First Grade
Now we're off to the races!! Your sweet little one has grown and learned their letters and numbers. They're counting everything in sight, and possibly naming rhyming pairs and the beginning or ending sounds they hear in words. This is where schooling begins in earnest for us. We now leave the baby days behind, and start training our little scholar! =)
Our first grade level focuses on learning to read. Some families prefer to teach reading in Kindergarten (or even earlier), but I prefer to take the start of things a bit slower. I follow more of the pattern of the early years of school, as I was taught. By the end of first grade, my son was easily on a first to second grade level in reading, so it has worked well for us! =)
What did we use, you ask? Well, I have not found an all-in-one curriculum that I have fully liked. For one thing, we are a science-heavy family. I love science. I always have, and with the garden, science lessons have begun VERY early, with the life cycle of plants and bugs, the water cycle, and so on. So, the basic science lessons most curriculum include just weren't a good fit for us. Also, I wanted to teach history MUCH differently than most schools teach. I have always struggled with history and dates and the order of things. I wanted to remedy this with my kids before it became a problem, so I searched for a curriculum that taught history sequentially. More on those in a bit. For reading, I was pointed towards My Father's World. I very much so liked their overall idea and approach. Learning to read was first grade, and it integrated Bible stories and teaching right into it! Perfect!! I can confidently recommend it, at least for the Bible and reading parts.
After having taught my son this for first grade, I have found a few things I wish it would have taught, and I felt the pace was just a tad too fast, even though my son could keep up. I felt it needed a little more breathing room in the lessons. Also, I did not want to have to pay for the entire manual when I only used a portion of it. Because of all of this, I am currently in the process of writing a new curriculum, based on the same premise, but made to fit our standard school year (36 weeks), with more phonics instruction, extra subjects for reading (including rhyming, syllables, and word families), and a slightly slower pace overall. This is set to be prepared when my next child is ready to begin First Grade, in the fall of 2015. It will be teacher-approved!
Coming back to the science, we found Apologia's elementary series, and loved it from the start. We are doing the series in order, so first grade was Astronomy. This was a perfect fit for my son, who at the time was completely smitten with space shuttles. We started the year getting to see the Endeavour come through Houston, and ended the year at Space Center Houston. I had one very happy little boy!! I do plan to continue the cycle with my girls, too. They love their space shuttles as well. =)
If you go with this series, be sure to get the notebooking journal, and I would recommend the junior one at this age. The journal really makes the whole curriculum. Without it, the textbook is interesting, but it would be a bit dry for the average first grader!
Our first grade level focuses on learning to read. Some families prefer to teach reading in Kindergarten (or even earlier), but I prefer to take the start of things a bit slower. I follow more of the pattern of the early years of school, as I was taught. By the end of first grade, my son was easily on a first to second grade level in reading, so it has worked well for us! =)
What did we use, you ask? Well, I have not found an all-in-one curriculum that I have fully liked. For one thing, we are a science-heavy family. I love science. I always have, and with the garden, science lessons have begun VERY early, with the life cycle of plants and bugs, the water cycle, and so on. So, the basic science lessons most curriculum include just weren't a good fit for us. Also, I wanted to teach history MUCH differently than most schools teach. I have always struggled with history and dates and the order of things. I wanted to remedy this with my kids before it became a problem, so I searched for a curriculum that taught history sequentially. More on those in a bit. For reading, I was pointed towards My Father's World. I very much so liked their overall idea and approach. Learning to read was first grade, and it integrated Bible stories and teaching right into it! Perfect!! I can confidently recommend it, at least for the Bible and reading parts.
After having taught my son this for first grade, I have found a few things I wish it would have taught, and I felt the pace was just a tad too fast, even though my son could keep up. I felt it needed a little more breathing room in the lessons. Also, I did not want to have to pay for the entire manual when I only used a portion of it. Because of all of this, I am currently in the process of writing a new curriculum, based on the same premise, but made to fit our standard school year (36 weeks), with more phonics instruction, extra subjects for reading (including rhyming, syllables, and word families), and a slightly slower pace overall. This is set to be prepared when my next child is ready to begin First Grade, in the fall of 2015. It will be teacher-approved!
Coming back to the science, we found Apologia's elementary series, and loved it from the start. We are doing the series in order, so first grade was Astronomy. This was a perfect fit for my son, who at the time was completely smitten with space shuttles. We started the year getting to see the Endeavour come through Houston, and ended the year at Space Center Houston. I had one very happy little boy!! I do plan to continue the cycle with my girls, too. They love their space shuttles as well. =)
If you go with this series, be sure to get the notebooking journal, and I would recommend the junior one at this age. The journal really makes the whole curriculum. Without it, the textbook is interesting, but it would be a bit dry for the average first grader!
For our history, we found Story of the World. WOW! History comes to life in story form for little ones. I still get a kick out of hearing my 6 year old discuss Rome, Constantinople, Alexander the Great and his horse Bucephalus, and many other things. It's a winner, for sure!! The Activity Book holds the actual curriculum. You can either buy a print version, or go to the publisher's website (Peace Hill Press) and get a PDF (or print) version. We're going to the PDF version of the activity book for third grade. I'll let you know how it works for us. Geography is integrated, so there is no need for a separate geography course, although a globe is very handy to have around!! =)
In the math department, we were recommended Math-U-See. We absolutely love it!!! It is not a traditional approach to math, and it is very hands-on! The manipulatives are great. The program is absolutely outstanding. It is mastery based, which means that a concept is taught until the student thoroughly understands it before moving on. This could be a couple of days, or a few weeks, depending on the child's strengths and weaknesses. It is also by level, not by grade. So there is no harm if, at the end of the school year, your child has not finished the level. Simply pick it back up at the beginning of the next year, and carry on.
We are a musical household, so we also included music instruction. I used Rod & Staff's music program for first and second grade in our first grade year. Since our children are so accustomed to music, this was a perfect fit to begin teaching the foundations of music. It is also extremely affordable.
Sound like a lot? Yes, it looks that way. Yes, my son learned a LOT in first grade! But really, it's very doable. Lessons are short. Schoolwork time is a little over 2 hours, which can be done in small spurts, as your child is able.
We are a musical household, so we also included music instruction. I used Rod & Staff's music program for first and second grade in our first grade year. Since our children are so accustomed to music, this was a perfect fit to begin teaching the foundations of music. It is also extremely affordable.
Sound like a lot? Yes, it looks that way. Yes, my son learned a LOT in first grade! But really, it's very doable. Lessons are short. Schoolwork time is a little over 2 hours, which can be done in small spurts, as your child is able.
First Grade
$27.30
$16.95
$34.95
$13.95
$16.80
*many links on this site are affiliate links. This helps to support our family and homeschool (and this site) through a small amount of income, at no extra cost to you!