My Favorite Items for Homeschooling Beginner Readers
Teaching your little ones to read is such a joy! It’s so exciting when you see them finally read their first book or sound out bigger words. It’s even better when you see things just “click” and suddenly they are reading fairly well and on their own.
I remember when my first child started to learn how to read in preschool - she zoomed right through it and was incredible. I knew when it came around to my second child that the learning and retention would be different, as each child is solely their own and learns on their own. While my second child didn’t read as fluently as my first did at such a young age, it was amazing to see how one day everything just came together and suddenly she was reading too!
Now I am currently working on teaching my third child how to read, and again we are going a slower route. The classical education approach focuses a lot on phonograms and sounds and less on early reading in kindergarten. Now that he is going to first grade, we are working more on grasping reading and blending sounds.
We have a plethora of readings materials, littler readers and curriculum that we have tried. Today I want to share what we love and what we just like. I hope you find this post helpful, but most of all, I hope you keep an open mind that not all children will start reading at age 5 or 6. Not all children will learn as quickly as their siblings or their peers. Each child will come into their own reading ability when they are ready. While the public school system may push early reading, this was not always the case and that is perfectly okay. Everyone is on their own pace towards success!
In the meantime, just keep reading together and making the process fun.
CURRICULUM PICKS
Beginner Reader Curriculum Picks:
We are digging into the Good and the Beautiful right now with my 6 year old and so far I am loving it. We especially love the box of readers that came in the bundle for the Language Arts Level K. This curriculum has lots of beautiful artwork, learning games, games on an app and much more. It’s captivating for little ones and it is easy open and go for mamas. We really enjoy it so far! Shop the link here!
Foundation Phonics from Masterbooks — We tried this curriculum with my second child and while I really enjoyed the activities, the huge Christian focus and the way it taught her to read, the bible stories that opened up each lesson were quite lengthy and a little too much for such a young child. But the worksheets were great - although just standard black and white worksheets with lots of coloring pages.
Sound Beginnings program. We used this program with my daughters in second grade and I actually am not a fan of the curriculum. It’s very repetitive, focuses a lot on handwriting (not the worst) and should be done earlier in my opinion. The only fruit from the program for me was nice handwriting and these phonogram cards. It’s great to teach children these blends with the little tricks they give you. For example — AY at the end of the word such as day and AI in the middle of the word such as paid. The cards are great but otherwise it’s not my favorite. You can find it here.
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I used this book this year for Kindergarten and I have mixed feelings. It truly is a great book and program, but honestly we didn’t focus a lot on the fine print of the lessons and really just focused on the sounds and blends. It’s a great book that I may use some with my other son, but it’s not something I plan to be in a top curriculum pick for us. I love the idea of the dots and arrows for blending the sounds together, but otherwise I don’t have any favorite qualities about it. However I know many people LOVE this book in the homeschool world, so it may be the right fit for you!
Little Angel Reader Series. This series was used in our Catholic homeschool program last year for first grade and I love it so much! Honestly I think that an advanced Kindergartener may be able to complete this program! It’s truly a wonderful phonics curriculum with the most adorable little readers. It does have Catholic symbols and words throughout it and it is so wholesome! You can find it here only.
extra readers
The Original McGuffey’s. I saw these books floating around on Instagram and decided to try it because I love old and vintage things. It’s the cutest book and we definitely use it, but we don’t have to have it. We rely more on our Dash Into Learning Readers, however this is still a great resource to have. Grab it here!
Dick and Jane. We have many Dick and Jane books and I think these are some of the sweetest and most ole’ fashioned books you can rely on for your beginner reader. It takes you back to a simpler life and I just love it. I also think the stories and sentences are perfect for new readers!
Dash Into Learning. These are our FAVORITE books and I can’t say enough good things about them! The Dash books can be use in addition to your curriculum and/or used as your curriculum. There are handwriting tablets, wooden toys, games and more to go along with the characters of the Dash series. There are multiple sets and levels available to accommodate your growing little ones on their reading journey. You can get 20% off with code THEMUSHYMOMMY when shopping the link here https://dashintolearning.com/?ref=795tDs--3R3Y6
Wooden letter blocks. There’s so many great letter blocks or just letters out there for phonics work. We love using ours for making new words!
What has been your favorite resource to help teach beginner readers?
pin us below
