When I homeschooled my child in k-1, I needed a variety of reading resources. Children benefit from reading phonics books by different authors. There often aren’t enough books in one series, so multiple series can provide enough content so kids can build fluency or reading speed. If you use more than one phonics series, you can also expose your child to different writing styles and diction.
We have many printable phonics readers in our shop, but there are also other good resources available.
Reading Elephant Phonics Books
I recommend our printable K-2 Bundle of course! Our K-2 Bundle has 120+ step-by-step decodable phonics books that introduce one phonics sound at a time. In this way, kids can learn to read gradually and gently. Our books are thorough and allow kids to master the most common phonics sounds. The Reading League and Cathy Duffy (the premier homeschool resource site) include our printable books on their decodable phonics readers lists.
Our printable books start off simple and gradually become more complex. For more info, enter our shop.
Primary Phonics Books
Primary phonics books are a helpful resource. They are decodable phonics books that, like Reading Elephant, gradually introduce new phonics sounds.
When I taught homeschool, I found the combination of Primary Phonics and Reading Elephant decodables to be sufficient and excellent. With these 2 resources, I had enough stories to teach my child how to read.
Starfall
Starfall is a popular website that offers interactive reading activities, games, and phonics lessons suitable for kindergarten learners. I also love the short vowel Starfall Books that are available on Amazon.
ABC Mouse
ABCmouse provides a comprehensive curriculum for young learners, including reading, math, science, and art. It’s designed for ages 2-8 and offers engaging activities for kindergarten reading.
I still recommend using quality decodable phonics readers off the screen. I believe kids learn to read best with human interaction. Kids need immediate feedback on each word. If the child miscues, he needs an educator to point out his error and lead him to the correct pronunciation. That way, the child can learn and practice new phonics sounds.
While online games can be helpful for homeschool, especially if the parent needs time to plan, it’s also important to conduct offline reading lessons.
Local Libraries
Libraries are incredible resources. We often forget that libraries exist for us, since we’re members of the community. They often have wonderful children’s sections where your baby and toddler can play with toys and board books while your older child peruses the shelves.
Libraries may not have systematic phonics or dyslexia reading programs, but they are wonderful places to help you and your child remember why the sound-by-sound decoding work in k-2 is so important: one day your child will be able to read all the books surrounding you at the library. That’s an amazing goal to work toward.
Cathy Duffy
Cathy Duffy has the premier homeschool resource website. She recommends phonics resources (Reading Elephant is on the list), and she also recommends resources for nearly every academic subject.
Remember that systematic phonics instruction, gradually learning new phonics sounds, reviewing old phonics sounds, and decodable phonics readers are key factors in helping your kindergartener develop strong reading skills.
Reading Elephant offers step-by-step printable phonics books for K-2. For more info, enter our shop.
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