Should Elementary Homeschool Moms Use Orton Gillingham?
Here’s something most parents don’t realize: In a major national study, over 60% of students who struggled to read in first grade were still struggling in fourth grade. Reading problems don’t magically disappear—they compound.
If you’re homeschooling and trying to avoid that fate, you’ve probably heard of Orton-Gillingham. You might be wondering: Is Orton-Gillingham good for an elementary homeschool curriculum?
The short answer is yes—and for many families, it’s the difference between frustration and progress. But it’s not magic. It’s not flashy. It’s not always easy to teach. What it is, however, is a time-tested, research-backed approach that builds strong, confident readers—especially when you know how to use it well at home.
This article is your guide to understanding why OG works, how it fits into a real-world homeschool day, and how to make sure it doesn’t become “just another curriculum that failed us.”
Why Orton-Gillingham Works in Homeschool—Even When Other Programs Don’t
Many elementary reading programs assume kids will pick up patterns if they see enough words. They sprinkle phonics in here and there, but they lean heavily on sight words, context clues, and “figuring it out” from pictures.
That might work okay for a few kids—but for many, it doesn’t. They guess. They memorize. And then they hit third grade and suddenly nothing makes sense anymore.
Orton-Gillingham flips that script. It’s built on the science of reading, which shows kids don’t naturally intuit how letters map to sounds. They need to be taught directly, step by step. OG is systematic—it teaches one concept at a time in a carefully designed order. It’s explicit—you don’t assume the child sees the pattern, you tell them. And it’s multisensory—kids don’t just see or hear, they touch, trace, speak, and write, reinforcing learning through every pathway.
This approach doesn’t leave anything to chance. That’s why it’s often recommended for dyslexia, but the truth is all beginning readers benefit. In a homeschool setting, you can personalize it even more, going at your child’s pace instead of rushing to keep up with a classroom.
What Orton-Gillingham Really Looks Like in a Homeschool
A lot of parents get intimidated when they first hear about OG. They think it’s too clinical or too rigid. But at home, you can make it personal and flexible while still staying true to the approach.
It means sitting next to your child and teaching them directly: “This is ‘sh.’ It says /sh/. Let’s trace it. Let’s build it. Let’s read it in a word. Let’s write it.” You don’t assume they’ll see it once in a book and remember it. You practice it until it’s automatic.
This doesn’t mean endless drills or worksheets. It means short, focused lessons—often just 15–30 minutes a day. And it means applying it immediately in real reading. That’s where Orton Gillingham Curriculum really stands out. You don’t just memorize lists. You read decodable stories carefully matched to the patterns you’ve taught.
Even tricky spelling rules get taught clearly and explicitly. For example, if your child struggles with Hard g vs soft g, you don’t hope they notice it on their own. You explain it: “G says /g/ before a, o, u. It says /j/ before e, i, y. Let’s practice both.” You write words. You sort them. You read them in sentences. You make it stick.
Why OG Can Help Older Struggling Readers, Too
One of the biggest strengths of Orton-Gillingham is that it’s diagnostic and cumulative. That means you’re always checking what your child knows, reteaching as needed, and layering new knowledge on top of solid foundations.
If you’re trying to figure out How to teach an older child to read—a child who’s memorized words for years, who guesses wildly, who freezes at new multisyllable words—OG is often the breakthrough.
Instead of shaming them for not “getting it,” OG breaks the code down to its smallest parts and rebuilds it in a way that makes sense. Older kids often love the clarity. For once, they know exactly what to do when they see a word they don’t know.
In a homeschool setting, this one-on-one approach is even more effective. You can tailor each lesson. Go as slow as they need. Or move quickly once they’re ready.
The Multisensory Difference
Another reason OG works so well for homeschool? It leverages all the senses.
In school, phonics can easily become sitting at a desk and filling out worksheets. At home, you can make it tactile and engaging. Build words with magnetic letters. Trace them in sand or rice. Say the sounds out loud as you write them. This isn’t busywork—it’s reinforcing neural pathways.
Research shows multisensory instruction helps kids retain new patterns better. It also keeps lessons lively and reduces burnout—crucial for any Homeschool spelling curriculum you want to actually use every day.
What OG Doesn’t Cover—and How to Fill the Gaps
It’s important to be honest: Orton-Gillingham is incredible for decoding, spelling, and early fluency. But no reading approach does everything.
It won’t automatically teach writing composition. You’ll need to add that. It doesn’t cover rich content knowledge—science, history, social studies—which is essential for comprehension down the line. That’s on you to weave in through read-alouds and real-world learning.
But here’s the thing: once you have decoding solid, those other subjects open up. Kids can read their science book. They can enjoy history stories. They’re not spending all their brainpower guessing at words.
Is Orton-Gillingham Right for Your Homeschool?
If you want your elementary curriculum to rely on more than hope—if you want an approach that respects how the brain actually learns to read—then yes.
It’s especially valuable if:
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Your child is struggling to blend or segment sounds.
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They guess at words instead of decoding.
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They’re older and embarrassed about reading aloud.
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You want a systematic way to teach reading that you can trust.
OG isn’t flashy. It won’t promise your child will “read in 30 days” with no effort. But it’s honest. It’s thorough. It works.
In the end, that’s what you want in any elementary homeschool reading plan: a real foundation. One you can build on for life.
Because reading isn’t just a school subject. It’s the key that unlocks every other part of learning. And that’s exactly why Orton-Gillingham deserves a spot at the center of your homeschool curriculum.