Planning is one of my favorite hobbies. Is that weird? Whether we’re going on a trip, hosting a party, or figuring out schedules, I LOVE putting a pen to paper. I think there are just so many moving pieces in my life that solidifying things in writing frees up head space! Because #mombrain is real. As a homeschool mom, something I’m always thinking about is our homeschool curriculum choices!

Over the last few years, one of the biggest things I’ve geeked out over is planning the rhythm, topics, and curriculum choices for our homeschool. As a former teacher, making big-picture plans isn’t something new. But I was a secondary teacher, and all of my kiddos right now are little. That means we’re looking at a lot more foundational work. I feel a little more pressure to ensure those early skills build upon each other for the future.

This upcoming year, our homeschool will meet the needs of a first grader, kindergartener, and very loosely an early preschooler. Additionally, our HOME will also need to meet the needs of a one-and-a-half year old and newborn! To top it all off, I’m starting up a local homeschooling co-op; I’m in charge of keeping everything running smoothly this first term! “Busy” is an understatement. I’m already trying to map out our schedules and how our days might look. When I plan, I always start with our oldest daughter. I want to make sure she is able to have developmentally appropriate + challenging work. Read on to learn how our family will be tackling first grade homeschooling and our first grade homeschool curriculum choices!

Homeschool Subjects

Based on the option for homeschooling that our family has chosen in our state, we are required to cover five subjects: reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. However, we don’t have to record certain amounts of days or hours spent on each subject. Here is our (hopeful) weekly plan:

• Math: 4x/week
• Reading Instruction: 4x/week
• Language Arts: 4x/week
• Science: 1-2x/week
• Social Studies: 1-2x/week

Homeschool Curriculum

First Grade Math Homeschool Curriculum

From the beginning, we have used The Good and The Beautiful for our mathematics curriculum. In this stage of our lives, having an open-and-go option that has both teacher and student materials is amazing (if not life-saving). We will actually be moving into TGTB Mathematics Level 2 during the fall, if not starting there initially, as our daughter has already been working through the Level 1 book.

Aside from the open-and-go, virtually no-prep aspects of TGTB, this program is one of the most affordable out there. Can you beat free? For Kindergarten through 8th grade, you can download their curriculum for free straight to your computer and print off as you go! Their hard copies are also inexpensive, $59 for the book and accompanying manipulatives box. Annnddd if you purchase in March during their annual sale, you can save 15% off the total! I will say, shipping can be pricey depending on your location (around $15 for us). You definitely want to purchase everything you need at once so you aren’t paying the shipping costs again and again.

First Grade Reading and Language Arts Curriculum

Again, our family has and will continue to use The Good and the Beautiful for the base of our reading and language arts curriculum. Both of our girls have pretty quickly picked up on the concepts taught through the program, and they love the illustrations that accompany the lessons.

The bulk of reading and phonics “instruction” comes through the booster cards and books. This year, our daughter will be in the Booster Cards C set and accompanying novels. Alongside the Booster Cards, we do a LOT of daily reading. Between family read alouds, science and social studies picture books, leveled independent novels, and bedtime read aloud, our oldest gets so much exposure to words, fluency, and amazing wells of stories.

We have previously purchased the Nature Readers from TGTB for each level, and last summer I stocked up on their bookshop books (shipping saver: if you buy 5 of their bookshop books, you get free shipping on your whole order!). We already have so many great books on our bookshelves, so I don’t anticipate purchasing anything new this year.

The language arts with The Good and the Beautiful ties together writing, reading concepts, spelling, light handwriting, social studies/geography, art, and nature. This fall, our daughter will begin the Level 2 Language Arts curriculum. With beautiful graphics and the student and teacher instructions laid out in one place, TGTB LA is one of the favorite parts of our school day!

If you purchase TGTB LA as a hard-copy set, it costs about $70. That cost includes the workbook, the Reading Booster Cards and the accompanying Reading Booster Books! But again, you can also download all of this for free and print yourself!

Science Homeschool Curriculum

In these early years, very little (if any) of the science curriculum is skill-based. So one of my favorite ways to tackle science is by making it a family/group subject. All the kids participate in the lessons to whatever level is challenging but do-able! This coming fall, we are going to continue pulling from appropriate seasons within our year-round nature study. You can find so many nature study resources out there, but I made the investment a couple of years ago to purchase Treehouse Schoolhouse’s Nature Study for the early years. It’s something we’ve used again and again, and we still haven’t gone through every unit. The recommended picture books are amazing for young kids, and they typically fall into Charlotte Mason’s living book category (which around here is a VERY important piece in our homeschool literacy practice!).

We will also be incoporating different science lessons and experiments throughout the year. We have a few thrifted books to pull from, as well as access to local libraries that check out STEM/STEAM kits! I’m also not above a quick Pinterest search to find something fun that everyone can participate in and enjoy. Science experiment resources we have and will use:

• 365 Science Activities from Usborne
• Dr. Jupiter’s My First Science Kit

As for deciding what will be happening that week? On the weeks we have our homeschool co-op, we will do an experiment! The weeks we are off, we will have two days available to work through our nature study.

Social Studies Homeschool Curriculum

Okay. I NEVER enjoyed history or social studies in school. I hated memorizing dates, names, timelines, states/capitols, etc. The one time I enjoyed anything in a social studies class was when we made replicas of the battlefields in World War II. I liked creating art, and it was so much fun to paint, decorate, and display everything. But the curriculum we started this past year is absolutely phenomenal. Social studies is now everyone’s favorite time of the week…including mine.

Social studies is another family/group subject. We are using Beautiful Feet Book’s Early American History (K-3) curriculum. And when I say is it amazing…wow. The books that accompany each unit are thorough, engaging, and the epitome of a living book-based curriculum. You will just have to go check it out, as you can download the scope-and-sequence for free. You can also access the accompanying book list that goes with the curriculum. Because we only do 1-2 lessons per week, it lasts us two(ish) years. By the time the next group of kiddos will be ready to officially begin social studies schoolwork, the older two will be onto the next thing. We will get to go through this curriculum 2-3 times and get our money’s worth. And like I said…social studies is EVERYONE’S favorite time of the week!

Additional Elements in Our Home Education

Alongside the formal academic studies, our home education plan also contains Bible reading/scripture study, chores/lifeskill training, and learning/practicing healthy habits. These will be family/group practices, and the hope is to incoporate these in a new, more consistent way this fall! I’ll share more about how our daily rhythm will change slightly in another post to come.

So there you have it! Our homeschool curriculum plan for our daughter’s next year of home education. One of the best parts of homeschooling is that I get a front row seat to the lightbulbs, questions, and incredible ideas that learning sparks. I would never trade those moments, plus all the others, for the world. Home education has given our family more time together to strengthen our bond, and as we continue down this road and tackle challenges and changes, I am so grateful for the options and opportunities my babies will have to lead their own learning journies.

To learn more about our family’s homeschool journey, lifestyle, and interests, go check out my other blog posts and give me a follow over on Instagram!