Our Curriculum | First Grade

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I am so excited about the upcoming school year, and my enthusiasm has definitely rubbed off on Addie. She has told me several times that she can't wait for school time to start.

This year, I have chosen to use the Well Trained Mind curriculum guide for a classical education. I think this type of schooling is going to fit us as a family (and especially Addie) perfectly.

Because I purchased the majority of our books on EBay or Amazon (the seller site), and then we were additionally blessed by the generosity of others with supplemental books, the cost was under $100 for all of our texts (not including my enthusiasm in getting supplies and a bulletin board and those cute idea books I used to use when I taught in a classroom for 10 years). We will also be utilizing our local library to fill in all of the gaps.

Below I will list the subject we will be covering and the texts we will be using for that subject.

Bible- For Bible, we will be using our Awana workbook as our curriculum text this year. It has a weekly memory verse and a lesson with extra activities to be worked on at home.

Writing- We will be using The Complete Writer: Writing with Ease: by Susan Wise Bauer and published by Peace Hill Press. This book is designed to take us through 4 years.

Grammar- First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind: Level 1 (Second Edition) (First Language Lessons) by Jesse Wise published by Peace Hill Press. This text book will carry us through 2 years.

Reading- For our phonics practice, we are going to do a combination of things. We will be review our reading skills and sharpening our phonics rule recognition with A Handbook for Reading published by A Beka Books. We will also be reading books listed in The Read-Aloud Handbook: Seventh Edition by Jim Trelease published by The Penguin Group.

Spelling- This is the first year that we are having spelling. We are going with Spelling and Poetry 1 published by A Beka Books. Addie will be getting a weekly spelling test and homework (spelling list review with Daddy) in this subject.

Math- Again we chose to go with A Beka Books in math and will be using the Arithmetic 1 text book and the Tests and Speed Drills booklet.

History/Geography-  The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor, Revised Edition by Susan Wise Bauer published by Peace Hill Press. As supplements, we will be using the Giant Book of Questions and Answers and the Big Book of Knowledge as well as our local library to fill in the gaps and to give more background information to what we are learning. The Story of the World, Activity Book 1: Ancient Times - From the Earliest Nomad to the Last Roman Emperor has a section with recommendations for supplemental books that I am using the library for.

Science- Science is a little different for us this year, but oh so exciting. We will have 20 weeks of animal science, 10 weeks of the human body, and 6 weeks of plants. As of right now, I have The Kingfisher First Animal Encyclopedia (Kingfisher First Reference), and Kingfisher First Encyclopedia of the Human Body. I have yet to pick up Green Thumbs: A Kid's Activity Guide to Indoor and Outdoor Gardening (A Kid's Guide series). Again, we will be using the library to supplement this subject (speaking of which, I have a stack of books on hold for me as I write this).

The curriculum choices that I made were (mostly) based on the recommendations of The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Edition) with the exception of Bible and Spelling.

In addition to our education at home, I have signed Addie up for classes with a local co-op once a week. She will be taking 3 classes this fall- All About Animals (fits in perfectly with our science), the Solar System, and dance.

The new school year is almost here! Are you as excited as I am?

What schooling choice have you and your family made? Homeschooling, public school, private/Christian school?

If you are homeschooling, what curriculum are you following this year?

If your children are in public or private/Christian school, what curriculum do they use? Do you do anything at home to supplement?