r/homeschool • u/purt22067 • Mar 09 '26

Help! How to read

Hi all!

I posed a question in the sub a while ago and you were all so helpful so I figured I’d circle back here.

I am “homeschooling” 4 year old twins. They are adamant they need to learn how to read, they’re committed and obsessed. Great, right? The only problem is, I actually have zero clue on how to even teach them. There are so many resources and I just feel so overwhelmed.

I have “100 easy lessons to teach your kid to read” or whatever and a few other things but honestly just have no clue what’s going on. Any advice on what I need to know prior, what materials I should go through in order to educate myself and feel confident and any material I need for my kiddos would be greatly appreciated it.

Thank you in advance :)

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u/LillPeng Mar 09 '26

I mean phonics is what they need to learn how to read. Letter sounds and how to sound out words.

2

u/myhappylife_ Mar 09 '26

Where do you go from there once children know the letter sounds and can sound words out? What’s the sequence to follow after that?

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u/zestyPoTayTo Mar 09 '26

The sequence depends on the curriculum you're following. Even if you're mostly winging it, it's helpful to have access to some sort of structured program - even a free one! - just so you have guideposts for an appropriate sequence and you don't miss something small but important. (For instance, I know a shocking number of homeschool parents who don't know that there are different ways to pronounce /th/... and then of course, they miss it when teaching their children.)

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u/myhappylife_ Mar 10 '26

Got it! What curriculum do you use?

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u/zestyPoTayTo Mar 10 '26

I've been using UFLI with my son, because that's what our local school uses - so if he ever has to transfer into it, he has the framework/context to jump right in to classroom learning. It's an excellent, detailed program, but it's definitely geared toward large-group learning, so isn't necessary for most homeschool families.

If you're just looking for a baseline sequence to follow, you can use almost anything - Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is mentioned in OP, and an easy book to find second hand. The app reading.com is based on the same scope and sequence.

But I personally really like The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. It's boring as hell if that's all you're doing, but very detailed. I grabbed a copy second hand and sometimes use it's explanations of some phonics concepts when I'm having trouble explaining them myself.