So You Think You Want to Homeschool–Curriculum Overview

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At least a few times a year I get a message on Instagram or Facebook from a long lost friend requesting some information on homeschool curriculum. It’s truly flattering. It makes me feel that I’ve had a small impact on sharing our homeschool journey through social media and the blog. If I can provide encouragement even to just one family out there to give it a try, I’m more than happy to continue to share our homeschool story. The number one question is always what curriculum I use and the second question usually involves our daily schedule. Today I’d like to share a somewhat extensive list of curriculum choices from years past and our current line up.

What is curriculum?

The dictionary defines curriculum as the regular course of study in school. I’d say that’s pretty spot on however I will add that I don’t let our curriculum choices drive the direction in which we go each day. If we want to explore a particular topic or idea more in depth, I’ve been known many times to steer in a different direction. And the beauty of that? It’s OKAY!

I could get very philosophical on how I feel about homeschooling and curriculum use in general, but I’ll save that for another post and jump right in to some of my favorites from the past 5 years of homeschooling our children.

Math

I have used Saxon Math Levels 1, 2 and 3 from Pre-K through 2nd Grade. I started with Level 1 in Pre-K and Kindergarten because I found Saxon K to be way too simplistic for my kids.  Essentially they were always a year “ahead” in Saxon than their grade level at the time. Once I got about halfway through Level 3, with my then 2nd grader, I decided it was time for a change. He was lacking in some math basics and needed to stop and review. 

At that point I switched to Teaching Textbooks Math 3 Online (we started with the free trial), and it’s been a fantastic choice. He keeps a math notebook nearby to work out problems and take notes when needed.  I’m planning to just advance him as he finishes each level, and anticipate he’ll finish level 4 by the end of this school year. I also anticipate that we’ll become a Teaching Textbooks family once my younger two are ready for Math 3 as well. I’ve heard wonderful things about the program, especially once children are in pre-algebra and above. I’m praying that we continue to love it and learn from it as we are now.

We’ve also dabbled in some Light Units from Christian Living Education. We enjoyed them, but knowing that all our math is packed online for us has been nice. With the Light Units we had to store a bunch of workbooks. I had visions of all three kids using it and not having the storage space. Another program we’ve used in the past was Horizons Math K and 2nd grade. I didn’t mind level K, but the 2nd grade workbooks were SO busy. My son was very overwhelmed by the amount of problems on each page. I didn’t think the Kindergarten level was too much though.

2019-2020 School Year Picks: Teaching Textbooks Online Level 3 and 4 (3rd) and Saxon Math Level 1 and 2 (K/1st)

Language Arts

Phonics & Reading

I’ve used Modern Curriculum Press (Pearson) workbooks for Pre-K through beginning of Kindergarten and also Horizons Phonics & Reading Levels K and 1.  My oldest thrived with both programs and began reading on his own halfway through Kindergarten.  BOB books were his jam. 

My middle guy and youngest are 14 months apart, so I’ve pretty much done everything for them together.  They didn’t understand Horizons AT ALL.  I dreaded doing it with them because it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r. After painfully working through the first of four workbooks for Level K last year, I found The Good and the Beautiful Pre-K Phonics, Pimer K Phonics, and now Level K for this year.  It’s been wonderful so far for both of them.  I’ve contemplated starting a higher level with my third grader, but for now I think I’m going to hold off.  

(**Note about the Good and the Beautiful, the 1st-5th grade Phonics Curriculum is FREE online.  That was my initial draw because FREE IS AWESOME.  It was founded by an LDS mom in Utah.  I have never found any LDS doctrine or beliefs in it that don’t align with my own Christian beliefs.  MANY people have absolutely sworn off The Good and the Beautiful because of the LDS ties.  It’s never been an issue for our family though.  Two of my most favorite insta/youtube homeschool moms actually have VERY STRONG conflicting views on the curriculum. As with anything for your child, you know your child and your family best. If you don’t feel comfortable with ANY curriculum you’re researching, then don’t use it! You do you.)

I’ve also started using Explode the Code this year (Book 1 for Kindergarten, Book 2 for First Grade and Book 7 for my Third Grader).  It’s quick and I like the phonics review.  For Third Grade I also have Wordly Wise Book 2.  We haven’t started yet, but I’m excited to try that out as well for vocabulary work. I anticipate we’ll be adding that to his daily plan in a month or so. I’ve also purchased some Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) products this year including Novel Studies and simple weekly Word Work.  So far, I’m liking them both for my third grader.  I plan to have him read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Shiloh, Charlotte’s Web, and Bunnicula this year. I’m sure we’ll add more titles, but for now, those are the ones that sparked his interest.

Spelling

Ah, spelling! I feel that this can be tricky subject. In teaching my children to read through phonics, spelling has pretty much come naturally to them. They aren’t always right, but phonetically, the sounds are there AND I’M OKAY WITH THAT. I do know that once you’re in the thick of a Good and Beautiful phonics and reading levels, spelling is available and introduced for children which is what I intend to just naturally happen with my younger two this year. I did use Spelling You See last year, Level A: Listen and Write for my Kindergartener and Level C: Wild Tales for my 2nd grader. I wasn’t crazy about Level C but felt that Level A was a good fit. I did hold onto Level A to use this year at some point with my Kindergartener and First Grader, but have since abandoned Level C for my third grader. I’m hoping the use of Explode the Code and Wordly Wise will help him to develop his vocabulary and spelling abilities.

Handwriting

This is totally a preference thing as well. You could just do copy work in a notebook or on fun paper. If you want more structure, especially in the early years, we had great success with Handwriting Without Tears. I will say, I did not buy the teachers manuals or the hands on materials. If I felt we needed to get more hands on with our writing, I broke out the play-doh or the white boards and markers. Luckily handwriting and pencil grip all came pretty naturally to my kids. I’ve got two right handers and one lefty, and their work is most definitely legible. Is it perfect? No, we certainly aren’t there yet. Should I be more strict about upper and lower case letters within words? Probably. But for now, I’m proud of the work they’ve done. Currently my two younger kids are using a program called Universal Handwriting that I found on Rainbow Resources online. It’s colorful and has just the right amount of practice. My oldest is using Level 2 of The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting.

Writing

I try to incorporate writing into everything we do.  My kids are somewhat hesitant writers if I tell them what to write.  They love to journal and make books and cards, so for now, I’m happy with that. My boys would make a new book every single day if I let them. I’ve bought those simple blank books from the Target Dollar Spot in the past, but they truthfully prefer to fold some copy paper in half, staple the side, and make their books as such. More and more, especially with my third grader, I encourage correct capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. We cover this in his Word Work binder Mondays-Thursdays. Encouraging proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation through copywork is a great too!

2019-2020 School Year Picks: The Good & the Beautiful Level K Phonics & Reading (K/1st), Explode the Code Books 1-3 (K), Books 2-4 (1st), Books 7-9 (3rd), Universal Handwriting (K/1st), The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting Level 2 (3rd), Wordly Wise Book 2 (3rd), Novel Studies from TPT (3rd), Word Work from TPT (3rd), Daily Journal or Book Writing (K/1st/3rd)

History

Something new we’re doing this year is called Our Star Spangled Story by Notgrass.  My plan is to read 2-3 lessons a week during our morning time (more on that in a minute) then they will work in the workbooks each afternoon.  It has a lot of hands on projects and ideas for continued lesson extension per unit.  So far, we’ve completed Unit 1, and the kids really enjoyed it. I loved reading it aloud to them, so I hope our enthusiasm continues.  We tried the Good and the Beautiful History 1 last year, and I think it was just a little too advanced for us.  I might revisit in a couple of years once they’re all able to read and fully participate.  I also would just check on your state standards for Social Studies and search Pinterest and TPT for specific topics you may need to cover.  For example, I had to teach the 5 GA Regions last year in 2nd grade, so we got some lap books and projects from TPT to make sure that was covered.

I can’t mention History curriculum without singing the praises of the TUTTLE TWINS. The books are AMAZING.  I highly recommend every single one.  They are a fantastic source for teaching your child liberty, freedom, free markets, and the concept of peace as a country.  There are activity downloads for each book as well. Ten titles are included in their library at the moment, and we have read all of them more than once. If anything, buy them to read as quick read aloud and briefly discuss each one for a few days. You’ll be surprised how quickly your kids apply what they’ve learned to real life situations. Each title is based on an important “liberty inspired adult book”. For example, the first Tuttle Twins books, The Law is based off of The Law by Frederic Bastiat. The second book is The Tuttle Twins and the Miraculous Pencil based on the essay “I, Pencil” by Leonard Read. If you have nieces and nephews, make this their Christmas gift. (Typically when you check out, they offer an entire second set of what you order at a deeply discounted price.)

2019-2020 School Year Picks: “Our Star Spangled Story” by Notgrass and The Tuttle Twins Series by Connor Boyack

Science

Last year we began using The Good and the Beautiful science units that were of interest to us as a family. We started with Space Science and will continue this year with the Human Body, Botany, Kingdoms & Classifications, and Weather.  It’s meant for a “family style” lesson so all ages can join in. There are extensions for older students as well (meant for 7th grade and up).

In the past, I’ve also been able to find fun STEM and Robotics classes in our area for the kids to participate in for a few weeks at a time. We also use YouTube a lot and Brain Pop Jr. And just as with History, I utilize fun lapbooks, non-fiction reading assignments, and other interesting ideas I find on TPT or Pinterest. It’s also great to just reserve a ton of library books on a particular topic or unit to immerse yourselves in the area you’re studying. I like to pull from our home library and library books for our morning basket read aloud time that pertains to our specific science unit.

2019-2020 School Year Picks: The Good and the Beautiful Science Units mixed with Brain Pop Jr., documentaries on YouTube and Netflix, and library books

Morning Basket

We also have a “morning basket“.  During this time they work in their Handwriting books or journals. I read from our devotional, currently Indescribable: 100 Devotions for Kids About God and Science by Louie Giglio and we talk about our daily gratitude. I’ve been keeping everyone’s responses in a simple notebook–it’s nice to look back on it.  I do a read aloud (either a picture book or continue a chapter book), and I usually cover our reading for either History or Science during this time as well. This is also where I’ll include a library book or two about our current History or Science topic.

Planned Read Alouds

This will most likely grow, but I’d love to get to each of these titles this year! We’ve already finished Ginger Pye as we started it in the summer, and it was a fantastic book. These are just for fun. We will obviously discuss the books, but I’m not requiring any kind of project or written responses from these novels. Some we may even listen to on audio instead of reading aloud myself. We did that this summer on our road trip to Michigan and listened to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It’s such a great way to include the entire family in a good book (even if mom and dad have read them before).

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

A few notes…

• We go to the library at least twice a month for books.  I usually pre-order a bunch of stuff that I know I’ll need then let them pick too.  Sometimes we’ll reserve a study room to do some school work there. It’s fun to change your environment every once in a while!
• Once the weather cools down, we also will bring school to a park and pack a lunch.  It’s easy to pull kids over one at a time and let the others play.
• My kids get more than enough PE through the pool, playing outside, and Jiu Jitsu classes.  Many Y locations offer homeschool PE if you’re interested in something like that too!
• Universal, Dollywood, Six Flags, Stone Mountain, trampoline parks, and Legoland (to name a few) have Homeschool Days.  If you want to go do something fun and BIG, search out Homeschool Days for discounts!
• Don’t feel like you have to do it all!! 
• Don’t over schedule yourself.
• Don’t try to mimic public school…it ain’t gonna happen! 
• Don’t be afraid to scrap a lesson or a morning or a whole day and do something impromptu.  Let them help you make a meal or a snack or a treat.  They’ll remember measuring flour and sugar and vanilla more than learning to use a ruler or comparing liquids in containers and writing measurements down on paper. Plus you’ll get cupcakes!
• If you realize it’s not working….THAT’S OKAY TOO!!  You know your children best, and you obviously won’t let them fail at learning and reaching their potential.

What are your favorite curriculum choices you’ve made over the years? Do you find that your needs vary from child to child and year to year like mine seem to do? Any suggestions on curriculum you think we should try?