(Note: This blog post is inspired by a video transcript from a homeschooling parent sharing her experience using a specific reading curriculum. For more detailed insights, please refer to the original video above.)

A Comprehensive Guide to Homeschooling: Teaching Your Child to Read

Homeschooling can be a rewarding and enriching experience for both parents and children. However, it can also be a daunting task, especially when it comes to teaching fundamental skills like reading. This blog post is inspired by Sarah, a seasoned homeschooling parent and education leader, who shares her journey and resources in teaching her children to read. Her insights and experiences provide a valuable roadmap for parents embarking on their homeschooling journey.

Building Reading Readiness Skills

Before diving into structured reading lessons, Sarah emphasizes the importance of building reading readiness skills. These skills, which include teaching letters and their sounds, reading aloud, and incorporating pre-reading activities into daily routines, lay the foundation for successful reading instruction. Sarah recommends resources like the Leapfrog Learning's Letter Factory DVD for teaching letters and sounds. She also highlights the importance of reading aloud to children, a critical step in preparing them for formal reading instruction.

Choosing the Right Curriculum

Choosing the right curriculum is crucial in teaching your child to read. Sarah had three main criteria when selecting a curriculum: it had to be foolproof, phonics-based, and proven to be effective. After extensive research, she decided on "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." This curriculum uses the Direct Instructional System for Teaching and Remediation (DISTAR) method, a scripted, phonics-based reading program. It promises that after 100 lessons, a child should be reading at a solid second-grade level.

Navigating the Curriculum

The curriculum is designed to be user-friendly, with clear instructions for parents and engaging activities for children. Each lesson includes tasks that focus on phonics, word recognition, and comprehension. Sarah found that the early lessons took about 15 minutes each, but as the curriculum progressed, the lessons took longer. To manage this, she used a visual timer and gave her children the choice to continue for another five minutes or pause for the day when the time was up.

Assessing Progress

Upon completing the curriculum, Sarah wanted to assess her children's reading levels. She turned to the Lexile Framework for Reading, a scientific approach that places both the reader and the text on the same developmental scale. By comparing the Lexile levels of the books her children could read independently with the Lexile norms by grade level, she was able to estimate their reading levels.

Supplementing the Curriculum

While "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" was the primary curriculum, Sarah supplemented it with early readers like Bob's Books, Miss Rhonda's Readers, and "My First I Can Read" books. These additional resources provided her children with more reading practice and exposure to different types of texts.

Addressing Reading Challenges

While the curriculum worked well for Sarah's twins, her son needed additional support. She turned to the Explode the Code curriculum, a research-based, multi-sensory program that provides early intervention services to struggling readers. This program, which is based on the Orton-Gillingham approach, helped her son improve his reading skills.

Teaching your child to read is a journey, and every child's path will be unique. Sarah's approach, which combines a structured curriculum, supplemental resources, and individualized support, provides a comprehensive framework for teaching reading in a homeschooling context. Whether you're just starting your homeschooling journey or looking for ways to enhance your child's reading skills, these insights and resources can serve as a valuable guide.

Remember, the goal is not just to teach your child to read, but to foster a love of reading that will last a lifetime. As Sarah's experience shows, with the right resources and approach, you can successfully guide your child on their reading journey.

"After Five" Through "After One Hundred" Phonics

All-in-One Bundle

Are you ready to take your child's reading journey to the next level? Our "After Five" Through "After One Hundred" Phonics All-in-One Bundle is the perfect companion to the "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" curriculum.

This comprehensive bundle is packed with phonics activities, flashcards, and crafts that align with each lesson from 1 to 100. Plus, we've included writing practice sheets to reinforce the sounds your child is learning. And the best part? Everything is available in both color and black and white.

We understand that repetition is key for young learners, and while "Teach Your Child to Read" has built-in repetition, our bundle offers even more opportunities for practice. But it's not just about repetition - it's about making learning fun and engaging. Our crafts and hands-on activities bring each lesson to life, keeping your child excited and motivated.

Don't just take our word for it. One of our customers said, "Love these printables. It was the main thing that made this program doable for us. My son really struggled with the book and was bored with it quickly, but he tolerated it when he got to do these lessons afterwards."

So, are you ready to enhance your child's reading experience? Click the link below to purchase the "After Five" Through "After One Hundred" Phonics All-in-One Bundle today. Let's make reading fun, engaging, and successful for your child!