Many families arrive at homeschooling through dyslexia: the school's reading instruction wasn't working, the intervention block was 20 minutes twice a week, and somebody had to teach this child to read. The good news is that the homeschool market has several genuinely strong structured-literacy curricula, some written specifically for dyslexic learners. The hard part is that they all describe themselves in the same language. This guide compares the options against the one standard that matters, so you can choose on fit rather than marketing.
What must a dyslexia homeschool curriculum include?
Whatever the brand, effective reading instruction for a dyslexic child is structured literacy: explicit (every rule taught directly, nothing left to discovery), systematic and cumulative (a planned sequence where each skill builds on the last), and diagnostic (you adjust based on what the child shows you). It should start with phonemic awareness, teach letter-sound relationships in a logical order, include spelling as the flip side of reading, and give the child decodable practice texts matched to what's been taught. Multisensory delivery (seeing, saying, hearing, writing) helps anchor it. A curriculum missing any of these is not a dyslexia curriculum, whatever the cover says.
Which curricula meet the standard?
All About Reading / All About Spelling. The most-recommended scripted option in homeschool communities. Five reading levels (pre-reading through roughly a third-to-fourth-grade skill set), fully scripted lessons, letter tiles, and matched readers. Reading and spelling are separate strands, so reading can advance while spelling consolidates. Strengths: open-and-go, warm, very hard to deliver wrong. Consider: pace may be gentle for an older struggling reader.
Logic of English. Teaches the rule system of English unusually thoroughly (phonograms, spelling rules, morphology). Strengths: depth and intellectual honesty about how English works; strong for rule-hungry kids and parents. Consider: more teacher preparation than fully scripted programs.
Barton Reading & Spelling. Written specifically for dyslexia, ten levels, with video training for the parent and a required student screening before level one. Strengths: the deepest and most prescriptive of the parent-led options; strong for moderate to severe profiles. Consider: the highest cost tier here, and some children find its style dry.
Reading Horizons. A structured phonics system with a version aimed at older struggling readers, where most options skew young. Strengths: age-respectful materials for tweens and teens. Consider: less homeschool-community support than the options above.
Apricot Tree Academy*. A parent-led dyslexia intervention curriculum built on the Orton-Gillingham approach for children ages 5 to 10: scripted step-by-step lessons organized as a 12-week course (Level One), with workbooks, illustrated practice reading, handwriting sheets, games, and flash cards, plus a companion parent guide, sold through Amazon. A 2026 Pacific Book Awards finalist in education. Strengths: low cost tier, designed for parents with no teaching background, hands-on materials rather than screens. Consider: the published sequence currently targets the younger (5 to 10) range.
UFLI Foundations. The University of Florida Literacy Institute's explicit phonics program, written for classrooms but increasingly used at home: one low-cost manual, with an entirely free online toolbox of lesson slides, activities, and decodable passages. Strengths: unbeatable price for what it is, research-institute pedigree. Consider: written for teachers, so expect to translate classroom language and plan a bit more.
How do the costs compare?
Prices change, so check each publisher, but the tiers are stable: UFLI Foundations and Apricot Tree Academy sit at the budget end (a manual or workbook series rather than a kit system); All About Reading, Logic of English, and Reading Horizons sit in the middle (per-level kits that resell well used); Barton is the premium tier, priced per level across ten levels. Factor in resale: the big kit systems hold value in homeschool markets.
How do you choose among them?
- Match the age band. Ages 5 to 10 with a new or mild-to-moderate profile: All About Reading, Apricot Tree Academy, Logic of English, or UFLI. Tween or teen: Reading Horizons or Barton. Moderate to severe at any age: Barton.
- Be honest about your bandwidth. Fully scripted (All About Reading, Apricot Tree, Barton) if you want open-and-go; Logic of English or UFLI if you enjoy preparation and want maximum depth per dollar.
- Run the publisher's placement or sample. Most offer placement tests or sample lessons. Watching your child in a sample lesson tells you more than any review.
- Commit to one sequence for 12 weeks. Daily, consistent practice (structured-literacy intervention typically runs 30 to 60 minutes, 5 days a week) before you evaluate anything.
- Measure, then decide. Keep a simple log of skills mastered. Progress means stay; no progress after a faithful 12 weeks means reassess the fit, not necessarily the child's effort.
What mistakes should homeschool families avoid?
- Curriculum hopping. Switching every six weeks resets every sequence to zero. Structured literacy is cumulative; it only works in order.
- Mixing programs mid-sequence. Supplementing with games is fine; running two phonics scopes at once confuses the pattern the child is trying to build.
- Making an app the core. Apps motivate practice. The teaching, for a dyslexic child, should be live, multisensory, and responsive.
- Skipping phonemic awareness. If your child can't hear and manipulate sounds in spoken words, letters won't stick. Good programs start there; don't skip ahead.
- Forgetting your evaluation rights. In most US states, public schools must evaluate a child suspected of a disability even if the child is homeschooled, under the federal child find duty. Rules on services vary by state; our state laws guide and advocacy toolkit cover how to ask.
Frequently asked questions
Can I teach my dyslexic child to read at home? Many families do. The evidence-aligned path is a structured-literacy curriculum delivered consistently (30 to 60 minutes, 5 days a week), with decodable practice and progress tracking. Scripted parent-led programs exist specifically so that a parent without teaching credentials can deliver instruction faithfully.
What is the Orton-Gillingham approach? Orton-Gillingham is the original structured, multisensory approach to teaching reading to dyslexic learners: explicit letter-sound instruction in a cumulative sequence, engaging sight, hearing, touch, and movement. Many modern programs, including several in this guide, build on it. The umbrella term for this family of instruction is structured literacy.
Which dyslexia homeschool curriculum is cheapest? UFLI Foundations (one manual plus a free online toolbox) and Apricot Tree Academy (a workbook series with parent guide, sold through Amazon) occupy the budget tier. All About Reading, Logic of English, and Reading Horizons are mid-tier kit systems, and Barton Reading & Spelling is the premium tier, priced per level.
Source: All About Learning Press · Logic of English · Barton Reading & Spelling · Reading Horizons · Apricot Tree Academy · UFLI Foundations (University of Florida Literacy Institute) (all accessed Oct 2026)
* Apricot Tree Academy is Dyslexia Institute's sister organization. It appears in this guide because it meets the criteria described here, not as a paid placement, and alternatives are listed beside it.