I am now in my eleventh year of homeschooling, and I’m often asked what curriculum I use. I’m always very animated when I answer, because I have honestly LOVED every curriculum option I’ve chosen. Several people have suggested that I share here what I’ve used, and I hope this is helpful for others. I’m going… Read More »
I’ve already written here about the reading and spelling programs I have used/am using. In this post I will address grammar and writing. First Language Lessons This is a 4-year grammar curriculum from Well-Trained Mind Press. I have used this for grades 1-4 for each of my kids three days a week. The first 2… Read More »
I mentioned in this post that I finish formal reading education with All About Reading level 2, which ended up being in between kindergarten and 1st grade for my kids. After this, we continued reading using McGuffey’s Eclectic readers, beginning with level 3. We always do 3 days of oral reading a week, and then… Read More »
Both the handwriting and keyboarding curriculum I use for K-5th grade is through the company Learning Without Tears. I actually began handwriting in K-4 using the Handwriting Without Tears student workbook. You can purchase a small chalkboard to help teach writing letters, which I found helpful. I also bought lined paper from the company that… Read More »
For elementary math, I use Singapore Math. I really like this curriculum (but I also really like math). What I most appreciate about the program is that it teaches the students to understand how the math works. It encourages the use of math manipulatives (connecting blocks, place value charts, etc.) for the child to use… Read More »
I very loosely follow a classical method for teaching my kids. This is mostly applicable for me in how I do history and corresponding literature picks. For 1st-4th grade, then again in 5th-8th grade, we have progressed from ancient times, to the middle ages, to the early modern age, and finally to the modern age.… Read More »
For the first few years of my older kids’ early elementary days, we used science encyclopedias on animals, plants, etc. or easy chemistry/physics experiments for our studies. We kept it pretty simple and fun. And I believe that was sufficient for those early years. Once my oldest was entering 5th grade, I did want to… Read More »
One of my favorite choices I ever made very early on in our homeschooling was our yearly schedule. We take a break approximately every 5-6 weeks, sometimes as short as 4, but I try never longer than 6. This necessitates starting our school year in mid-to-late-July, but it is definitely worth it on many levels.… Read More »