How I Use All About Reading in my Charlotte Mason Homeschool
Discovering how to seamlessly integrate All About Reading into a Charlotte Mason homeschool can transform the way children learn to read, making it an effective yet enjoyable experience for the both of you.
Teaching a child to read can be one of the most challenging aspects of homeschooling. It’s a journey filled with ups and downs, especially when trying to align reading instruction with Charlotte Mason method. This struggle is all too familiar for many homeschooling parents, including myself.
A few years back, I was at my wit’s end trying to teach my first grader to read. We’d tried several programs, but nothing seemed to click. Every day ended in frustration – for both of us. As a new homeschooling mom following Charlotte Mason’s methods, I felt like I was failing.
One night, after a particularly rough day, I stumbled upon All About Reading online. Now, I’ll be honest – it didn’t look very “Charlotte Mason” at first. The lessons seemed long, there were tons of activities, and it felt pretty structured. But I was desperate, so I decided to give it a shot.
To my surprise, it worked wonders. Within a week, my child was actually reading! Since then, I’ve used All About Reading with several of my kids, and they have all learned to read easily and successfully.
But here’s the thing – I didn’t just use it straight out of the box. I had to figure out how to make it fit with our Charlotte Mason approach. And that’s what this post is all about.
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through how I’ve adapted All About Reading to work seamlessly in our Charlotte Mason homeschool. I’ll share practical tips on how to balance structured lessons with living books, short study periods, and narration – all while using this effective curriculum. Whether you’re struggling with teaching reading or just curious about blending different methods, you’ll find ideas here to help your children not only learn to read proficiently but also develop a genuine love for literature.
Let me show you how I have used this curriculum to not just teach my children how to read, but to also develop a genuine love of reading.
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All About Reading: a Brief Overview
In case you are not familiar with the All About Reading program, let me give you a quick rundown. It’s “a comprehensive, step-by-step program” designed to take kids from beginning reading all the way through to more advanced reading skills (I would say to an approximately a 4th grade reading level).
Key Features:
Why I Chose All About Reading:
Now, you might be wondering why I, as a Charlotte Mason homeschooler, chose such a structured program. Well, it wasn’t an easy decision, but here’s what won me over:
While All About Reading might not look like a typical Charlotte Mason curriculum at first glance, I found that its core principles actually complemented our homeschooling style perfectly.
Charlotte Mason Principles About Reading Instruction
Before we get into how I’ve adapted All About Reading to work in my Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschool, let’s quickly review some key principles of the Charlotte Mason philosophy for teaching reading:
Believe it or not, I was able to easily include Charlotte Mason’s method into our daily reading lessons.
Adapting All About Reading to a Charlotte Mason Approach
Here’s how I’ve adjusted All About Reading to fit with our Charlotte Mason homeschool. It’s taken some trial and error, but I have found a system that works well for my children.
Breaking longer lessons into shorter segments:
In my homeschool, we complete two All About Reading lessons per week. Here’s how I break it down:
This approach keeps our lessons short and focused, which fits well with Charlotte Mason’s recommendations.
Incorporating oral narration into reading practice:
After reading a story from the All About Reading books, I will use the questions provided in the teaching guide. But I don’t stop there. I also ask some of my own questions to encourage deeper thinking. For example:
- “How do you think the character felt when that happened?”
- “If you were in this story, what would you have done differently?”
- “Can you think of a time when something similar happened to you?”
- “What do you think might happen next if the story continued?”
These kinds of questions help my kids engage more deeply with the story and practice expressing their thoughts, which is a key part of Charlotte Mason’s narration technique.
Using the curriculum’s activities selectively:
All About Reading includes many activities and games. While most of them are useful, we don’t always do every single one. I choose the ones my kids enjoy most or that target skills they need extra practice with. This allows us to keep lessons shorter and more focused, aligning better with Charlotte Mason’s methods.
Balancing structured lessons with free reading time:
While All About Reading provides excellent formal reading lessons, I make sure to balance this with plenty of free reading time. This extra reading doesn’t replace our structured lessons but complements them beautifully. We spend time each day exploring “living books” that aren’t part of the curriculum. This might include me reading aloud from chapter books or historical fiction, or the children practicing their reading skills with picture books they’ve chosen. We also enjoy reciting nursery rhymes together, which helps with phonological awareness and rhythm of language.
By making these adjustments, we’ve found a rhythm that works for us. We get the systematic instruction that All About Reading provides through formal lessons, while still honoring the Charlotte Mason principles that are important to our homeschool. This approach allows us to cover a wide range of literature, from simple picture books to more complex chapter books and historical fiction, fostering a deep love for reading.
It’s not always perfect, and some days are better than others, but overall, this balanced approach has helped my kids become confident, enthusiastic readers. They’re not just decoding words, but truly engaging with and enjoying literature.
Remember, the key is to be flexible and responsive to your child’s needs. What works for one family might not work for another, so don’t be afraid to experiment and find your own balance between structured reading instruction and free reading exploration.
Practical Tips for Implementation
Some of my younger children’s favorites to pair with the All About Reading program have included the “Little Bear” series by Else Holmelund Minarik, the “Frog and Toad” series by Arnold Lobel, and the “Pathway Readers” are really great as well.
As my older children have progressed to chapter books, we’ve enjoyed classic readers more aligned with Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, such as “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame, “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White, and “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
I make a habit of choosing books for read-aloud time that are a little more advanced than what my children can currently read independently to expose them to more advanced vocabulary and more complex sentence structures.
Conclusion
As we’ve explored throughout this post, integrating All About Reading into a Charlotte Mason homeschool has been a turning point in our homeschooling journey. By adapting the program to fit Charlotte Mason’s principles, I’ve created a reading approach that is both effective and enjoyable. I’ve seen improved reading skills, a growing love for literature, and the formation of good habits that extend beyond just reading.
Remember, the key is finding balance and adapting these methods to fit your family’s unique needs. Use the structure of All About Reading to build strong foundational phonics skills, but don’t forget to include plenty of living books, poetry, nursery rhymes, and fairy tales. Keep lessons short, incorporate narration, and always strive to make reading an enjoyable experience, so that you instill a love of learning in your children.
