One of my favorite things to do every year is to pick out our curriculum. There’s just something about a new book, a new topic, and new resources that just gets me excited. Please tell me someone out there can relate?

And when I am researching for the early grades – I can’t help but imagine all the wonderful things we could be doing. Nature studies! Holiday unit studies! Biographies of neat people! Science experiments! Maps and globes and atlases, oh my!

But here’s the thing – while all of those cool subjects are ok to do, we can easily overwhelm ourselves and our kids if we’re not careful. Young kids up to about 2nd grade need lots of time to play and explore – and some of that can be structured but much of it needs to be unstructured! Because they have so many years of formal schooling ahead, take advantage of the time you have now to develop the joy in learning and being curious. Pursue interests and provide experiences. Linger on ladybugs and dwell on dinosaurs. You get the idea.

That said, there are some important things to focus on in the early grades. You’ll want to teach your child to read, write (penmanship), and work with numbers. Everything else they do in school depends on these things. So without further ado, here are my picks for 1st grade.

Math

We started Kindergarten with RightStart Math Level A (passed down from my older kids). At the end of last year we discovered that not too much had been retained and I decided to take a different approach with this child. We are switching over to Math Lessons for a Living Education by MasterBooks. This is a huge switch from a straightforward math text to a Charlotte Mason inspired book. The lessons center around a story that frames each concept in a real-life situation (such as selling eggs and sorting out orders based on the number of eggs ordered, to practice counting). My now first-grader just didn’t respond well to the textbook/worksheet approach, so I think we will see more success from this curriculum.

Don’t be afraid to scrap something if it doesn’t seem to be working! Of course – give it a fair chance (we gave it a whole year), but don’t feel obligated to stick with it. Even if it worked for one or two children before. Every child learns in their own way, and the beauty of homeschooling is that you can customize their learning to them.

Language Arts

The main thing at this age is to learn to read, write, and hear plenty of good books! The best way to develop vocabulary and writing skills in kids is to read good books to them. This doesn’t have to be a formal plan (although you can make it so if you want), just read daily and you’ll see the fruits of your labor as time goes on. Plus it helps your child to develop a love of books if they don’t have that naturally.

Reading

We are continuing in the All About Reading series. About every other lesson introduces a phonogram or some other decoding technique. The lessons in-between are actual stories the child reads that incorporate the new information. The great thing is that the stories are written so that the child should be able to read all the words based on what they have already learned. I will say that as you go through the levels, the stories get longer, and depending on the child you might consider breaking up the reading into a few sessions.

Please note that this curriculum is for learning how to read. There are 4 levels and once you finish them, you should move on to some type of reading comprehension or literature program.

Spelling

We are using the All About Spelling series and we’ll be in Level 2. This program uses magnetic letters to practice spelling words, and you’ll need a big magnet board if you choose to use them according to the book. I’ve used a metal oil pan painted in a bright blue, or small dollar store cookie sheets for a more portable option.

This program also teaches spelling rules (many of which I never learned but are so useful!). I highly recommend it. Take your time working through it and dwell on the practice sections if your child needs it, but don’t linger if they are ready to move on. This is one of those areas that we can get caught up in trying to finish the book by the end of the year, but since spelling is cumulative, it is better to just take it one lesson at a time and master it before moving on.

Penmanship

We’ve gone through a number of different penmanship books with all my kids, but this year we will work though Primary Arts of Language by IEW. You may already know that I am a fan of their products from my older kids. I chose this program because it has a good review of letter formation while being fun, but it also introduced story summaries from the very beginning. So when my 1st grader is ready to begin writing paragraphs in a few years, she will already understand how to summarize a story and pick out the key details. Although this is meant for our penmanship lessons, it branches out and sets the stage for reading comprehension and composition. Multi-tasking, yes please!

Science

All of my kids (1st, 4th, & 6th grades) will work through Apologia’s Anatomy and Physiology course. While it is targeted to the older kids, the 1st grader will listen in and learn right along with them. With a preschooler also in tow – it is just not feasible to split up science between the kids (and still have time or sanity for anything else!) We’ll add some resources that appeal to the younger crowd to help with understanding, like The Incredible Human Body Activity Book. Plus we’ve had the Squishy Human Body for a while now, and he’ll come in quite handy as we talk about what all those organs actually do!

Social Studies

In the spirit of simplifying teaching multiple grades, the 1st grader will join the older kids for history as well! This year is Mystery of History I. I love that the lessons seem fairly short, but there are lots of living books recommended. We can pick and choose books at everyone’s level to bring more understanding to each lesson. (And big kids like picture books too, oftentimes more than books for their own age!)

Anything else?

For the scheduled stuff, that’s it! The four main subjects, and we are working towards mastery in reading, penmanship, and working with numbers.

But there is more – we’ll be spending time reading good books (as read-alouds), playing fun but educational games, and exploring nature. For a young 1st grader, play and exploration are just as important as those four main subjects.

What fun “extras” do you bring in to this age group? Send me some ideas below!