How to Make Your Own Homeschool Reading Curriculum
Make your own homeschool reading curriculum that will excite, educate, and stick! Which book series would you add to a homeschool reading curriculum?
For months our school days ended with tears, shouting, and incomplete assignment checklists. At first, I didn’t even know that reading was the culprit of all this. All I knew was that I couldn’t handle it anymore. But once I figured it out, I was on a mission to find a better homeschool reading curriculum option for us.
Perhaps you’ve been there in your homeschool. It’s a scary place to be, mostly because as moms (ahem…and women) we like for things to be under control. We like to be able to predict what is going to happen and we like getting those boxes checked off before the end of the day. Sometimes homeschool doesn’t go like that.
For my family, homeschool WASN’T going according to plan. It was just one kid, but she was loud enough to rock the whole ship and we couldn’t bail enough water to keep ourselves from feeling like we were sinking. In the most unlikely of places, the problem finally became obvious. It was reading.
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Struggling with the traditional reading curriculum
My sweet child was struggling with the reading program we had purchased for that year. Although the other kids loved it, it was throwing everything off for her, and I needed a quick intervention. Honestly, I didn’t want to switch the curriculum we were using. It was expensive and it was good. PLUS, it was producing great results for the other kids.
I tried for some time to reason with myself but kept missing the point. Sure, it might be great for the other kids, and it might be the most excellent curriculum money could buy, but none of that matters if it’s not working for my child. Especially if it’s a daily battle to even get her to open the book, much less learn anything from it.
I knew the answer at this point (4th grade) was to get her reading things she would at least partially enjoy. If reading was already difficult for her, I was exacerbating the problem by making the subject matter irrelevant or uninteresting. As a homeschool mom, I had the freedom to make a change. So I did.
It might be an excellent curriculum, but none of that matters if it’s not working for your child.
We set aside the great reading program and she started reading a mystery series called Scripture Sleuth (picked by her). She read a new chapter each day and recorded what she learned in a journal. The result was even better than I had expected.
She loved the new “curriculum.” Suddenly her checklists were complete, not just in reading, but in all of the other subjects that had suddenly gotten “impossible” for her. And the best part? She knew that I really cared. She saw that I wasn’t here to force her to do things, but to help her get through the hard parts of life.
I tell you this story because I want to empower you too. I want you to feel free to get out of the box that we often believe is the only real way to homeschool. From experience, I know it isn’t easy. In fact, it’s downright hard. And scary. But we can give our kids an amazing educational experience despite our own shortcomings and fears, I promise.
How to Make Your Own Homeschool Reading Curriculum
Before I start, let me give you the disclaimer that this is NOT a reading curriculum design that will teach your child how to read. I am assuming you are past that stage. Once your child can read enough words to truly read the directions for most assignments (typically around 2nd-3rd grade), it’s time to focus on building reading skills such as fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary.
Many parents skip this stage. They sell the old reading books to moms with younger kids and hand their child a thick novel, calling it a day. I don’t advise this. Children still need practice with essential reading skills throughout all of elementary school. After that point, most children can take courses that combine reading with other subjects. Don’t skip to that level before it’s time!
Step 1: Determine your child’s likes
Yes, we are starting with what your child likes. I think this is the most important factor in choosing what your child will read. Trust me, this is the beauty of homeschooling and it’s vital to establishing a healthy love for learning. There are so many great books out there. Why not read what you enjoy?
I encourage my children to make a list of all the things they would love to read about. I let them doodle or draw on the list, as well as use words. Typically, I do this over multiple days. I will keep the list on the counter or the fridge and encourage them to add things to the list when they ask a question about something or show an interest.
Step 2: Determine the amount of time you have
Before I start choosing the exact book list we will use, I like to look at the factors that will determine how many books we will cover. Here are just a few questions to answer: How many school days do we have planned? How many days of reading each week? How many books do we want to cover? How many chapter books vs. shorter books will we include?
At this stage, we just want a general idea. Books can be added or cut later.
Step 3: Find your books
Now for the fun part. With the first two steps in mind, it’s time to collect the books you need for the year. Personally, I buy everything. I prefer not to worry about the library having the right book when I’m ready, or someone else placing it on hold, forcing us to return it before we’ve finished. That being said, the library is a great resource, especially if you are on a limited budget.
If you plan to purchase items, look for local used book stores, thrift stores, and even go to the used section on Amazon. I’ve gotten many amazing books for little more than the cost of shipping.
Step 4: Loosely assign the books to your schedule
Now that you have picked your books, go through and assign them to your schedule. You can put them in order based on what you want your child to read first or you can simply assign a chapter book per month. My Rachel really prefers short books and she likes to choose, so I don’t always assign an order. If I don’t need them in a specific order, why not allow her the choice? We simply keep them in her book box until she is ready.
Step 5: Find resources to supplement your books
This is usually the hardest part of the whole set-up, but it doesn’t have to be. Most classics have resources already developed all over the internet. All you need to do is search the title of your book and “printable.” I prefer to search in Pinterest, but if that comes up empty, I will go to Google.
I have several favorite sites such as HomeschoolShare. But honestly, as much as I like doing lapbooks and unit studies for the books we read, it’s more than our schedule can handle. So now, we have a reading journal where we are able to respond each day to what we have read. I dusted off my M. Ed. in reading/curriculum and created a journal that she could use with any book she chose.
In fact, I created 28 unique lessons that focus on vocabulary, word study, comprehension, and higher-level thinking skills like compare/contrast. She will use each set of lessons six times, providing just enough practice without too much monotony.
Rachel helped me develop the pages, and I’m super excited to tell you that we made this Reading Journal for Elementary, Middle, and High School levels!
I hope you read this post and thought, “Wow, that sounds simple.” I promise it really IS SIMPLE! And the best part? You can take a child who is floundering and uninterested in learning and transform him/her into someone who can’t wait to open that book!
Do you need more help and encouragement for your beginning or struggling reader? You can read more in “How to Help a Child Struggling with Reading“.
So how about you? Have you tried to make your own reading curriculum? What resources have you enjoyed?
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.
I almost bailed last year, too. And I agree that “sometimes homeschool doesn’t go like that” about sums up homeschooling in general. Yet we soldier on. Thanks for sharing this great idea. Blessings!
I love the reading journal. I expected 30 pages, not way over 100!!!!!!!!!! When I saw the preview, I thought I would print it off and just let my kiddo pick which one he wanted to work on the day and use it as an independent review. In looking at the whole download, I see skills like comparing, fact or fiction, etc. Are the activities the same on all the pages or does summarizing have several different activities?
I am also wondering what age range this would be good for? I may use the journal to teach her the skills also, instead of just using it for review.
I was going to have all of my children have a reading journal and this will give us so much structure, an area I definitely need assistance. Thank you!
Hi Angie,
There are 30 lessons, so 15 unique pages. After that it repeats 6 times to make a full year’s worth. It’s just enough to practice the skills, but not too much that children will feel bored!
So glad you love it. Can’t wait to hear what your kids think!
When I read the email, it was as if you were writing it for me! Last year was a disaster and I needed reassuring as I stand trembling at the edge of the new school year. My son’s problem may not be reading, but your post was a great reminder that we can throw “school” out and do what we need to reach our children’s individual minds and, thus, their hearts.
That being said – What a GREAT concept for a reading program! I LOVE the idea! and your book journal is so well done!
Thank you for your kind words. I’m so glad you were encouraged!
This sounds so similar to what I am experiencing right now with my 2nd/3rd grader. The program we are using now is over her head and I can’t really afford many of the others. I was wondering, you said that this journal is “supplemental”. Do you use other free “printables” that you find online and then the journal on the in-between days, or do you use the journal everyday as well as the free printable resources? I noticed also that each page has 2 activities. Does each activity count as one lesson, and you only do one of those a day? These are probably silly questions…
I use this as our entire reading curriculum. Not as a supplement. We do one assignment a day, which is half of a sheet.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I found your site through Pinterest a few weeks ago. My son who is in fifth grade is struggling in school. He is currently in public school and next year we are going to start homeschooling with him. This is how I planned on making our reading curriculum but was afraid that this wasn’t the most common. This weekend we went to the book store and picked out several books that are on his reading level & interest level. I found several studies to go along with them as well. We will also be working this reading journal in as well.
Thank you again for showing that there are may different ways to accomplish a goal. As for reading being replaced with other studies, that happened to us this year. His reading book was set aside in the classroom to teach social studies, which the school did not have a book for. However the state test emphasized in 5th grade was the social studies test, so he received a full year of social studies. So frustrating.
Hi, can I please preview a sample? It’s really hard to see what’s on the pages from the photo above and I want to ensure it’s something my daughter would be able to use before purchasing. She is just starting level 2 of All About Spelling, so do you think she would need to finish all levels of that before using something like this?
This is just what I was looking for! THANKS so much!
If your child finishes a book halfway through one of the lessons do you just continue with reading the next book or do you schedule the reading to last as long as the 30 lessons?
You can do one book per lesson or just read a certain number of pages. There are no constraints.
Are you considering an older-kid version at some point? My son is advancing to 8th grade, and he will probably need structuring. But on first glance, the pages in the Reading Journal are a bit youngish for where he is. Your examples do give me ideas, though… so maybe in the meantime, I can parse together some journal pages for his age. You’re just so much more stylish than I am! 🙂 You make it all very attractive!!
Not at this time, but I will keep it in mind! Are you mostly referring to graphics? Or actual content? I think minus the front cover, the content itself would be very appropriate.
Regarding the comparison with Scripture portion of the curriculum, are the comparisons presented as references to look up, Bible stories and situations to consider, or actual scripture quotations?
No Scripture is printed in the book. There are a few with references to look up. Most are questions like “how would you share Jesus with the main character” or something like that.
This was the only plac I could find to contact someone, so forgive me if it’s the wrong place.
How does is book work? I homeschool 2 early elementary ages children, I have a support teacher and she said that this book is for novel reading, I have looked at the previews and I don’t quite understand how you can use any book with some of the layouts, for example you wouldn’t use a character profile for a fact book. I really love this product and would love to use it, help meeeee!!!!!
Hi Kathryn,
Here is a Facebook live video that discusses in more detail how to use the Reading Journal. That section starts around minute 7: http://bit.ly/2hv6ZmY
Please email help@notconsumed.com if I can help further! 🙂
Suzanne
Not Consumed customer service
Thank you for the FB live link.
What ages is this developed for? I love the idea … just not sure who the target audience is.
This Reading Journal is ideal for grades 2-8. 🙂
Suzanne@Not Consumed
We love using it! Indpendent work, holding them accountable, allowing them to work in their interest areas. Thank you, Kim and Rachel!
Hey Kim!
Thank you so much for sharing how to make my own homeschool curriculum. I’ve also purchased the reading journal you and Rachel created. I will also be utilizing some printables and/or unit studies for some of the classical books.
Do you use the reading journal for their individual study time or for read out loud time? Can it be used fo both?
Edit: individual reading time*
It is typically just used for individual reading time though it could be used for both. 🙂
Suzanne@NotConsumed
Hey there, I’m a kid in homeschool and I’m struggling with staying on task and consistently turning in assignments on time. Got any advice for me?
Jessica-
I’m not sure how old your post is since the year is not stated, but my son is easily distracted and can have a hard time staying on task. What I have done to try to help him out is writing his assignments out for the day so he knows what he needs to get done and can easily check them off. If you are needing to keep track of when assignments are due and plan out when you can do them, maybe try a mo/weekly calendar where you can write out when the assignments are due; plus you would be able to “check” them off once they are turned in. If you need motivation to stay on task, you could try restricting use of recreational activity that you might get otherwise drawn into until after you complete your set check list of assignments for that day. Sometimes, my son will need a 5 min break in order to regain his focus so he can finish an assignment. In those situations, he will use a timer to help keep him within the allotted time frame. I hope this helps you or anyone else in a similar situation.
I am excited to try this! I have a fourth grader who is a fairly good reader. He’s definitely not a reading lover by any stretch of the imagination, though. I’ve only done a small amount of actual phonics with him, because reading/phonics curriculums have just not worked well for him. Would it be acceptable for me to just use this Reading Journal, or do you think I have to do a phonics program so that he learns to actually decode words? Thanks!
If he is reading well alone, you can definitely use the Reading Journal!
Is this a good option for my advanced reader? He devours chapter books and will be 7 in Septmeber. I am looking for something to help him dive a bit deeper into comprehension without it being too much for his age. He is going into second grade. Thank you!
Yes, it sure would!
Star@NotConsumed
The Reading Journal looks really nice, and I am sure my daughter would love it. A question though, how much religious content is throughout? We are not Christian, and would like to know if we can still adapt it to our needs. Thank you.
Hi Maria,
The Reading Journal cycles through 28 different lessons, and of those 28, five reference the Bible or encouraging a character in their faith.