This year is Oliver’s 1st grade homeschool curriculum update.
I started him a little later with formal schooling because he just wasn’t ready last year. I am really glad I did because he is doing great!
Even though some of the resources I’m using are made for Kindergarten, I still call it 1st grade because that is his typical age range at church. There is such a wide range among homeschool publishers that I don’t worry about it anyway because grade levels are somewhat flexible. What’s important to me is to see progress.
I did make a few changes mid-year that you can read about below…
Homeschool Curriculum Choices
Phonics / Reading / Handwriting
I started out the first half of the year working through the Simply Charlotte Mason Delightful Reading Kits 1 and 2. The level kit was a good review and went fast. As for Level 2, I had not seen a lot of progress with his reading level this last fall and we were both feeling frustrated at times even with the added breaks, so…
I have decided to switch to A Beka K5 because I would prefer to use the A Beka phonics program since I am so familiar with it. I taught my first four kids how to read utilizing their phonics curriculum and was very pleased. You can read more about how I use it here. He is already doing very well with it and I feel like I understand the process better since I’ve already done it.
Also, the A Beka K5 program is equal to many 1st grade curriculums on the market. However, in my opinion, the only thing that matters is that you are seeing a willingness to learn (although it may take a little time to develop new habits), progress, and building a firm foundation.
Up above you can also view some of the read-a-louds we have or are currently enjoying this year. Not pictured is The Children of Noisy Village which we have read a few times! He’s really enjoying his Read-a-louds. I had some I set aside at the beginning of the year that I wanted to get to and then we have picked up some along the way.
Math
He started the year with Math-u-see Primer and we have been very happy with it. In fact he is a lot more independent with this program than I expected at this age. This is my preferred math curriculum, especially for high school, so we will continue to use it.
Science
For science this year I really wanted all science to be interesting and fun, nothing too formal.
We watch interesting you tube videos, read fun books, and have been enjoying the Little Passports science kits that his grandma sent him. We will continue with these resources for the spring.
History
For history as well, I prefer to keep it simple and fun. At the start of this year we were using Story of the World Volume 2. It was imaginative, but he wasn’t really enjoying it as much. In my opinion, it’s great as an audiobook in the car, but we both wanted something different. We will probably enjoy it once in a while, but I have to decided to focus more on historical literature, Usborne history books, and he loves Drive Thru History! In fact, my whole family does.
Co-op Group
Thankfully, we have an opportunity to get together with a few families and meet once a week. We go on nature hikes, have a book club, and enjoy field field trips.
We especially love the hikes. We get to explore new places close to home we didn’t even know were there. He likes to call it his adventure club!
For more about the curriculum we use in our household, check this out.
Comment below on your favorite 1st grade curriculum!
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