The Best Reading Program for Busy Homeschool Families
- If you’ve been homeschooling your children for any amount of time or are planning to start, you know that time can be a precious commodity. That’s why I want to tell you about the best reading program for busy homeschool families like my own.
- I’m a busy mom of four, and I’m homeschooling two kiddos this year. My kindergarten student was ready to start reading, but I was terrified I was going to screw it up. I also needed to choose a program that was open and go, easy to teach, and didn’t take up a lot of time. I have a preschooler and baby to take care of so I can’t be slaving away for hours with a bunch of fluff.
- Teaching my child to read was very intimidating to me, and I have two teaching degrees (for teaching older kiddos). I had never taught someone to read.
- As a teacher, if a student couldn’t read by the time they got to me (9th grade), the student likely had problems I wasn’t able to help with much at that point.
- When I started my oldest at home for second grade, he was already reading. I didn’t have to teach him the basics because he was reading fairly well at that point.
- After months of lamenting and researching and reading reviews, I settled on All About Reading, and I couldn’t be happier! It is, in my opinion, the best reading program for busy homeschool families.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.
Why is High-Quality Reading Instruction so Important?
- As a teacher, I know the importance of reading as a foundation for future success. Learning phonics skills at an early age will also help with spelling skills later. Reading instruction isn’t an area I want to skimp on for my kids.
- Sight words are great, but phonics is the foundation for reading success. Knowing how sounds work together is an invaluable skill.
Why is All About Reading My Favorite Reading Curriculum?
- My main goal for this school year is to teach my kindergartener to read. AAR has taken the guesswork out of how to accomplish that goal.
- All About Reading is a reading program that focuses on phonics.
- Instead of spending a great deal of time learning a zillion site words right away, All About Reading focuses on letter sounds (phonograms).
- It uses the Orton Gillingham approach, which among other things means a multisensory approach to reading instruction. It’s great for kiddos who are wiggly, like mine.
- The program stresses the importance of moving at a pace your child is comfortable moving and not pushing too hard.
- We spend about 20 minutes on instruction each day, and another 20 minutes of me reading books to him.
- My child loves it. He’s reading!
- After reviewing their website, I knew All About Reading was going to be a success for us!
All About Reading to Overcome Reading Frustrations
- There are five levels to choose from in order to get started with All About Reading.
- Use the handy placement tool to determine what level your child is ready to tackle.
- 20 minutes per day
- Money-back guarantee FOR A YEAR! This is huge! The company is so sure you’ll love it, they’ll let you try it for a full year.
- Scripted: feel confident every day when you open the teacher’s manual that you are doing just the right thing
- Award-winning, proven method for effective reading instruction. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Common Questions About Reading Programs and All About Reading
What is the best phonics program?
- I’ve seen this question asked often in homeschool community groups. Here’s the long and short of it: phonics are only one part of the entire scope of learning to read fluently. A strong reading program will incorporate phonics with other reading processes to come out on the other side as a better reader. You can find a great, free tool for evaluating a reading program by clicking here.
-
What if I don’t like AAR?
- All About Learning (reading and spelling) is so confident you’ll love their products that they offer a money-back guarantee.
Is All About Reading easy enough for people who have no teaching experience?
- YES! AAR is a scripted program. That means the authors tell you exactly what to say and when to say it. It’s an open-and-go, simple to implement program. As long as you are patient, can read, and can follow instructions, then you can teach your child to read with All About Reading.
The Last Thing You Need to Know about All About Reading
- Teaching your child to read can be intimidating, even for a mom with a teaching degree. It’s such an important skill that some parents simply feel too intimidated to even try to homeschool. Don’t let it be a deterrent for your family!
- There are a zillion options out there. It’s easy to become overwhelmed. As a mom who has been there, I know that it can be difficult to decide.
- All About Reading takes the guesswork out of how to teach your child to read and has a money-back guarantee. This is a huge sign that it is a successful program with a company who cares!
- Do you have a question about reading curriculum? I’d love to chat! You can email me here.
