Homeschool Reading Curriculum | UFLI Foundations

[@amandagoyings3982]

Sarah, I am a part-time public school interventionist (former first grade teacher for 15 yrs.) and homeschool mom. I LOVE your review of UFLI as it gets important and relevant information out to families. This is something I use with my small group students as well as my own boys (5) at home. I look forward to following you. All the best! ~Amanda

[@homespun.childhood]

Oh gosh, thank you!

[@vacationmagic]

Hi Sarah! This flip through is so helpful, thank you! I just started Pinwheels with my first grade twins last week (after them doing Saxon last year in public school in kindergarten). We are already extremely overwhelmed by the amount of content and slow pace of PW. Do you think this might be a better fit? We are trying to take a “less is more” approach this year as I have four kids homeschooling. One is even us a fourth grader who needs major phonics remediation. She’s a pretty good reader but her spelling is terrible. Is this something she might benefit from as well? I’d love any advice you have to help simplify things so I don’t lose my mind this year, lol.

[@annaletourneau9605]

Thank you for this review! I bought this in December and have very slowly been introducing it to my autistic son. He prefers worksheets and is struggling with the parts that are just auditory/verbal. Wondering your thoughts on adapting those sections to create a visual as we do the drill. Or any other ideas on how to use this program with special needs children with speech delay? Thank you so much for all you do!

[@homespun.childhood]

Great question! So the answer depends a little on how challenging verbal tasks are for him. For the visual drill, the goal is to identify the letter by name and sound. Maybe he could move a corresponding letter tile and visual picture (like an apple for a) while also saying the sound? The sound is more important than the letter name. You can also remove letters once he has mastered them and pull them out again only occasionally as needed. If you include picture cues for him, look for the Orton Gillingham picture cues. For other aspects listed as just auditory/verbal, you can bring in manipulatives and/or a whiteboard/paper to accompany it. If he is working on blending sounds to read a word and you want to limit the amount of vocal production, you can have pictures that he can point to show that he has, in fact, blended the word to read. (for reading the word cat, he could point to a cat picture). Unfortunately, UFLI doesn't have any worksheets, really. I will be doing a review on Recipe for Reading soon - that might be a better fit? It is another affordable option (check it out on Rainbow Resource). It has workbook pages to correlate with every lesson.

[@annaletourneau9605]

@@homespun.childhood Thank you so much for your response! I so very much appreciate it. These are all such great ideas and I will give them a try with him. I thought about trying to create my own worksheets for him but that sounds like a lot of work. :) I will watch for your review on Recipe for Reading. I have really appreciated your in-depth reviews on other books/curriculum. Thanks again!

[@sheralysvelez3384]

Hi Sarah! Amazing review! Thank you for doing what you do. It is of so much help for us looking/researching for curriculum. So, I’m a homeschool mom of two. And I’m looking into Logic of English, Pinwheels or UFLI (now that I’ve seen this great video😆). Question: For kids that pick up reading rather quickly/easily…….which of these would you recommended?? I’m mainly looking for a strong foundation for spelling.

[@homespun.childhood]

I'm glad the reviews are helpful! For kids who pick up reading quickly, from the programs you mentioned, I would recommend UFLI.

[@sheralysvelez3384]

@@homespun.childhood Great!! Thanks for your response!🌟

[@chelsieechols9086]

Hi! I bought this to use with my kinder and 2nd grader (2nd grader is behind and it was recommended he started back at 1st grade scope and sequence). I am debating on using this or pinwheels. I like how pinwheels is a complete LA program. With UFLI, what components would I have to add for it to be considered complete? TIA!

[@homespun.childhood]

For older kiddos, I think UFLI can be easier to implement than Pinwheels. However, if you suspect your child might have dyslexia, sometimes Pinwheels is a better fit because it is more comprehensive. Without additional details, I would recommend adding in literature (read alouds, picture books, talk about story elements, sequencing, inferences) and writing (checkout my info on IEW here: www.homespunchildhood.com/blog/iew-a-guide). With UFLI, you would want to make sure you are moving at a slow-enough pace and incorporating spelling practice of the same words they are working on reading. If you need additional support, this is the type of work I do in my literacy consults - helping determine what skills a child has and where to begin/restart instruction, individualized pacing, curriculum, instructional strategies etc. I also go into depth on foundational reading instruction my course, details here: www.homespunchildhood.com/foundational-reading-course

[@TicketToLearning]

What would you recommend after UFLI?

[@homespun.childhood]

Once a child has completed any foundational reading program, the next steps are to tackle word study, grammar, comprehension, vocabulary, etc. I'm working on breaking these down on IG.

[@ashleyvasquez8408]

I'm using Pinwheels with my daughter, we're about to start level 4 then will probably do the Wand. Do you think UFLI would benefit us in any way? Even as a resource for just me as the educator? I want it but I don't know that I NEED it!

[@homespun.childhood]

You don't need it! PW has everything that's in here!

[@stephaniesylclassvideos9166]

I have a 10 year old struggling reader. Her younger brother has picked up exceptionally well, and sometimes tells her what more difficult words are. She reads well unless a word is multi-syllable, or has some of the unusual combinations. I’m struggling to know how to help her. If we used this, where would I start? Or I saw you say you recommend pinwheel to struggling readers. I don’t know what that is. Should I look into that?

[@homespun.childhood]

Hey, check out my blog post on supporting struggling readers: www.homespunchildhood.com/blog/supporting-a-struggling-reader Honestly, this is the type of work I do in literacy consults. I'm reluctant to recommend Pinwheels for a 10-year-old, especially if they already have a lot of reading skills. In those situations, I typically recommend UFLI or Recipe for Reading.

[@eleanormahaney5175]

I'm mom to a 12 yr. old non speaking AAC user with significant physical disabilities. He uses an eye gaze device to communicate and can not use his hands. The district does not teach literacy in a comprehensive, explicit way using scope and sequence. It's rather hit or miss each year. Needless to say, he is way behind in reading although he can learn just as his typical peers given way more time and modifications. He can identify tons of words on his device but has trouble spelling. I have been using AAR to supplement in our home time but it goes way too fast for him and has to be modified extensively. I have heard a lot about ULFI in the special needs community and also Pinwheels. My question is, given our unique circumstances, which curriculum do you think would be less overwhelming for me and for him (given the modifications I need to make). Pinwheels, UFLI or something else altogether? We have to do a lot of color coding multiple choice answers as one of our modifications.

[@homespun.childhood]

UFLI would be easier to modify. I am hearing from a lot of parents in a similar situation. Unfortunately, I do not have enough experience with non-verbal or semi-verbal kiddos to offer professional advice. I am currently in the process of finding a couple of folks in the ASD community who can provide support, so stay-tuned.

[@amies8203]

Such a helpful video, thank you! I just heard about this program for the first time this week. We are using Logic of English Foundations and just started level C a few weeks ago. It seems like my daughter is getting burnt out on LOE, she groans when I pull out the books. I have been wondering if we should take a break or look for something else, or maybe alternate lessons every other day with something like Explode the Code. Does UFLI seem like it would be easy to switch to in our case? Would you recommend us switching to something else or trying to stick it out with LOE since we are so far in the program?

[@dollhouseacademy4115]

I believe you should stick it out with LOE. Level C can be a bit advanced in pace. By the end of the level it allows for all the basic phonograms to be learned. Play review games or read books from the library. Sorry for interjecting I just love the program so much! My first daughter excelled in it! Currently doing it with my second daughter. ❤

[@amies8203]

@Dollhouse Academy Thank you for sharing your thoughts! My gut tells me to stick it out and maybe slow down a little, so it's encouraging to hear this 🙂❤️!

[@KOHart25]

I agree, we are on lesson 107 of C with my 1st grader I have seen such growth in his reading. Go slow, break a lesson up into 2 days. I throw in Bob books and the journeys readers. My daughter went through all of A-D and loves reading all day. She is now in LOE Essentials and it’s not the most fun curriculum (for either of us) but she is learning so much. Unless she is having a really hard time then I would try to work through it for a bit.

[@amies8203]

@Kristy T. Thank you for your encouragement! I think we've had a few busy days when something quicker and open-and-go is appealing, but I truly think LOE is best for her so we should try to make it work. She loves the games and activities and is working well for her, I think time wise some days we need to make adjustments to make it work for us instead of switching to something else. Thanks again, it helps me keep on the right path when I hear this type of encouragement, I really appreciate it!

[@homespun.childhood]

Hi Amie - If you have made it this far in LoE, I wouldn't switch. How many lessons are you doing a week? I typically recommend introducing 1 new phonogram/week and then adding in lots of practice/games throughout the week. With Level C, I find there isn't enough opportunity for practice and I typically recommend adding in additional decodable (you could use the free decodable resources from UFLI). I also like the decodable resources from the Literacy Nest on TpT. Just make sure that the passage you select would be decodable based on the LoE scope and sequence. This is also a great time to incorporate games. I have a bunch of games listed here: amzn.to/3ZygPnJ My favorites are Blah Blah Blah and Spelligator.

[@kamehaz]

I am really struggling trying to choose between this and Pinwheels. I love that PW includes everything. But this looks do easy and effective. I have four new readers spread between knowing all their letters and letter sounds to about a fiest grade reading level. One picks up reading quickly, but is mostly guessing at words and struggles when she actually needs to sound out words. Two are struggling and have a lot of letter reversals/self doubt. The youngest has picked up reading just by listening and watching the others and will most likely pisk up reading fairly quickly. We are about half way through AAR1 and at varying points of The Easy Reader book with the older three. I also have a very rambunctious (read distructive) toddler that makes it hard to use lots of moving pieces that we can't easily move out of her way or grab from her, like the AAR tiles and cards. Help please!

[@homespun.childhood]

Hey there, It sounds like you have a lot on your plate and a lot of moving pieces. I tend to recommend PW when kids are struggling. Honestly, this situation is the kind of work I do in literacy consults where I can really dive into a family's unique needs. :)

[@homespun.childhood]

Can't find your other post about the OG Keywords. It's surprisingly hard to find. You can see the list in this product sample here: www.rainbowresource.com/product/038382/Recipe-for-Reading-Sequence-Charts-pad-of-50.html?

[@heathergray9578]

Hello, do you need the guide? I am overseas at the moment in an area they don't ship to internationally:(

[@homespun.childhood]

Yes, the guide is the program. You can't really do UFLI without the guide. For international folks, Pinwheels is usually my go-to recommendation.

[@endlesspossibilities8203]

How long are the lessons?

[@homespun.childhood]

Depends on your child and their current skill set. I have a UFLI for Homeschoolers download available here: www.homespunchildhood.com/blog/ufli-foundations If you are just starting out reading instruction, you will want to start with about 1 lesson per week, breaking down the different lesson components throughout the course of the week. Lessons for typical learners are about 10-15 minutes in the beginning and increase to about 15-20 minutes as they are able to read more. For students with reading disabilities like dyslexia, the lessons will be a bit longer as they need additional practice.