance what your child is learning at school or preschool, boost confidence, and make learning to read at school faster, easier, and more fun.
Sometimes teachers use Play Roly in classroom settings. However, Play Roly is highly effective if used one-to-one with an adult and child. Teachers often invite class parents to Play Roly at home with their child to improve learning success. Children learn Roly’s language at different speeds—when the activity is used one-to-one at home, each child can learn by engaging in playful learning at their own pace.
Play Roly was originally designed for children whose family members had dyslexia and other learning challenges. However, because it teaches essential foundational skills required to learn to read, it is effective and recommended for all children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old.
Play Roly focuses on essential foundational reading skills based on the science of reading research that other activities skip. When children miss out on learning these early reading skills, reading can be delayed.
No—not with Play Roly. We recommend Play Roly for children between 3 and 5 years old—but It’s a fun game to engage all young children in play, and they love it. While your child is having fun, Play Roly teaches phonological awareness without him/her even knowing it, and phonological awareness typically starts at two-and-a-half years old. Younger siblings often love to Play Roly with their older brothers and sisters too
For the first Play Roly, all you’ll need is a device to play the Play Roly videos, a ball to make Roly, and a marker pen. Roly can be any size ball or anything that rolls!
Other things you’ll need as you progress through the Play Roly videos include a blank book or paper, coloring crayons or pencils, and a mini-Roly-ball (about 1” in diameter).
No prior knowledge of the Play Roly song or the activity is needed. It’s a very repetitive activity, so after a while, kids pick up the words to the song and have fun.
Kids watch the video at the start as they learn to sing and roll their Roly-ball with you. As they get to know how to play, they watch less and less and interact more with you. Smiling, making eye contact, drumming the floor, and high-fiving are naturally mimicked from the videos as kids feel more comfortable.
The easiest way to sign up two children is to create two accounts, each with different email addresses. Sign into one account when you play with one child, and the other when playing with your other child. You’ll know which account you are in because we will refer to your child by his/her first name when you are logged in.
Play Roly is being used in over 100 countries around the world—and growing.
