The first overwhelming choice you have when you start homeschooling from the beginning is typically, “How am I going to teach my child to read?”. Some parents even put their children in school for kindergarten and 1st grade, til they learn to read well and then start homeschooling because of fear of not knowing how or where to start.
When I first started homeschooling I was lost in the sea of curriculum and promises by them all to help me teach my child to read. We started out with Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and my daughter hated it, so I had seen that the library had Hooked on Phonics. I didn’t know much about the program, but figured it couldn’t hurt trying since it would be free. And once we started, she took off reading! Now in 5th grade she always has a book in her hand!
Four kiddos later, I have still used it to teach each one of them to read. Anytime I have tried to use a different curriculum or try something new, it seems to fall flat and they have such a hard time understanding it. But once we go back to Hooked on Phonics, they soar! I have always paired it together with Explode the code book series (check out my flip through here) to help with the writing and phonics rules. And it’s been the perfect mix!
So I thought I would give an up close look at the Kindergarten program and then in a coming post the 1st grade level which one of my sons is doing this year. As a warning, these books have gone through 3 kiddos and currently my 4th is working on them, so they are well-loved! These pictures aren’t of a brand new curriculum, but one we have loved and used for years now. The pages may look a little rough and front of books my be worn, but I’m very thankful this set has held up so well for being through so many kids!
This program has truly been such an amazing blessing to our family and am so thankful for how it simplifies everything for me and is engaging for my children as well! They also have an app if your looking for some fun games to help reinforce reading with your kiddo, which we have used in the past and loved as well!
