We all want the best for our children. This means succeeding in school and life. One secret that many parents are willing to share is that there is a vast selection of learning tools on the internet.
Two of these tools are Homer and ABC Mouse. These are programs that parents all over the continent are using to help their children keep their brains fresh. It can be used for homeschooling, regular schooling, and fun.
When it comes to ABC Mouse vs Homer, we chose ABC Mouse because it offers more than Homer and it’s easier for a child to use. There are features of Homer that surpass ABC Mouse, but not enough to put it at the top spot in our opinion. One of the key differences between Homer and ABC Mouse is that Homer only goes up to age 8 without the option to expand beyond that as ABC Mouse does with Adventure Academy. However, ABC Mouse seems to have more distracting incentives and pop-up ads than Homer.
How They Operate
Before we get down to the nitty-gritty of the two apps, we should take a look at how each company operates and what its message is to its little learners.
Some companies tend to create apps purely for-profit and have no consideration as to what individuals are being taught.
Homer
Homer is an online learning tool that gives children the chance to begin learning before the age of 6 while the brain is still developing.
The curriculum has been developed by leading experts and all of their frameworks as been research-backed and tested by children.
Homer is very literacy-based, but they also offer math, social & emotional learning, thinking skills, and creativity programs.
ABC Mouse
ABC Mouse tailors its curriculum around children ages 2-8 years old. As with Homer, it was created by a team of educators.
There’s a full online curriculum for children in pre-k, kindergarten, and elementary school.
There are more than 10,000 learning activities for a variety of levels and it’s all research-validated. ABC Mouse doesn’t stop at 8-years either!
They have a sister program called Adventure Academy that accommodates middle school-aged students up to age 13. It teaches social studies, science, language arts, math, and more.
Safety
Safety is a top priority when children are using the internet. You never know what’s lurking around the corner and on every webpage.
Homer takes your child’s personal information and safety very seriously. They always ensure that their information practices and Privacy Policy are up to the COPPA standards as well as other privacy laws.
Additionally, they don’t track personal information to sell to third-party software. Homer does collect some information, but it’s only for these reasons:
- Registration
- Application download
- Use of services
- Customer support communication
- Participation in offers, promotions, and certain programs
- App notification opt-in
- Use of the referral service
ABC Mouse is also COPPA compliant. They are 100% safe and kid-friendly. There are no pop-ups or links that bring children to outside websites that could be dangerous.
They ensure that your child’s experience on ABC Mouse is engaging and educational all of the time.
There is also no advertising of any kind on their website. ABC Mouse also has a child-safe guarantee.
There are also only two categories of information that they will collect and both are based on the child and adult user. This can include:
- Payment information
- Email address
- School, library, or community center name and address (for teacher use)
- Payment information
- Information from the app being downloaded
- Use of third-party advertisement networks to collect cookie information from adult users
Any child user information collected will be used to measure the child’s performance and to adapt to their learning experiences and needs, to provide progress reports, or to provide an assessment of their performance.
Incentives
Children enjoy receiving rewards for their hard work. One major difference between ABC Mouse and Homer is that ABC Mouse offers incentives.
As children go through their lessons, they earn tickets. These tickets can be used to purchase items from the store such as pets, clothing, and more.
They can use the money to build tunnels for the hamsters, which is educational as well because it involves a little bit of engineering.
It seems, though, that these incentives can be distracting. A child may want to go to the store each time they earn a ticket and it may be the only reason the child wants to use the program that day.
Assessment Center
This is another area that we didn’t see when comparing Homer to ABC Mouse. Homer doesn’t seem to have an assessment center.
They have you fill out an assessment form at the beginning of the process and it takes that information to make a personalized pathway for your child.
When it comes to ABC Mouse, they have an actual assessment center. Here, your child can take a variety of tests that help determine where they are when it comes to certain skills.
Some of the tests are designed to be taken without a parent and others require assistance. Each is clearly labeled.
There’s a full assessment option as well, but it requires being taken with all tests for that level in a row, so you have to closely observe and realize when it’s time to step in.
Ease of Use
When a child is using a website, it should be easy for them to navigate. They shouldn’t have to click a bunch of buttons to find what they are looking for.
It should be right there in front of them. It should be equally as easy for a parent to use as well. Let’s go over how easy to use Homer and ABC Mouse are.
Homer has a very easy-to-use interface. All of the subjects and levels are put into sections to give children more choices for different topics and difficulties.
Even though it’s organized well, it seems to be overwhelming for young children. It’s not as appealing to the eye as the ABC Mouse interface is.
It looks like there’s a lot on the screen when you first log in, but it’s not as bad as it looks. There are tabs that are easy to locate and navigate through.
Parents have found that their children can easily use the interface without much help or supervision. There’s much more going on with the ABC Mouse tool than with Homer.
What Kids Learn
Both websites offer a variety of different learning opportunities depending on the age range that your child is in.
Homer
Here is what Homer offers to children from ages 2-8:
Toddler (2)
- Reading
- Letter recognition
- Introducing letter sounds
- Reading appreciation
- Math
- Counting verbally 1-10
- Counting objects 1-10
- Shapes
- Social-EmotionalSocial Emotional Learning
- Emotion recognition
- Friendship skills
- Social skill introduction
- Thinking Skills
- One-step instruction
- Creativity
- Symbolic representation
- Expressive language practicing
- Arts and crafts
Preschool (3)
- Reading
- Making letters
- First sounds in words
- Math
- Counting 1-20
- Counting objects 1-20
- Social-Emotional Learning
- Self-expression
- Thinking Skills
- Two-step instructions
- Creativity
- Symbolic representation
- Expressive language practicing
- Arts and crafts
Pre-K (4)
- Reading
- Letter sounds
- Vocabulary expansion
- Learning story sequence
- Math
- Subitizing
- Object addition and subtraction
- Social-Emotional Learning
- Recognizing complex emotions
- Thinking of others
- Thinking Skills
- Three-step instructions
- Creativity
- Creating stories
- Making and describing art
Early Learner (5)
- Reading
- Phonemic awareness
- Short word spelling and reading
- Math
- Addition strategies
- Adding and subtracting to 10
- Social-Emotional Learning
- Talking perspectively
- Collaboration and communication
- Thinking Skills
- Solving problems
- Creativity
- Acting out stories
- Connecting to art
Growing Learner (6-8)
- Reading
- Fluency
- Academic vocabulary
- Independent reading
- Math
- Place value
- Adding and subtracting
- Multiplication
- Social-Emotional Learning
- Taking perspective
- Empathy
- Establishing independence
- Thinking Skills
- Complex categorizing
- Creativity
- Music and dance exploration
- Connecting art to life
When it comes to what ABC Mouse has to offer, there isn’t an extensive breakdown like there is with Homer above, but there is a general breakdown.
Math
The math section teaches children to count and recognize numbers up to 100. They learn more than, less than, identifying shapes, patterns, telling time, and one-to-one correspondence.
Addition and subtraction concepts are introduced, but there isn’t the teaching of math facts. They do learn to count by twos and threes.
Science & Social Studies
This is a category that isn’t offered by Homer, which may be important to some parents, especially ones who are homeschooling their children.
These topics are presented at an introductory level. Children will learn about the human body, plants, animals, seasons, the solar system, and more.
Art
ABC Mouse teaches a variety of art skills, but most of them are computer manipulated.
There is paint by number and dot-to-dot activities. ABC Mouse does lack in the art department. Homer teaches more about art.
What’s The Cost?
ABC Mouse and Homer both offer a free 30-day trial before your credit card is charged.
After the trial, Homer charges $9.99 monthly, $59.99 annually, or you can sign up for the digital and hands-on bundle for $99.99 per year.
The membership includes up to 4 child profiles, offline printables, and activities, unlimited access to the Learn & Grow app, and tips and resources from learning experts.
ABC Mouse starts at $12.99 per month after the 30-day free trial. There’s also an option for an annual payment of $59.99.
The membership includes online learning, 10,000+ learning activities, access on all device types, 3 children per account, and more.
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Which Is Better?
After looking through both learning apps, I think I can safely say that ABC Mouse is better than Homer if you are looking for a more interactive experience that includes science and social studies. It does cost more than Homer, but it offers more.
I would suppose that if you had more than three children, you would have to choose Homer or add another ABC Mouse subscription since it only includes up to 3 children. Both are great learning programs, but ABC Mouse just offers more.
My name is Keren Tayler. I am a stay-at-home mama to three lovely girls, Sarah + Rachel + Hannah. Prior to becoming a mom, I had a successful career in the accounting field, steps away from becoming a CPA. I decided to give up on my career in order to raise my own kids (as opposed to letting a nanny do it, no judgment here :)) I learned a lot and I love sharing it with other moms. Along the way, I also became a Certified Food Handler.