First Grade is going quickly. Alivia has been jumping ahead in her reading and we’ve flown through some of her curriculum much quicker than planned. I am still looking at adding a few things in the Spring, but for now I will share with you all we are doing, and what we’ve finished.
You can check out this post to see more pictures of the curriculum we started the school year with.
You can check out this post to see more pictures of the curriculum we started the school year with.
CHANGES TO OUR 1ST GRADE CURRICULUM
While we do have a specific list of curriculum we try and get to each day, I also allow Alivia a lot of time to play and work with her art crafts and be creative.
We bought this a couple months into our school year because we wanted to add a specific Bible curriculum into the mix. She enjoys doing it with me. It’s a good place to start, but I’ll be looking for something different for next year.
KEEPING?
Language Arts: The Good and the Beautiful~Level K
Don’t let the Level “K” mislead you, it doesn't stand for "Kindergarten." This curriculum is not aligned with grade levels. She is almost finished with Level K and we will either move onto Level 1 or choose something else.
I pull other subjects, like spelling and geography and writing, from other curriculums so we don’t actually need something all-encompassing, like The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts, and often end up skipping multiple sections.
KEEPING
Handwriting: The Good and the Beautiful~Level 2
This is a quick, focused time when Alivia can focus on her handwriting. Doesn’t take more than 15 minutes and it’s nice because along with the short handwriting portions, there is also a fun drawing, coloring, or activity to do.
KEEPING
Spelling: Spelling You See~Jack & Jill
Spelling has been new for us this year. This started out at the perfect level for Alivia and she has been able to progress smoothly into more difficult words. Some weeks the chunking takes more time than the 15 and we just stop and then on the next day make sure she starts her chunking exercise where she left off. This keep it from being overwhelming and too repetitive.
Spelling: Spelling You See~Jack & Jill
Spelling has been new for us this year. This started out at the perfect level for Alivia and she has been able to progress smoothly into more difficult words. Some weeks the chunking takes more time than the 15 and we just stop and then on the next day make sure she starts her chunking exercise where she left off. This keep it from being overwhelming and too repetitive.
KEEPING
Math: The Good and the Beautiful~Math 2
I cannot say enough good things about this math curriculum!! It is fun and engaging. It does a quick review each day, it’s colorful, has fun games, and the stories are entertaining and make math applicable to real life. I LOVE this curriculum!!
Alivia enjoys and also loves finding a fun place for us to do math each day. At the table, her desk, in the living room, or even the floor in her bedroom.
FINISHED
Reading: IEW~Primary Arts of Language
This has been a quick curriculum for us. At the beginning it seemed to be right at Alivia’s level. By the end of October we were flying through a week’s worth of lessons in just a day. Reading came naturally to her and we’ve sped through this faster than I anticipated and haven’t moved to another formal reading curriculum.
For now we read a lot of books together and talk about them. Keeping reading fun and accessible for her is my goal. We get a lot of the books from The Good and the Beautiful Library for her to read.
NEW CURRICULUM
Shakespeare: How to Teach Your children Shakespeare
This is something completely new for us—and for me since I never studied Shakespeare in school. We do this curriculum as a family. Alivia is enjoying it and her memorization skills are amazing!!
The book starts with one of Shakespeare’s comedies, a Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is amusing and all the kids got quite swept up in the story from the start. We’ve been reading a handful of different adaptations of the play. We also watched the movie and all thought it was such a hoot!
What I love the most about this book is that while we’re learning these lines we are learning about each and every word so we understand the language Shakespeare uses and it gives the kids a true understanding of what they are memorizing.
Shakespeare: How to Teach Your children Shakespeare
This is something completely new for us—and for me since I never studied Shakespeare in school. We do this curriculum as a family. Alivia is enjoying it and her memorization skills are amazing!!
The book starts with one of Shakespeare’s comedies, a Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is amusing and all the kids got quite swept up in the story from the start. We’ve been reading a handful of different adaptations of the play. We also watched the movie and all thought it was such a hoot!
What I love the most about this book is that while we’re learning these lines we are learning about each and every word so we understand the language Shakespeare uses and it gives the kids a true understanding of what they are memorizing.
KEEPING
History: The Good and the Beautiful~Year 2
We do this all together and are really enjoying curriculum. It’s quick and easy: open the book and go. Each year goes through the entire timeline of history focusing on different time periods and different historical people. I’ve never studied history this way before but it’s been fun and the kids all enjoy it. We finished Year 1 before the holiday and jumped right into Year 2.
**We also do Explode the Code and a few things online like Star Fall.
Current Curriculum with Links
Bible: Masterbooks~More than Words Level 1
Language Arts: The Good and the Beautiful~Level K
Handwriting: The Good and the Beautiful~Level 2
Spelling: Spelling You See~Jack & Jill
Math: The Good and the Beautiful~Math 2
Reading: The Good and the Beautiful~Library
History: The Good and the Beautiful~Year 2
Shakespeare: How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
Also check out christianbook.com for curriculum.
For into on other curriculum changes this year check out these post:
Eighth Grade
Seventh Grade
Fourth Grade
For into on other curriculum changes this year check out these post:
Eighth Grade
Seventh Grade
Fourth Grade
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