My 2017-2018 Curriculum Picks

​I read recently on a homeschool blog that some veteran homeschool moms cringe at the question, “What curriculum do you use?”  Since I’m still the one asking that question, I suppose that shows my homeschool age (2 years and counting).  The blog writer went on to say she cringes because, over the years, homeschool moms tend to be so eclectic and independent in what they use that it is complicated to answer that question, as well as difficult not to overwhelm the newbie homeschool mom asking the question.

Since I enjoy hearing what curricula other families are using, here are my 2017-2018 curriculum picks.  We started our school year in July 2017, and we are approximately half way through the year.  So, these choices are not only my picks, but my actually-stuck-with-it ones! 

Bible/Science/History – Our core curriculum is My Father’s World (MFW).  I did Kindergarten last year with AJ and CJ.  This year, we are doing Learning God’s Story, which is MFW’s complete first grade program (see my last year's picks here).  I continue to be drawn to MFW for their focus on Bible, goal to have the whole family learning together, inclusion of Charlotte Mason style lessons, list of living books, and engaging hands-on activities.
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In Learning God’s Story, the Bible and history are taught together using a time line and chronological Bible stories from Genesis to Revelation.  A typical lesson involves me reading the Bible story followed by AJ and CJ notebooking about the story and reading a simplified version in the MFW Bible reader.  There are other fun activities planned along the way, such as making a Bible times costume and creating a salt dough map of Israel.
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Science is a collection of three Usbourne books – Science with Water, Science with Plants, and Things Outdoors.  Every week, we read the pages in the book about a topic, enjoy books from the book list in the back of the teacher’s manual, and do 1-2 activities with the lessons.  Some of the activities are in the Usborune books and some are in the teacher’s manual.  For example, our weekly topic last week (scheduled along with Noah in the Bible/history) was rainbows.  We read about rainbows in the Usbourne book, checked out several suggested library books on rainbows, and made a liquid rainbow in a quart jar from various colored liquids with different densities and properties.
Just a technical note for those who may be interested in using MFW – AJ is in 2nd grade and CJ is in 1st grade, which means I should be doing Adventures in US History with AJ and Learning God’s Story with CJ.  However, because they are only 14 months apart in age, I decided to keep them together for all subjects (except reading and math) using the first grade program as my base.  We will use Adventures in US History next year.

Language/Grammar
Oh, may I just gush for a moment about my language “curriculum”?  I mean, honestly, who gets excited about punctuation, noun usage, and grammar?  Though I am the one silently (and sometimes not so silently) correcting people’s grammar, I do not get all that thrilled about explaining the difference between an adverb and verb to a 7-year-old.  However, MFW recommends this nice, skinny little book called Primary Language Lessons for Today.  (This book was originally published by Emma Serl in 1911; MFW updated it and published their version in 2014.)  The book includes picture study (paintings included in book), copywork, poem memorization, oral narration & composition, and dictation.  The lessons are delightfully bite-sized and easily adaptable if you have one that isn’t writing well.  The approach feels very gentle, but it works! 

Reading
Learning God’s Story does include phonics and reading, but I did not prefer their approach.  It is a very fast-paced phonics approach.  While I like the phonetic approach, the MFW first grade did not work for us.  We are using Christian Light Education’s (CLE) Learning to Read program.  Both AJ and CJ are using this, but at different levels.  (CJ actually began with CLE Kindergarten II program, which only takes 30 days.)  I like the way Learning to Read balances phonics and sight words.  The readers that go with the books are excellent.  ​

AJ learns the letter sounds using Christian Light Education's "Learning to Read" program.

​Math
Learning God’s Story also includes math, but again, I did not choose to do their math program.  We are also doing CLE math.  I like their short lessons with a focus on completing the bulk of it independently. 

Music/Art
Since I chose to buy the deluxe package of Learning God’s Story, I use the art and music they suggest.  We did lessons from Drawing with Children.  We learned an “art alphabet” and few simple drawing techniques.  We are now working through a pack of paintings discussing the artists, history, and techniques through the guides from MFW.
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For music, we listened to Peter and the Wolf and learned the instruments that portray the characters.  We are now learning the 4 families of the orchestra through the same CD.  We will end the year with a study of the Carnival of the Animals.

Spanish
One of my goals this year was to add in some Spanish.  I purchased Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids at our state homeschool convention last spring.  I only purchased the DVDs, which use an immersion approach.  My kids enjoy the DVDs; they do need to be watched over and over to learn the vocabulary.  I aim to add a few more structured activities this spring to nail down some basic vocabulary.  I’ve heard my 2-year-old, MJ, walking around the house saying “Uno, dos, tres….” so I know learning is taking place!
(Note: The above link has only volume 1.  There are 8 volumes total.)

Spelling
We are using the free version of Spelling City.  I download the lists they provide and use their free games, which the boys love.  I have them copy the words and alphabetize them sometime during the week and do a weekly spelling test.  It’s simple, but effective (and free!)
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Physical Education
This semester that one was easy because a PE class was offered at my homeschool co-op.  That class ended this month, and now I need to think about PE activities for the spring.

JJ illustrates the moon phases with Do-A-Dot markers

Preschool
I am not a fan of structured preschool with young children, but my “littles” (ages 1, 2, and 4) enjoy some mommy-time.  I do not use a curriculum for them, but I use the Five in a Row (FIAR) idea.  (If you aren’t familiar with FIAR the premise is that you choose a book and read it every day for 5 days.  The FIAR manuals include suggested enrichment activities.)  I simply choose one of our books from science topic for the week and read it once a day during that week.  For example, in the above photo, JJ is illustrating the moon phases with Do-A-Dot markers while we read a fabulous old book called Look at the Moon by May Garelick.  We read that book for a week and did this activity as well another simple art project.  On days I do not have any activities planned to go with the story, we do a few pages in their "school books" - simple preschool books from Christian Light Education.

That gives you a little peek into what we are doing here during our homeschool hours.  I would love to hear your favorite curriculum whether you are a newbie or a veteran at this crazy journey called homeschooling!

Thanks for stopping by my little blog!