• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • Start Here
  • The Shop
    • The Lifetime Shopping Pass
    • Explore The Shop
    • Digital Products Terms of Use
    • Your Account Details
      • View Your Orders
      • Go To Your Downloads
      • My Account
    • Lost Password Help
  • Recent Comments
  • Tags
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
A Quiet Simple Life

A Quiet Simple Life

Sallie Schaaf Borrink

  • Audio Playlists
  • Beauty & Culture
    • Movies & Films
    • Old-Fashioned Blogging
    • Printable Poetry
    • Quote Collections
  • Bible & Devotionals
    • Morning Hope
    • Eventide Blessing
    • Streams in the Desert
  • Books
    • Book Lists for Adults
    • Book Lists for Children
    • Chapter Books for Children
    • Free Ebooks
    • Picture Books for Children
  • Christian Faith
    • Christian Faith
    • Faithful Christian Living In Difficult Times
    • From My Bible Notes
    • Journaling
    • Marriage
    • Prayer
  • Gifted & 2e
    • Gifted & 2e Homeschooling
    • Gifted & 2e Parenting For Christians
    • Gifted & 2e Women
  • Gracious Christian Parenting
  • Holidays
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • It’s a Girl! Day
  • Homemaking
    • Homemaking
    • Homemaking – The Prudent & Prepared Homemaker
    • Comfort Food Recipes
    • Health
  • Homeschooling
    • Choosing to Homeschool
    • Creative Children
    • Curriculum Reviews
    • Discipleship Homeschooling
    • Elementary School
    • Encouragement for Moms
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Our Curriculum Choices
    • Our Learning Room & Supplies
    • Planning
    • Preschoolers
    • Products from My Shop
    • Relaxed Homeschooling
    • Right Brained Learners
  • Homeschooling with Cozy Books
  • Linux
  • Our Cozy Family Life
    • In Our Cozy Home This Week
    • My Pregnancy & Baby Stories
    • Guest Columnist – David
  • Simple Living
    • Simple Living
    • Big Tech & Social Media
    • Home-Based Business
  • Unit Studies
    • Unit Studies
    • Unit Study Ideas
You are here: Home / Homeschooling - Curriculum Reviews / Apologia’s Readers in Residence – Homeschool Reading Curriculum Review

Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure statement.

Apologia’s Readers in Residence – Homeschool Reading Curriculum Review

August 25, 2017 by Sallie Borrink
Be The First To Comment
15    
15
Shares
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Up to this point, we have not used a formal reading curriculum. Caroline basically taught herself to read, hated phonics, and really took off playing games on the computer and using the closed captioning on videos. (I have no idea why she started doing it, but I think she progressed three or four grade levels quickly just reading closed captioning.) When I had the opportunity to do a homeschool reading curriculum review of Apologia’s Readers in Residence by Debra Bell, I was interested for a few reasons.

One, Apologia’s Readers in Residence looked great. Two, I’ve heard so many positive things about Apologia but we’ve never utilized anything from them (being relaxed homeschoolers and all). And three, I felt that as Caroline moved toward middle school that she needed to learn more about the finer points of reading and understanding literature.

Apologia Readers in Residence Student Text and Workbook

I received this product for free and am being compensated for my time to write this review. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

Readers in Residence Homeschool Curriculum

Apologia’s Readers in Residence was written for learners in fourth grade and above. Depending on how relaxed you have been with your learners and how advanced they are (or aren’t), this could easily work for fourth, fifth, and sixth grades.For example, if you’ve never done any kind of formal reading program with your children, this could easily slide in for an older child.

The curriculum comes in two parts. There is the Student Book and the Answer Key (Parent Book). The chapter books are purchased separately. (More on that later.) The curriculum covers six books:

  • Sarah, Plain and Tall
  • Your own historical fiction choice
  • Charlotte’s Web
  • Your own animal fantasy choice
  • Because of Winn-Dixie
  • Your own fiction book choice

The All-in-One Student Text and Workbook is gorgeous. Caroline was interested in looking through it as soon as it came which was a good sign since she’s really picky about design and layout.

Apologia Readers in Residence Student Workbook

Apologia seems to have struck the right balance between making it visually appealing without being overwhelming.

Apologia Readers in Residence Student Workbook 2

If you’ve read reviews I’ve done before, you know that visual clutter has been a BIG problem for us with both print and computer materials.

Apologia Readers in Residence Student Workbook 3

If there is one negative it is the fact that the student book is SO THICK. It’s an inch and a half thick which doesn’t sound big, but it is. I think we would have preferred two smaller spiral bound books. It’s not enough to override all the great things about the curriculum, but it’s a big whopper of a text/workbook for a kid.

Apologia Readers in Residence Student Workbook 4

Benefits of Apologia’s Readers in Residence

A number of things jump out at me regarding the benefits of this curriculum.

One, it’s easy for mom to implement. You buy the curriculum, you purchase the chapter books, and you read along. It’s very self-directed for the student which is really nice. I don’t know about you, but I prefer to have things as easy to implement as possible.

Apologia Readers in Residence by Debra Bell 2

Two, it provide kids with solid information and tools related to reading fiction. These include understanding aspects of literature such character development, plot, genres, setting, etc. Bell goes into depth with many of these from many different angles. Again, I think they strike a good balance of providing real value but making it accessible for kids in this age group.

Apologia Readers in Residence by Debra Bell 4

Third, I think they did a great job of selecting books that will be high interest and also have strong literary merit. Creating the curriculum to include three selected books, but then having the children choose three other books was a great idea. It shows children that they can take what they learn in one module and apply it to other books they will choose for themselves.

Before You Buy Your Books

Remember I mentioned that you purchase the chapter books separately? Make sure you purchase the correct versions of the paperbacks. I had no idea that we had to have specific editions until after I had already purchased the first two books. We were at Barnes and Noble and I decided to grab Sarah, Plain and Tall and Charlotte’s Web when we were in the children’s section. I got the correct edition of Sarah, Plain and Tall, but the wrong one of Charlotte’s Web. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late to return it. So make sure you read the parent Answer Key BEFORE buying your books. The student text and workbook references page numbers when asking questions and if you have the wrong edition, it might not work for you.

Apologia Readers in Residence Chapter Book

Check Out Apologia’s Readers in Residence

There are a number of ways you can check out this excellent reading curriculum. Click here to download a large sample and FAQ information.

If you are interested in purchasing Apologia’s Readers in Residence, you can do that here.

You can follow Apologia and learn more about them at any of these places!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Google+
  • Blog

Category: Homeschooling - Curriculum Reviews
 

More Related Articles

Mr. D Online Math For High Schoolers

Online Art Classes For Beginners

Online Math For Relaxed Homeschoolers With CTCMath

Learning Geography With Gardening

Previous Post:Around Our Home In August
Next Post:When You Begin To See Your Child As A Problem To Be Solved

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Thank you for your comment. I read and appreciate each one even if I am unable to respond.

Sidebar

I’m Sallie Schaaf Borrink, a Christian wife, mother, and homeschooler. Welcome to my cozy corner of the world. Our little family lives a quiet simple life of home education, self-employment, and laughter. I share what I've learned to help others navigate this world with truth and beauty. Please start here. ♥ 

Categories

Your Shopping Cart

New Post Notifications (Does Not Include My Newsletter)

Receive new post notifications from A Quiet Simple Life

Powered by follow.it

Popular Posts Today

  • Free Printable Christmas Advent Calendar Pin 2Free Printable Christmas Advent Calendar
  • The Ultimate List of AIP Comfort Food Recipes 2The Ultimate List of AIP Comfort Food Recipes
  • Why I Reject Minimalism and Embrace My Cozy Living History SIMPLEWhy I Reject Minimalism
  • Free Printable Christmas Gift Tags Pin 2Free Printable Christmas Gift Tags
  • The Ginghams Paper Dolls (Free) SIMPLEThe Ginghams Paper Dolls (Free!)
  • My Favorite Simple Living Books SIMPLEMy Favorite Simple Living Books
  • Cozy Blogs I’m Reading SIMPLECozy Blogs I’m Reading
  • 100 Field Trip Ideas for Homeschoolers SIMPLE100 Field Trip Ideas for Homeschoolers {Free Printable}
  • The Cozy Life in America and Why I Prefer It To the Danish Hygge SIMPLE2The Cozy Life In America (and Why I Prefer It To the Danish Hygge)
  • Occupational Therapy for Dysgraphia or Writing Problems SIMPLEOccupational Therapy For Dysgraphia Or Writing Problems

Learning With Themes & Unit Studies

Learning Themes for Children - Printables

  • Abraham Lincoln
  • America 
  • Animals of Africa
  • Apples
  • Arctic & Antarctic
  • Astronomy 
  • Australia & New Zealand
  • Autumn 
  • Birds
  • Butterflies
  • Camping
  • Canada
  • Chinese New Year
  • Christmas Around The World
  • Christmas In Sweden
  • Christmas
  • Easter
  • Election Day
  • Farm
  • Flowers, Plants & Gardens
  • Football
  • George Washington
  • Inauguration Day 
  • Independence Day
  • Insects & Bugs 
  • Memorial Day 
  • Mexico
  • Oceans 
  • Penguins
  • Picnic
  • Pilgrims
  • Presidents' Day
  • Pumpkins
  • Reptiles & Amphibians
  • Rocks & Minerals
  • Scarecrow
  • Spring
  • Squirrels
  • Summer
  • Thanksgiving
  • Trees
  • U.S. Presidents
  • Weather
  • Winter
  • Women's History Month

Sallie’s Rebuilding America

Click to visit my other website

For the Love of Pansies

Click to visit my other website

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

"If I ever meet thee in the next world, thou mightest, perhaps, say to me, 'I spent one evening, sir, in hearing you, and you never told me the way to heaven.' Well, thou shalt hear it. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, trust in his name, find refuge in his cross, rely upon the power of his Spirit, trust in his righteousness, and thou art saved beyond the vengeance of the law, or the power of hell. But trust in thine own works, and thou art lost as sure as thou art alive."

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Blogging Is Better With Blinkies!

Archives

Lifetime Visits

17737115

Contact Me • Privacy Policy • Disclaimers & Affiliates

Copyright © 2005–2023 · A Quiet Simple Life · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme

Scroll Up