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Which One is Really the Best Homeschool Writing Curriculum (a comparison)

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I’ve used some of the best homeschool writing curriculum; I hope you’ll benefit from my experience. Also, I’m going to help you hone your goals. Also, look at my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter.

Your goals are key to choosing a homeschool writing course which works for your family.

Then, I’ll share some quick comparisons between the best homeschool writing curriculum.

best homeschool writing curriculum

Besides, what is the best homeschool writing program during the elementary years is not always the best writing course in high school.

First, look at how I honed my writing goals and standards for my children.

This is your beginning point. Isolate your goals with clarity.

4 Ways to Identify the Best Homeschool Writing Curriculum

  1. Identify what type of writing curriculum your family needs now. A curriculum can include the physical act of learning how to write which is penmanship. In addition, it may only be the mental part of writing which is composition. Penmanship is learned in the early grades; a good rule of thumb for beginning composition is fourth grade.
  2. Narrow down the choices to either a complete language arts course or just the writing component. I prefer to keep language arts separated components because my children were at different levels. From my experience, my children learned better by not heaping grammar, reading, and spelling into one lump. Isolating just to composition or writing courses helped my children to learn the art of writing.
  3. Understand that learning how to write is an interactive skill but that doesn’t mean it should always be learned online. Although I didn’t have experience teaching composition when I started, I chose detailed teaching manuals so I could understand the writing process. I’ve learned that most children just need a caring adult to guide them even if they choose an online course. So, even if you choose an online writing course, your writer, no matter the age still needs you.
  4. Be sure these vital components can be identified in a writing curriculum: brainstorming tips, prewriting, drafting, editing/rewriting, and publishing.

Homeschool Writing Courses for Elementary Students

Next, look at these writing courses I used for varying purposes and times through my journey.

In my children’s early years, I used curriculum which encouraged copywork, but equally important was what was being copied.

I hail to the mindset the great writers need to see excellent writing, hear beautiful words, and copy them.

We used part of Aesop for Children: Story and D’Nealian Copybook Volume I and Writing Strands.

However, I started by using the older version of Writing Strands; a newer one has come out. I have mixed feelings about Writing Strands.

While it sometimes did not give an abundance of clear direction for me, it was a lightweight and fun curriculum.

At the time when I was struggling with an outline of what to teach in each grade, it eased the burden I had put on myself.

It gave me a glimpse of how easy it can be teaching writing logically.

Another curriculum I loved and used in the early years was Writing with Ease by Susan Wise Bauer.

As an artist when it comes to writing, you’ll love her methods for teaching writing.

Did I mention Susan Wise Bauer is a homeschool mom whose career was based on writing?

Not only is her passion for writing contagious, but she understands that as parents we want comprehensive teaching tips.

It’s true that Writing with Ease is a classical approach which means a heavier focus on writing, but it’s a solid writing program for the younger years.

Then, WriteShop is another favorite written by two homeschool moms. We loved the crafts and hands-on way to bring writing to life and reduce the struggling writer syndrome.

WriteShop worked for me when I needed step-by-step instructions of the writing process. In addition, I’ve learned to toggle between a gentle and rigorous approach in the early years. This means mixing curriculum.

MORE CURSIVE HANDWRITING TIPS

Writing Reference and Supplement Tools for Young Children

Besides, mixing curriculum with different approaches is based on my child’s development.

Some years we did more writing.

Other years my children focused more on brainstorming and organizing thoughts.

It’s all part of the whole writing process.

So you need a variety of tools and references for your child to get the whole picture of writing.

Don’t feel like you need to stick to just one curriculum.

For example, I love Daily Paragraph Editing.

Besides, essays at the higher grades are really just bigger paragraphs. If a child struggles with writing, typically it can be traced to the basics — a lack of variety of sentences and how to write a paragraph.

Next, I’ve always used these books by Emma Serl because they use a gentle Charlotte Mason approach.

Moving on to the older grades there are just as many solid choices for writing curriculum as they are for the early grades.

Middle School and High School Writing Curriculum

We have loved Institute for Excellence in Writing for middle school and high school.

Institute for Excellence helped to foster independence in my kids for writing. Having a fun writing teacher to teach my kids was one of the best parts.

I didn’t completely abdicate all teaching to Mr. Pudewa but it was hard to contend with him.

He is funny and teaches writing to be something that my children looked forward to.

And although it’s more structured writing curriculum it still maintains a Charlotte Mason flare.

The next one I used with my middle son was Jump In: Middle School Composition.

It’s a great example of how a curriculum should take a student from brainstorming to prewriting and end with a final version.

Jump In: Middle School Composition takes a traditional approach to teaching writing.

I found it quite easy to implement with my teen and it presented the writing steps in a coherent way. We loved the step-by-step help.

Finally, like any conscientious parent, I worried about finding the perfect homeschool essay writing curriculum.

More Homeschooling in Middle School Resources

Little did I realize that Jump In: Middle School Composition had already given my sons a great start in how to write essays.

Once I learned that all essays follow the same format — introduction, body, and conclusion, I encouraged my sons to write on a variety of topics.

Homeschool Essay Writing Curriculum

Similarly, The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School is written by the same author as .Jump In: Middle School Composition. It’s another winner for us during the high school years.

One year I felt one of my sons needed more of a challenge and the curriculum touted to be a college-prep course.

best homeschool writing curriculum

He absolutely soaked up the challenge.

Look at my post Review of The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School.

Another one we used in high school was Essentials in Writing.

Although it is a complete language arts curriculum by the time your teen gets to high school, he needs those teens.

One of my sons loved using Institute for Excellence in Writing for his essays and preferred their structure. At this age, I do think your teen should have a voice in how he learns best.

My vote is for Essentials in Writing and The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School for essays because I love things that are detailed and simple.

Both programs have visuals to help my teen organize his writing and evaluate his work.

Also, another resource which has helped me through the years is Write Source 2000.

Beyond writing, it helps your middle school and high school students learn how to think. All the parts of learning how to write are connected.

It’s not just about putting pen to paper. Why?

Because a teen needs to learn how to learn, how to organize his thoughts, understand his audience, and know the difference between formal and informal writing. Write Source 2000 has served as guide to me and a reference.

Did this help you to identify a few writing courses which can help you this year?

Moreover, here are more homeschool curriculum posts.

Find more writing curriculum tips here:

Free Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Sharing this wildflowers unit study and lapbook along with some hands-on ideas, I hope they’ll help your kids get excited about a fun wildflowers unit study. Also, you’ll love my other Best Homeschool Unit Studies.

When the Texas wildflowers blanket the fields here we’ve never been able to stay indoors. We’re always thinking of ways to get outside.

Free Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook

Here are a few fun facts about wildflowers.

  • Wildflowers by definition are soft-stemmed flowering plants that bloom once each year.
  • Some regenerate from the same rootstock (perennials), while others grow from seeds.
  • The flowering stem typically grows upright, but may be climbing, creeping, or trailing.

Next, wildflowers can be identified by color, but also by the shape of the flower head:

  • Bell shape
  • Cross shape
  • Trumpet shape
  • Ray flower
  • Two-lipped shape
  • Iris
  • Pea-shaped

More Hands-on Wildflowers Activities

Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook

In addition, I’ve rounded up some resources to make this wildflower unit study come to life.

Wildflowers Lesson Plan & Ideas

Petal Attraction. Why different pollinators are attracted to different types of flowers
Wildflowers in Bloom has images of many of the most showy wildflowers.
Use these poem ideas about botany for some memory work or copywork.
Great interactive site about the biology of plants.
Seed dispersal. pdf.


Oh wow, check out this list of state flowers.
Flowers seeking pollinators. Geared for 2nd to 7th grade.
Texas Wildflower bingo and lesson plan.
Pollinator Activity Book.
Bee Guides. Helpful.

Flower dissection instructions.

Free Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook

Texas wildflowers guide.
Plant life cycle worksheets.
Another list of state flowers.
Studying seeds printable book

Wildflowers Media & Interactive.

Video about Flower Pollination.
How Plants Grow Game.
Photosynthesis video and karaoke.
Parts of the Plant.

Funny young teen making edible candy flower.
Pick the Pollinator.
Life Cycle of a Flowering Plant.

EASY Crafts, Hands-on Ideas, and Activities About Wildflowers Unit Study


Do not miss these fabulous and free coloring books full of wildflowers. These also make great covers for the outside of your lapbook.

The coloring books are California Plants to Color, Coloring Book of the Western Great Lakes Region, Plants to Color from the Aspen Forest, Wildflowers of the Colorado Mountain Tops, Wildflowers of Ponderosa Pine Forests, Celebrate Wildflowers of Southwest Idaho and Wildflowers of the Western U.S.

Look at this Nature Study: Daffodils – Dissection, Poetry & Drawings.

Free Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook

Oh goodness, what is there to not love about the ideas on this flower and garden site?

Tissue paper flowers, make flowers out of household items like straws, make paper flower baskets, create stinkin’ cute hand print flowers, spinning paper plate flower, make cupcake wrapper flowers, egg carton flowers, crepe flowers and make a booklet that opens up into a daisy.


Make leafy animal crafts.
Something for the littles, cut and paste shapes to make flowers.
Use a plastic bottle to make a flower. Great for a tween or teen.
Springtime STEAM: Wildflower papermaking.
Creative flower arrangements. Great for a tween or teen.
How to Press Flowers. Top 10 Tips.

Z Is For Zinnias| Planting Wild Flowers.
Botanical Illustration step by step – Painting a Sweet Pea.
Create a dish garden.
Make a hydroponic garden with bottle.
Flower experiment for kids.

42 flowers you can eat.
Preschool math counting flower petals.
How to make a flower crown.
Spring flower activities for kids.
Cork-Stamped Flower Craft with Corks and Buttons.
Dyeing flowers.


And grab this free make your own flowers guide to go with this sweet book, Rose’s Garden. While waiting for her garden to bloom children bring Rose flowers they’ve made from different material.


Our Journey Westward

If you’re looking to do any spring nature studies, you’ll want to get a few of the NaturExplorers. I love those studies for multiple ages.

 Other Nature Study Ideas

Parts of a Dandelion Nature Study.
Fun Flower Garden for Kids with Upcycled Cartons.
See Like a Bee Wildflower Hunt.

Now, how to grab the free lapbook. It’s a subscriber freebie.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE WILDFLOWER LAPBOOK

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

1) CLICK HERE ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP ON MY EMAIL LIST & TO GET THIS FREEBIE.

2) Grab the freebie instantly.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!T

You’ll love my other nature study ideas and posts below:

 

Miss Rumphius Mixed Media Art from Emily at Table Life Blog
Oregon Nature Study Quiz: Wildflower Edition from Eva at Eva Varga
Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms Online Book Club from Dachelle at Hide the Chocolate
Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook from Tina at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Fingerprint Painting on Canvas Activity from Katrina at Rule This Roost
Dandelion Life Cycle Learning Activities from Karyn at Teach Beside Me

 

Homeschool Room Organizing + Organizing Tools

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I collect my homeschool room organizing tools from all over and from some of the same places you probably have in the area you live in. Look at my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter for more tips.

Some I order on online because I want some specialty items.

What helps me to focus on a tool and to think outside the box is to have my *needs* not a *tool* in mind.

Homeschool Room Organizing + Organizing Tools

The tool serves the need.

Have you ever come home with a bunch of pretty organizing tools and not really have a place to put them?

Though pretty, they won’t be much use if you can’t put them to work.

Determining your use, determines the homeschool tool.

Homeschool Room Organizing + Organizing Tools

Thinking outside the box too doesn’t mean you have to steer away from traditional uses for a tool either

who really wants to organize with a draining dish

This idea of a dish drainer for books is one of them that, for me, well I have a hard time being inspired to look at every day.

The idea is novel but  I would have to think of a way to hide the drainer, then I may be more inspired when I look at it every day.

Organizing Your Homeschool Room

Organizing does not have to be expensive. It is one of those hobbies useful life skills that can be inexpensive. I decide how much to pay or not pay for items.

And sometimes you just need to add a pop of color to your learning area. Our learning area was the formal dining room turned learning area.

So here are 13 things that make me sing when I did a spruce up from last year.

After, I explained them here, I have a list below.

1. The lamp was on clearance from my one of my stalking trips to Target.

The stencil was a wall stencil I got online too. It is a Moroccan look. I have been looking at it for a year now to determine if I want to do my pantry in this pattern.

Trying it out on the lampshade helps me to look at it for a while longer to see if I still am in love. I am still swooning over it.

The paint is acrylic paint I already had in the house; it’s cadmium orange color. Gorgeous.

2. The orange slices, lemon slices, coral and white mustache bookends are what I spent my money on this year.

You know I told you the longer you homeschool, the less you need curriculum wise. So you get to spend your homeschool budget on other yummy things.

So I purchased all of my cool bookends on ETSY.

They seem to have a variety to choose from each year.

Homeschool Room Organizing + Organizing Tools
Homeschool Room Organizing + Organizing Tools
Homeschool Room Organizing + Organizing Tools
Homeschool Room Organizing + Organizing Tools

I am still swooning over them and have restrained myself for the time being in not putting matching book covers over all of the books.

3. The magazine bins I got from different places.

It is easy to match your decor if you don’t want to take time redoing an older magazine holder. I keep all of mine though because I do redo them as I get time.

I find a lot of them on Amazon.

4. I knew when these binders came out at Target and I was there the first day they were putting them out, that if I waited to get them they would be gone.

I knew I loved everything about these designs. So I made sure to book mark this site Green Room.

5. Use expanding jackets to hold art work or other paper crafts while your children are doing.

I found these expanding jackets to store our art projects in.

Keep the kids organized by assigning each one a color.

Besides the fact they have GORGEOUS colors, they last a long time for the price. I use them year after year.

No sense in having the paper crafts strewn everywhere.

6. Next, use items made for bathroom storage as a pencil holder and scissors stand.

I got mine online from Amazon. Instead of looking at the more expensive storage section, I browse the bathroom section. That is an example of  thinking outside the box.

Homeschool Organizing Tools

The scissors holder they sell as a toothbrush holder and the cup is for a bathroom drinking cup. Who says?

Can you picture that trash basket as a beautiful way to hold maps and other artwork that is folded but needs to stand up? And that is EXACTLY how I used the beautiful trash can. It holds folded up maps.

Instead of seeing a toothbrush holder, can you see a paint brush holder or mechanical pencil holder?

If you see a soap holder, can you see it as paper clip storage?

7. The pink storage bins, I think, I got from Hobby Lobby too.

I have had them for a while upstairs in my school library. But too, don’t forget to measure your area to see how big. Here are some others I’m loving.

8. Here again, I am visiting the bathroom section of Target to find small storage bins with color.

This canister is part of their Room Essentials collection. I heart this container because it has three sections that flip out for easy access of small parts we use on our lapbooks and paper clips.

9. Use a drawer of towers.

Drawers are well not just drawers when it comes to storing heavier books and items. Iris is the brand that is I heart and that is carried by the Container Store.

It is a little more pricey but too the drawer does not fall over at the first minute my kid pulls the drawer open. The drawers are encased inside the unit making it a lot stronger than inexpensive ones that I had bought at Walmart many years ago.

I take a longer time now to fuss over which drawers I buy. They have to not only be pretty but first they have to be sturdy. Here are some others I’m eyeing.

10. The clear hanging file holder I love.

You can get it from Amazon and I love having the bin to fit on a desktop, table or any surface. It’s easy to get in and out of each file.

Homeschool Room Organizing + Organizing Tools

Desk top or table top file holders are the perfect size for holding charts and other material that you need to pick up and take some other place.

We can pick up the chart bin which has our maps and geography printables I make and take it with us to the living room or just bring it to the table.

As your children get older, you move away from all those cutesy things hanging on the wall and look for creative ways to store items that any family member can pick up and take elsewhere.

Table top bins can even be a place to keep your organizational printables for your family at one spot, like a command center. It works good for small spaces or just to keep it all organized.

11. Extra storage for crafts and supplies.

.The pink set of drawers I bought from Bed, Bath and Beyond when they had their college dorm things out. But there are others I eyeball because I’m always looking to update my look.

MORE HOMESCHOOL ORGANIZATION RESOURCES

I wanted something that was just for my storage of files and extra supplies like staple, tape, notepads. It had just the pop of color I wanted too

12. I couldn’t resist adding in my free 7 STEP DIY Homeschool Planner.

Where do you store yours?

Mine is on an easel. If I pay money to print the pink ink then why not flaunt it and use it as part of your school decor?

If you love it, show it. I am not sure if my orange and pink crush was my inspiration for our room and planner cover or the other way around. But I love them both.

13. Then, nothing beats a small storage cabinet.

You know I told you I wasn’t going to bother hubby this year on something different for the school room. He still needs much rest.

But I found this beautiful simple storage cabinet from Bed, Bath and Beyond and I could actually put it together.

I like the fact it is versatile and the books I had to go in it measured just the right height when I found it.

simple storage cabinet

Learning spaces are important because I know you spend just as much time in your area as I do in mine.

Find inspiration from the things you love and don’t settle for something like a dish drainer unless you are really taken away with the idea no matter how novel.

In my workshop I share that organizing is about the heart, not about will. You have to want something different than you have now.  Mountains are moved one stone at a time.

HOMESCHOOL ORGANIZING TOOLS

Thinking outside the box too doesn’t mean you have to steer away from traditional uses for a tool either.

Did you make a small organizational change that you heart this year?

I find this quote inspiring today because I think about the changes and sacrifices you make for homeschooling your family. Don’t think they go unnoticed. Especially if your kids are real young, it is hard to feel the homeschooling love.

Look at these other tips:

I hope I can impart a positive attitude and can do spirit even if just a little bit for you each day.

“When you’re happy for yourself, it fills you. When you’re happy for someone else, it pours over.”

~ Sarah Addison Allen~

Hugs and you know I love ya,

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Ancient Civilizations Unit – Printable Minibook on Sumer

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

One of the main reasons I wanted to cover an ancient civilizations unit is because sometimes a history study can get draggy. Also, look at my page Homeschool Lapbooks – Powerful Tools For Mastery Learning for more free lapbooks.

More important, I wanted to include other ancient civilizations to add to our Ancient Civilizations II unit study.

Focusing on the details of history, can get a bit sluggish because you lose the momentum of the overview.

There are lot of kids and teachers alike that are I-have-to-see-the-big-picture-before-I-get it people.

Me? I love history, but I can get buried in all the details.

I appreciate the big picture too.

Ancient Civilizations Unit

It is important to pull up and away and look at the big picture so you understand the major players of ancient history.

For us, I think after we examine the big picture and come up for air, it gives us another bunny trail to go down. You know what I mean? Often times, I end up with more units or topics than school months to learn about them.

Ancient Civilizations

Too, if you start homeschooling with older children sometimes they just get a glimpse of them in public school.

So, if you’re wanting to cover ancient civilizations, then a unit focusing on great empires or ancient civilizations is key to understanding them.

It is key to keeping history fun and relevant. Although Mesopotamia is an early civilization, it can be confusing to understand about Sumer.

So I made it a separate minibook.

Understanding that Sumer developed in Mesopotamia is the first place to start.

From there it is easier to associate the Sumerian ruler, Sargon, with the time period.

This time I made a minibook focusing more on the Sumerians invented which was a system of writing and irrigation.

Because they were farmers, irrigation was an important livelihood. 

Understanding how irrigation helped them to live farther away from the rivers is an important concept in explaining how they thrived as a civilization.

Ancient Civilizations Unit

Sure, it probably is not as glamorous to study about farming and irrigation as maybe studying about mummies, but it is solid; farming and irrigation is at the roots of ancient civilizations.

Ancient Civilization Unit

As usual, I try to give some accompanying facts and as always you don’t have to use them.

Ancient Sumer Printable Minibook

I provide information as I can because we do lapbooks as enrichment and my time is limited.

Also, these minibooks can be glued on pages for notebooking. You decide.

Sometimes we do a lapbook, sometimes the older boys glue the minibook on pages for a notebook.

One curriculum that we are using right now too because I am interested in getting a bird’s eye view on history is Western Civilization Study by Brimwood Press.

The reason I am excited about this one is because in a few short lessons you span several thousands of years of history. I

n fourteen lessons you span 5,000 years. A great teaching tool for getting a sweeping overview of history. We are already loving it. You have to check it out below.

I can’t wait to tell you more as we are so engaged going through it. I hope you enjoy the Sumer book. It makes it easy when you can cover civilizations, hitting the highlights and move on.

Do you find it hard to teach the highlights of history?

Update: This unit study and lapbook is now complete.

HOW TO GET THE FREE ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS II LAPBOOK

Now, how to grab the freebie. It’s a subscriber freebie.

1) CLICK HERE ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP ON MY EMAIL LIST & TO GET THIS FREEBIE.

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Ancient Civilization Unit

Hugs and love ya,

How to Choose a Homeschool Phonics Program Like a Pro (& recommendations)

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

With my first reader, I wanted to know how to choose a homeschool phonics program like a pro. Also, look at more tips on my page Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum.

It’s hard to do when you’ve never taught a child to read. Teaching a child to read has many parts and choosing a homeschool phonics curriculum is only a small part.

Today, I’m diving into helping you understand what is phonics and how the reading journey progresses.

a homeschool phonics program

Beyond choosing a homeschool phonics program, you’ll want to focus on how to develop a strong love of literature in the early years.

In addition, I’ll share a few recommendations of the best homeschool phonics curriculum.

First, before you can choose any curriculum, understand what is phonics.

What Is Phonics

Simply put, phonics means using letter sounds to read words. Mastering sounds is the first BIG step.

Did you know that it’s not as important to read the words immediately as it is to become familiar with the letter sounds? But let me back up a minute to explain two different educational mindsets about phonics.

Back when I started homeschooling, whole language advocates were numerous and very vocal.

But what exactly is the whole language approach? The whole language approach means to learn whole words basically in their context and not by phonics in step-by-step lessons.

One of the best examples of to show that we need both a whole language approach and phonics was shared with me by a seasoned homeschool veteran.

She explained that eating requires both chewing and swallowing; learning to read is similar.

Now, the educational world has shifted in how to teach phonics. There is now a focus on skill driven learning like phonics.

Most young children need direct instruction to make the transition from sounds to words.

However, remember that while children are learning phonics, we are exposing them to sight words.

Sight words don’t really follow regular rules of phonics. This makes complete sense to me — we use both whole language and phonics as we need them.

As you can see, when you start teaching phonics, tap into both direct lessons and a whole language approach. It really is a natural way to begin reading.

What Grade Should You Teach Phonics

Next, I get many questions like what grade should you teach phonics.

While it’s true that you want to teach phonics as early as Kindergarten, there are many factors which affect when a child should begin.

For instance, it’s important to know that pushing a child when he is not ready can have a negative effect.

From the beginning, a child’s love for reading can be ruined if you don’t look for clues of readiness by your child.

While waiting on the development of your child to show readiness in learning to read, you want to create a literate environment.

Look at these 4 ways to foster reading awareness while watching for phonics readiness.

  • Set the example by reading. All my children as adults love to read although my childhood was not filled with many books. My parents didn’t see the value of great books in our home, but I loved reading. I carried that love into adulthood.
  • Fill your home with a mix of genre. Wordless books, picture books, and even beginning chapter books introduce the fringes of the world of reading to your budding reader.
  • Reading aloud. Out of all the things I did, reading aloud to all of my children from birth was one of the best things I did. It was hard to appreciate that at the time.
  • Continue having fun with letters and crafts. The transition from letter sounds to beginning reading is a gradual one. Don’t rush it. Allow a child to linger with letter names and hands-on fun manipulating letters.

Better Later than Early Philosophy

Additionally, remember that each child is different. I had one child that was interested in reading early and I started with phonics lessons at age 5.

In contrast, my second son waited until closer to 6 years old before he showed the slightest interest in reading. Teaching him formal phonics lessons in Kindergarten would have been counterproductive.

Waiting on my son’s maturity to catch up, I did formal lessons later in the school year.

You are the only one to decide if a later start will work. But do keep this important thing in mind.

Children are soaking up everything they can learn. It’s our job to lead our children and not push them.

Introduce phonics and move at the child’s pace. Waiting too long for some children can likewise be disastrous.

Teaching phonics can be like an ebb and flow. I do think that children take huge leaps when they’re ready then seem to linger or ruminate.

When my children didn’t seem to retain anything I taught them, I realize now they were ruminating on the lessons. It’s important to let a child stay at a level until he is ready to move.

Next, don’t quit teaching phonics the minute your child seems to get it. As a rule of thumb, a lot of phonics programs go to about the fourth grade. There is a good reason for that.

If you stop teaching phonics too soon, a child may not master decoding (breaking written words into spoken sounds).

Eventually, it’s my experience that encoding (translating a spoken word to a written word or symbols, i.e. writing) is affected as well. By the way encoding is taught through spelling.

And although writing and reading are connected, they’re not learned at the same time with beginner readers.

So, the point is to take cues from your child and keep learning fun. You are the only one to know whether you need to wait later or move ahead.

Best Phonics Homeschool Curriculum

Then, there are many wonderful homeschool phonics programs that we have available now.

Here are some of the ones I really love.

1. All About Reading.

I loved using All About Reading because of how interactive it can be made for your child.

When your child is learning to read, using all his senses are important.

Some kids are visual, and others are stronger using audio. In addition to having everything you need to make learning fun, the teacher’s manuals are helpful.

2. Explode the Code.

Second, we used Explode the Code series and loved using every books. This is an affordable and easy to use program which makes it easy for beginner readers. I love how complete the set it is.

Just follow the sequence suggested which makes this program easy. Your child can progress at his pace.

Another one I used and loved is The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading.

3. The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading.

If you want a bit more hand holding, you’ll love using The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading.

4. Hooked on Phonics.

Now, this next one I haven’t used as much, but have helped others to use it.

Hooked on Phonics. is an easy-to-use program which has been around for a while. There is a reason. It works. This program is geared for ages 3 to 4. Again, many have a love or hate relationship with this program.

5. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

Another program loved by many homeschoolers is Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Many homeschoolers have successfully taught their children to read using it.

I started using it but found that I wanted more hand holding. Again, you decide if it will work for you.

Lastly, we loved using Horizons Phonics.

6. Horizons Phonics.

I used Horizon Phonics with my son who was later to learn reading. It is an advanced program, but if you use it from the beginning the pace is gentle. I started using it with later grades.

a homeschool phonics program

Homeschool Phonics Program

Choosing a homeschool phonics program does not have to be scary. Creating lifelong readers happens by choosing beautiful books. It begins with a solid phonics program and thankfully in the homeschool world we can choose from many excellent ones.

What do you think, feel better narrowing your choice?