Teaching Reading at Home with Confidence and Clarity

“It wasn’t a matter of my kid not being capable. It was a matter of they just hadn’t had enough repetitions yet. They hadn’t seen it enough. And when they did, it clicked.”

— Katie Waalkes
Homeschool Expert and Creator of Life in the Mundane

Teaching your child to read can feel like a high-stakes, all-or-nothing endeavor. When progress stalls, it is easy to pile on more: more pressure, more time, more expectations. But homeschool educator and reading advocate Katie Waalkes discovered what struggling readers need is the opposite: they need more understanding, patience, and fun.

In a recent webinar hosted by All About^® learning Press, Katie Waalkes, Homeschool Expert and Creator of Life in the Mundane, shared seven practical strategies that transformed her family’s approach to reading instruction.

1. Teach one skill at a time. Layer, don’t overload.

Teach reading and handwriting first. Everything else comes later. Trying to teach reading, spelling, grammar, and writing with equal intensity at the same time is a recipe for frustration. Katie recommends treating language arts as a sequence: build reading and handwriting as the foundation, then layer in spelling, and finally writing and grammar once those earlier skills are solid.

Why it matters: Children can only absorb so much at once. Concentrating your effort on one skill at a time means faster mastery and less burnout for both of you.

2. Teach your child what to do when they get stuck.

Every struggling reader needs a go-to strategy for moments of frustration. Katie teaches her children a simple 3-step rest: pause (take a breath, close your eyes), break it down (use letter tiles, a post-it note, or tackle one syllable at a time), then try again.

Why it matters: Getting stuck is inevitable. Having a practical plan keeps the moment from derailing the whole lesson and gives children a sense of control over a process that can feel overwhelming.

3. Make reading lessons feel special.

Buy in matters. Katie makes one-on-one reading time with her children feel distinct from the rest of the school day by using special tools reserved only for reading time: view finders, finger pointers, or a favorite stuffed animal for a reading buddy. She marks progress with sticker charts, and at the end of each All About® Reading level, her kids earn a prize that always includes a book.

Why it matters: When children associate reading with positive, one-on-one attention and visible progress, they are more eager learners. Motivation isn’t just nice to have; it’s what keeps lessons happening consistently.

4. Use books your child can read successfully.

Choosing books that are too hard is one of the most common (and most discouraging) mistakes in home reading instruction. Katie uses a simple five-finger test: if a child stumbles on five or more words on the first page, the book is too hard for independent reading.

For read-alouds, go above their level to build vocabulary and a love for stories. For independent reading, stay at or just below their decoding level. Decodable readers are ideal. All About Reading’s decodable book list is an excellent starting point and it’s updated regularly.

Why it matters: Reading books that they can actually decode builds fluency and confidence. Reading books that too hard reinforces the feeling that reading is hard and unenjoyable.

5. Keep lessons short and always end on a win.

Twenty minutes is the sweet spot for reading lessons. For young or struggling readers, start at ten minutes and build up gradually. Katie’s non-negotiable is to always end on a positive note, with a genuine compliment about something the child did well

She also cautions against falling into a cycle of missed lessons followed by trying to catch up with long, exhausting ones. Instead, she emphasizes short, consistent lessons that are more effective than longer, irregular ones.

Why it matters: When reading lessons end well, your child is more likely to begin the next lesson without dread. That alone is worth more than an extra ten minutes of stress-filled drilling.

6. Build in daily practice (and make it fun!).

According to Katie, neurotypical children typically need 1-14 repetitions to master a new concept. Children with learning differences like dyslexia may need 40-200. The only way to reach that number without burning everyone out is to make daily practice genuinely enjoyable.

Katie’s family favorites: Nerf gun target practice with word walls, chalk hopscotch with phonics patterns, dry-erase markers on windows, and card games. All About Reading’s built-in games and supplemental practice books do a lot of the heavy lifting in this area automatically.

Why it matters: Repetition is non-negotiable for mastery. Games aren’t a reward for doing the real work; they are the real work.

7. Talk about what your child reads.

Decoding a word and understanding it are two different things. Before reading, give context; discuss the topic, look at the pictures, and build background knowledge. During and after reading, be sure to ask questions. All About Reading builds pre-reading discussion prompts directly into its lessons.

Why it matters: Comprehension is the whole point of learning to read. Children who can decode without understanding the text are missing half the skill—the most important half!

Watch the on-demand webinar

Want to hear Katie walk through all seven encouraging strategies in her own words with engaging stories, practical tools, and real-life examples from her own family? Watch this on-demand webinar, 7 strategies to help your child read without the overwhelm, and gain renewed confidence in your ability to teach reading at home.

About the presenter

Katie Waalkes

Homeschool Expert and Creator of Life in the Mundane

Katie is a second-generation homeschooler with over a decade of experience using All About Reading to homeschool her six children. She has taught neurotypical and neurodivergent learners, including children with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and OCD. Diagnosed with ADHD herself, she is dedicated to helping families homeschool with clarity, flexibility, and grace, focusing on progress, not perfection, as they embrace individual student needs.