5 Mistakes Homeschool Parents Make When Teaching Reading (and How to Avoid Them)
If youâre teaching your child to read at home, first of allâđ youâre doing something amazing.
But if reading time has turned into a daily struggleâŠ
Or youâre wondering why your child still isnât âgetting itââŠ
Youâre not alone.
Even the most dedicated homeschool parents can fall into common trapsâusually because traditional methods or popular programs donât always align with how kids actually learn to read.
The good news? Most of these mistakes are easy to fix.
Here are five of the most common reading instruction missteps (and how to course-correct with confidence).
â Mistake #1: Relying on Sight Word Memorization Too Soon
Many reading programs encourage young children to memorize long lists of âsight wordsâ before theyâve learned how to decode.
The result?
Your child may look like theyâre readingâbut theyâre actually guessing.
What to do instead:
đ€ Teach decoding first. Show your child how to sound out simple words using phonics. Even high-frequency words like said and was can be taught by looking at their soundsânot just memorizing the whole word.
When students understand how letters and sounds work together, they become real readersânot word memorizers.
â Mistake #2: Skipping Oral Sound Work (Phonemic Awareness)
Phonemic awareness is often skipped in homeschool reading because it doesnât involve books or printâbut itâs crucial.
If a child canât hear the sounds in a word, they wonât be able to match those sounds to letters later on.
What to do instead:
đ§ Spend a few minutes each day doing oral sound play:
âWhat sound do you hear at the beginning of log?â
âSay cat. Now change the /t/ to /n/âwhatâs the new word?â
âWhat word do these sounds make: /b/ /a/ /t/?â
This step builds the mental foundation that decoding rests on.
â Mistake #3: Using Leveled Readers Too Early
Leveled readers often include words that are far beyond a beginnerâs decoding abilityâbut rely on repetition, pictures, and guessable patterns to make it seem accessible.
This can lead to frustration, confusion, and bad habits like skipping words or guessing based on context.
What to do instead:
đ Use decodable texts that match your childâs current phonics knowledge. These allow students to apply what theyâve learned and actually read with accuracy and confidence.
They wonât need to memorize or guessâtheyâll decode.
â Mistake #4: Teaching Too Many Concepts at Once
Itâs tempting to move quickly, especially if your child is bright or already knows some lettersâbut going too fast through phonics concepts can cause gaps that show up later.
What to do instead:
đą Slow down. Teach one phonics pattern at a time and stick with it until your child can:
Read it in isolation
Use it in a sentence
Spell it correctly
Mastery builds confidenceâand makes future learning easier.
â Mistake #5: Treating Reading Like a Test
Reading lessons at home can easily slip into pressure, correction, or frustrationâespecially when your child is resisting.
But reading is a skill that grows best with encouragement, not anxiety.
What to do instead:
đŹ Shift the tone. Turn reading into a low-stress, collaborative activity:
Sit side-by-side instead of across the table
Praise effort, not just accuracy
Take turns reading lines or words
When kids feel safe and supported, theyâre more likely to take risks, try again, and stick with it.
Final Thoughts
Every homeschool parent makes adjustments along the wayâthatâs part of the journey.
The key is knowing why something isnât working and having the confidence to shift course.
By focusing on phonemic awareness, phonics-first instruction, and simple routines that match how the brain learns to read, youâll not only avoid common pitfallsâŠ
Youâll build a reader who feels capable, proud, and excited to grow.
Youâve got this. đ§ đđȘ
