10+ Reading Resources We LOVE in our Homeschool (You will, too!)

Resources for any subject abound on the internet. But locating them and then sorting through the ones that are actually worth using? That’s not so easy.

Sometimes you’ll stumble upon a blog titled “103+ Very Best Resources for _____”

Come on. You know they haven’t personally vetted all of those! That’s no more helpful than hitting Google.

While this list is short, every reading resource on this list is one we personally use(d) and love. BONUS: Most of these resources are free! The ones that aren’t? The ones that involve buying books.

Where do I get books?

Besides the library, of course. We are lucky to have a fabulous library system — both within our county & within the state — and rarely find we can’t obtain a specific book.

Do you ever buy a book and only then remember you should have checked the library first? The Library Extension is a free little extension that does it for me. It works on a variety of browsers & online stores, not just Amazon! And it works on regular, physical books, ebooks, and audiobooks.

• Amazon (in the US & other countries)
• Audible
• abebooks.com
• barnesandnoble.com
• bookshop.org
• books.google.com
• penguinrandomhouse.com
• and more!

For ebooks & audiobooks, again, the library is our first stop — via the Libby/Overdrive apps. Did you know that some libraries allow you to obtain an out-of-state card?

Do you have a kiddo who is 13 or older? Good news! They can get a free out-of-state card from the Brooklyn Public Library. A quick e-mail or IG message & your teen is set.

Audible & Kindle Unlimited are two subscriptions that we sometimes use. While I prefer to check most of our audiobooks out from the library, we do buy a few, especially non-fiction books or books we’ll use as a spine for our school year.

(Interested in trying them out? You can get a free trial when you go through those links.)

Last year, in an attempt to use Amazon less frequently, I stumbled upon Bookshop.org. They have a mission to support local, independent bookshops through online book sales. 

Be Inspired

Excellence in Reading & We Are Teachers are my go-to resources for finding book ideas​. EIR focuses on older classics; We Are Teachers has great newer selections. (I aim for a good mixture of the two.)

Literature-based curriculum companies are also a great resource. Build Your Library & Sonlight are two companies that list their books right on their websites for anyone to use.

Learn to Read

I never found a full reading curriculum that I loved.  But if Reading Better Together had been around, I think I would have chosen it.  Gentle, but scripted.  Reusable.  Short lessons!​

For phonics learning, Explode the Code was my favorite. (It has the rare distinction of being one of the few things that all of my kiddos used.) The illustrations are simple & clear, there is no distraction on the pages, and it’s effective.

Progressive Phonics readers were my youngest’s favorite readers when he was LTR. (I loved them because they were free!) As he became a more confident reader, he continued to read the simpler ones for speed & the harder ones to practice comprehension skills.

(I have a few more favorite learning-to-read resources right here.)