Teaching a child to read at home

What is a good homeschool phonics curriculum for teaching my child to read?

A good homeschool phonics curriculum teaches the letter sounds first, in a deliberate order, then blends them into real words, and Clareza Academy's Learning to Read: Systematic Phonics does that for kindergarten to Grade 2, with every question read aloud and answered by tapping, and its first unit free to print.

Skip to signing up ↓

Sounds first, then real words

Unit 1, First Sounds, First Words, covers every letter sound in six lessons, starting with s, a, t and p and moving to the first real blending. Unit 2 is Words With More in Them. By Grade 2 the course finishes with long vowels, vowel teams and multisyllable words.

Read aloud, answered by tapping

The app reads each question aloud and your child answers by tapping, so nothing requires typing or reading instructions. Choices are not read aloud in K-2 reading lessons, because hearing the choices would answer the question. Stay close for the "say it out loud" moments.

Saying the word out loud

Reading and phonics lessons can let a child answer by speaking, because saying the word is the skill. This is off until a parent turns it on for that child. The microphone is live only while the talk button is held, and the audio is turned into text on Clareza's own server and then discarded, never stored.

Not sure where to start?

A placement check in the parent dashboard has a K-2 reading check of five sets of word cards your child reads aloud while you count. It suggests a starting point, and you choose.

Print the first unit free

Unit 1 is a free PDF at /free/learning-to-read: a script for the parent, a page to read together and a practice sheet for each lesson, with answers. No email and no account.

What this is not

  • It is not a dyslexia intervention or a specialist reading program. It is the phonics course of a general K-12 curriculum.
  • It is not a replacement for reading books with your child. Read-alouds are yours, and they matter.
  • A child learning to read cannot run every lesson alone. Plan to be nearby.

Start 30 days free

Phonics plus every other subject, every child in the family, one price.

Look inside all 71 courses firstEvery unit, every skill, every objective. No account, no card.

or start now

What grade(s)? (optional)

Free for 30 days. We take a card now and charge nothing until then. $29 a month after that, for every child in the family. Cancel anytime in a couple of taps. Cancel before day 30 and you pay nothing at all.

Before your child starts: what we collect and why

We collect only what it takes to teach your child: the first name and sign-in you choose, their answers and progress, and their chat with Clara (written by Anthropic's AI, read aloud by OpenAI). Nobody trains AI on it or sells it, and you can see or delete it any time. You create your child's account yourself. Paying by card is how you give consent.

Read what we collect and why

Your consent is needed before we collect anything from your child, and we collect nothing without it. You create your child's account yourself; they never sign up alone.

  • What we collect from your child: the first name and sign-in you choose, their answers, time on lessons and progress, and their chat with Clara. Used to run the lessons, build their transcript and show you how they are doing.
  • Who else handles it: Anthropic (an AI company) receives the chat text and the lesson, with your child's first name but no last name or account details, to write Clara's replies. That is how Clara works, so it is part of the service. If you switch on answering out loud for a child, their voice is turned into text on our own server and then discarded; it is never sent to another company. OpenAI turns lesson text and Clara's replies (which can include your child's first name) into the read-aloud voice. Our email provider sends you reports about your child. Nobody trains AI on your child's data, and nobody sells it.
  • Your rights: see everything collected from your child, have it deleted, or stop further collection at any time, from your account or by emailingour support address. If you refuse the AI sharing above, Clara cannot teach, so the service cannot run. Chats are deleted after 30 days.
  • Safety: if your child writes something suggesting they may be hurt or in danger, we email you and Clareza's owner the same day.

Paying by card is how you give consent. Full details, including how long we keep each thing: Privacy Policy (version 2026-10-05).

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Rather see it first? Try a full lesson free

Questions parents ask

What ages is the phonics course for?

Kindergarten to Grade 2. Most 1st graders start partway in, around blends and digraphs such as sh, ch and th.

Is the phonics course free?

Unit 1 is a free printable, and Unit 2 is free by email a week later. The full course is part of the curriculum at $29 a month for the family after 30 free days.

Does my child need to type?

No. Questions are read aloud and answered by tapping, and a parent can turn on answering out loud.

Also written up

Starting homeschooling in the middle of the year →Secular homeschool curriculum →What a homeschool curriculum costs →Using Arizona ESA funds for homeschool curriculum →Is there a free secular homeschool curriculum? →Where can I find free printable homeschool math lessons with answers? →What is a good secular kindergarten homeschool curriculum? →Is there a complete secular homeschool curriculum for grades 1 to 5? →What is a good secular homeschool curriculum for middle school? →Is there a secular homeschool curriculum for high school that gives a transcript? →What is a good secular homeschool math curriculum from kindergarten through high school? →Is there a secular homeschool science curriculum that follows NGSS for every grade? →What secular homeschool English curriculum goes from phonics to Grade 12? →Is there a secular homeschool history and social studies curriculum for every grade? →Does an online homeschool curriculum include art, music, PE, Spanish and electives? →Is there a homeschool curriculum that covers all my kids for one price? →What homeschool curriculum helps a child who is behind grade level? →What if my child is ahead in one subject and behind in another? →How much screen time is an online homeschool curriculum? →Is an AI tutor safe for my child, and can I see what it says? →What does an AI homeschool curriculum do with my child's data? →How can I try a homeschool curriculum before I pay for it? →What does a homeschool day look like with an online curriculum? →How do I keep homeschool records, hours and a transcript? →Is there an open-and-go homeschool curriculum with no lesson planning? →Is there a homeschool curriculum aligned to Common Core and NGSS? →How do I switch my child from public school to homeschool? →Is an online homeschool curriculum accredited, and does it need to be? →How do I choose a homeschool curriculum? →Is there a homeschool curriculum my child can do on their own? →Is there a homeschool curriculum that reads lessons aloud for a child who struggles to read? →Does Clareza have learning games, and can I turn off the timers? →Homeschooling a child with autism or ADHD →Homeschooling in a military family →Homeschooling while you work →Homeschooling a child who is ahead →Homeschooling a child who had an IEP →