Reading. It can be one of those make-or-break homeschool subjects. So many homeschool families feel frustrated with the strategy of teaching reading and the specifics of actually choosing the right books for kids to read.
How do you know if it’s the right level? What if the book isn’t hard enough? Are there books that every kid should read?
What if the book we pick is morally or theologically inappropriate?
Can you relate? I sure can. I’ve got a master’s degree in education and I STILL found myself asking some of these questions when I began homeschooling. I was particularly concerned about finding books that I could trust!
The truth is, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all reading solution. Every child will have different needs, strengths, and interests. There are a LOT of choices for helping us get there.
But before we get to our free printable homeschool booklist chock-full of our favorite Christian books for kids, I’d love to help answer some of those difficult reading questions.
How do you pick the right level books from the homeschool booklist?
Choosing the right level for your books is important, but it’s not going to make or break your curriculum. So don’t fret on this one.
When your kids are first learning to read, having books on a manageable level is important so they don’t feel frustrated. After that, it’s really not that big of a deal.
Besides, we want about 75% of our child’s reading to be practice–that is, words they already know and feel comfortable with. This is the best way to build fluency and comprehension. So, books that are a little too easy are a good thing, not a bad thing like you might expect.
If you are really stuck and don’t know where to start with your kids who are LEARNING to read, this book is a great resource. Becky is also a former teacher who now homeschools her kids. (Plus, she has an entire website dedicated to teaching kids how to read!)
Personally, I love a good booklist! I tend to look over the lists others have created and let my kids choose something they would enjoy from that list. (If you can’t wait, jump to the bottom of this post and check out our free printable homeschool booklist. It’s chock-full of great Christian books for kids by age level.
I also really love leveled readers, as they take out all the guesswork. Just remember, no child fits in a box, so always look through the book to make sure it’s a good fit.
Is it really ok to let my child choose what they want to read?
It’s more than ok to give your kids a good quality homeschool booklist and let them decide. In fact, I believe it’s the key to growing readers who absolutely love being educated. God did not create us all to be the same, so why are we boxing kids in? Trust me, give them the license to read what they enjoy and they will read far more.
My oldest is an avid reader. When I say avid I mean she literally will go to the library and get 7-10 novels and finish them all in a week. She stays up all night reading, reads while walking in the grocery store, and would rather read a book than do just about anything else.
I firmly believe she got to this point because I allowed her to read freely. More specifically, I allowed her to read as many horse books as she wanted. Yes, I was a little concerned that she was only reading fiction stories of girls who loved their horses. So instead of making her read a book about the Civil War, I went out and found a horse book that also covered the Civil War. I found nonfiction books about horses, too. Because I was sensitive to what she enjoys, it was easy to get a wide variety of books even on a narrow topic like horses.
And now? First, you should know that she reads a variety of literature, from missionary biographies to old English favorites. She is graduating from high school a year early and sailed through the reading portions of the ACT.
Those horse books didn’t hurt her. They served as a catalyst for learning and education. They created in her a love of reading!
When should my child start reading chapter books?
This question always gets feathers ruffled. I really don’t know why, but parents get all kinds of offended if you tell them their child is not ready for chapter books. I went through this multiple times every single school year when I taught first grade.
The short answer: Don’t rush a good thing. There are too many books out there to enjoy.
Often, once you start chapter books, kids never go back. Don’t rob them of the beautifully complex plots and award-winning pictures that can be found in those beloved picture books.
And yes, I think every first grader is too young. Not because the level is too hard for all of them; it’s not always. But the content is generally not appropriate and they miss thousands of wonderful books by rushing it all. You can read more about this here.
Homeschool Booklist By Grade Level
Now that we’ve gotten the questions out of the way, it’s time for the good stuff.
There are a LOT of great booklists out there, so we aimed to do something a little different. This homeschool booklist is 100% comprised of Christian books for kids!
Sometimes, those books with excellent morals are much harder to find at the local library. They don’t always show up on lists and we often miss the opportunity to share these treasures with our kids.
So we created a huge list of all our favorite must-read books for character growth, apologetics, and anything that will help kids GROW in faith!
To get your FREE printable homeschool booklist, click on the image below.
Is your favorite Christian book for kids on our homeschool booklist? If not, drop it in the comments! We’d love to hear your ideas, too.
Through practical tools & Bible-based resources, Kim Sorgius is dedicated to helping your family GROW in faith so you can be Not Consumed by life’s struggles. Author of popular kid’s devotional Bible studies and practical homeschooling tools, Kim has a master’s degree in education and curriculum design coupled with over 2 decades of experience working with kids and teens. Above all, her most treasured job is mother and homeschool teacher of four amazing kiddos.
Stacey Meredith says
I’m already a subscriber. Do I need to subscribe again to download the lists?
Kim Sorgius says
Just go ahead and enter your email above. You won’t be resubscribed. It just verifies your subscription and sends you an email with the download.
Kelly says
I receive your newsletter. Curious how to download the free offers. I love your blog!
Kim Sorgius says
Hi Kelly,
Just go ahead and enter your email above. It serves as a password of sorts and will send you the email for download. 🙂
Tracy says
Hey Kim!
Thank you so much for this post!! As I had been thinking about the new school year I almost dreaded all of the decisions that I knew I faced. My oldest daughter sounds very similar to yours in that she reads ALL the time and loves horses! My second oldest, boy wants to read like his sis but just really does not like it and school is frankly very frustrating for him! As an elementary ed. major and teacher (before I had my first child and quit work when she was born) I find myself sticking into some kind of regiment that I think I must fill to “do school”! I have tried many times to get out of it, but it seems I find myself creeping back into it. Your encouragement has helped! As I plan this new year I will try the reading journal with my son instead of the traditional curriculum. Thanks again!!! It is nice to know there are others out there who struggle to feel adequate in meeting their child’s needs!!! (and it has nothing to do with a degree:)! )
Kim Sorgius says
I can’t wait to hear what you think! It’s so funny how those of us with education degrees tend to really struggle with getting outside of the box. You would think it would be the opposite, but I rarely find that to me the case!
Jill says
This was a really refreshing read! Thank you! I have been very nervous to homeschool my middle son. Our personalities often clash and he is very strong willed! Last year I sent him to the public school for kindergarten while I figured this whole homeschool thing out! I regret that decision. I think it divided my attention and also truly didn’t give him the beginning reading instruction that he personally needed. This article was just what I needed to hear for him! He was a slow learner in kindergarten and I’m hoping to make his reading experience this year at home focused on what you eluded to: I life long love for reading and learning! Thanks so much for all you do! It may not feel like it sometimes but you are doing Gods work and we thank you!
Kim Sorgius says
Thank you for your kind words, Jill!
Cyndi says
Hi Kim, Thanks very much for the reading list. I collect these and refer to them often.
Joy says
Thank you so much Kim for this post! It is exactly what my family needs right now. You are such a blessing.
Nelda says
Thank you I’m for this list! I’ve searched for a good listing of children’s classics, and this is a huge blessing. My son thought I was mean to assign the Swiss Family Robinsson and Treasure Island, but I find I’m right on target. Nelda.
Kim Sorgius says
You’re welcome!
LouAnne says
Please email the grade level reading lists.
Thank you
Kim Sorgius says
If you are having trouble, please view this page: https://www.notconsumed.com/faq-for-freebies-and-downloads/
Lacey says
Hi! Great info! Do you have a reading list for middleschoolers?
Kim Sorgius says
We’re working on one.
Joy says
Hi Kim – There is a list started in a forum at the TTD365 website (Teach Them Diligently 365 group) for Middle School books. 🙂
Tammy Kindig says
Just signed up … and no download yet 🙁
Kim Sorgius says
Please see our help page here: https://www.notconsumed.com/faq-for-freebies-and-downloads/
Sara says
Thank you!
Julie says
Thank you
Cyndie Barnes says
Please submit a 7th grade list. Thank you.
Kim Sorgius says
The list has been updated to include 1st grade-8th grade.
Steve says
Any suggestions for high schoolers? We’re facing this conundrum with our youngest (14), because the state we’ve moved to specifically lists Reading on the curriculum form.
Kim Sorgius says
In high school, most students read what is assigned by their courses. You are required to have an English credit each year. I find it too difficult to add extra reading due to the demand of this (plus reading in Science and History).
Dawn says
Looking forward to the reading list.
Francesca says
Reading List!! Yeah, I am looking forward for it!!
S says
Thanks
Allison says
🙂
Juliet rodriguez says
This is great!
Liz says
When I click the image, it leads to a dead page. How do I get the reading list?
Suzanne says
Hi Liz,
Thanks for letting us know! I have updated that link but here is a shortcut as well: https://www.notconsumed.com/free
Suzanne@NotConsumed
Shaina says
Hello! I’m Shaina and I have a problem that is starting to really get under my skin!!!! My daughter is 5 and in kindergarten. She is super smart and she has an amazing little heart. I am having the hardest time getting her to work on sight words! I hate comparing her to her classmates but they’re several kids in her class that are up too 200 words. She could care less about them. Funny thing is she can do spelling words no problem and makes wonderful grades on spelling test. I need help getting her interested in sight words. I have used flash cards, sight word videos, seasme street programs but it’s like she knows hey this is going to teach me how to read and I don’t want to. On the plus side every night she hands me a stack of books for us too read. I ask her to say the “see” for example and she claims and will not utter a word. In case you haven’t noticed she is really head strong and smart.
Help please!!!!
S
Kim Sorgius says
Personally, I wouldn’t push that at her age. I know the system is designed that way, but kids grow at different rates. She may not be interested in learning for quite some time. That’s ok! Try making it a fun game or using apps she might enjoy. But again, I wouldn’t worry!
Lisa says
I’m interested to see the list for older kids. Mine are ages 15, 13 and 11. We are avid readers so I’m always on the lookout for books I’m not aware of.
Isabel says
Hi I’d love to see this list please. I also homeschool
Suzanne says
This list does include through the 8th grade!
In high school, most students read what is assigned by their courses. You are required to have an English credit each year. It may be too difficult to add extra reading due to the demand of this (plus reading in Science and History). 🙂
Suzanne
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Sarah says
Hello. Thank you so much for all the work you put in to make these. I am a little late to the game, and I could not find the reading list printable. Is that t still available?
Lani Sylvan says
Hi! Thank you so much for this list! It will be helpful with my family of avid readers. All 3 of my children love to read. A book series to check out and maybe add to the list is Epic Order of the Seven book series by Jenny Cote. The first two books are called the Max and Liz series which is great for upper elementary and then the rest are good for either upper elementary or middle school depending on their reading level. There are more books coming out too. They are Christian historical fiction that goes through history chronologically starting with creation with animals as the main characters. My older girls love this! What’s great is they are learning history from a Christian worldview along the way too. She even has author notes in the back of each book that point out the parts where liberties were taken for the sake of the story and are not historically accurate. It’s worth checking out.
Tracy says
Is there a way to refresh the link for the summer reading bingo page? We just finished our school year, and I had that bookmarked to go back to when it was “officially” our summer break. 🙂
I will say that giving my now nine-year old the freedom to read at bedtime (with the bait of saying she could stay up as late as she wanted to if she was enjoying a great book) was a game changer for us!!
Suzanne says
Hi Tracy,
Are you looking for the link to the Reading Bingo page?
https://www.notconsumed.com/reading-bingo-printable/
If you have a more specific question, please email us at kim@notconsumed.com
-Suzanne@Not Consumed
Sarah Salazar says
Hi Kim,
I appreciate the lists! I am looking up the books, but am finding that I need to know the author’s name (or at least last name) because there are multiple books with the same / similar titles. Can you help? Specifically, I am looking at the Middle School books currently, but I have kids at all the levels.
Thanks! Sarah
Suzanne says
Hi Sarah,
Each book on the list is a clickable link that will take you to a page with more information. 🙂
Suzanne@NotConsumed