2023-2024 Curriculum Picks: 1st Grade & Pre-K
We had a wonderful kindergarten year with my 6 year old son. I shared about it here: Kindergarten Year Review and I think we’ve got another great year ahead of us. And, speaking of kindergarten, my youngest son is in his last year of preschool and I’m adding a kindergarten prep course to his lineup this year. Honestly, I can’t believe I am saying that. He was only 6 months old when we started homeschooling…
Today, I’m sharing our core work for 1st grade and some fun things we’ll be doing for preschool this year. If you missed it, yesterday I shared about our Morning time, Gospel Studies, and 5th Grade Independent Work. Later this week I’ll be sharing our plans for history and science which we are planning to do family style so stay tuned.
1st Grade
Language Arts: Level 1 from TGTB
We did level K last year and so this is a natural transition for us to step into level 1. My little boy has been reading lots this summer and after flipping through level 1 - I feel like he’s going to do really well with it.
We are continuing to supplement with Explode the Code Levels 2-3. This is something my little boy can do independently now. If you need additional guidance on Explode the Code I have a blog post on it: Reading & Explode The Code.
TGTB Level 1 does have spelling, but I prefer the flow of the Evan Moor Spelling Skills books. This particular spelling book begins with 5 words a week and moves to 8 words a week mid-year which I liked.
We will also be doing extra monthly writing projects family style from the Bravewriter: Jot It Down guide.
We’ve been continuing to work through the Dash Into Learning books! We have all 3 sets and the cute decodable poetry books. He can read up through Set 2 now so sometime within the next year we’ll be moving on to set 3! (Discount Code: HCL 15% will give you 15% off your entire order.)
Handwriting: Level 1 from TGTB
I’ve used TGTB handwriting with all my kids and it’s our very favorite. Have you seen our Morning Handwriting Basket?
Math: Simply Math 1 from TGTB
We started this course last spring and it’s going really well. We’ll for sure continue it this year and most likely move into Level 2 before the end of the next school year.
STEM: Crunch Labs
We started this subscription a few months ago and my little boy absolutely loves it! The subscription details do say its for 8+. He can do it independently so I would just say it is going to be totally dependent on your child’s skill level. My little boy spends a lot of his free time building and constructing so this is totally up his ally. I’m also planning to read the Rosie Revere chapter books with him.
Music: Desk Bells from Prodigies
As an introduction to music, we started desk bell lessons for both my boys last January and they’re still loving these. I haven’t had a structured play time with them, but next fall I hope to have daily lessons with my older son now. This is something he can do independently.
Pre-Kindergarten
One thing you should know about me is that I LOVE the preschool years. I have taught in multiple preschool classrooms and age 4-5 is my favorite age to work with. I will always hold the opinion that learning through play is the best way to go at this age and I think it’s a great time to be introducing and fostering a love for learning.
This is my last year doing preschool with one of my own children and it’s definitely hitting a tender chord for me! I really wanted to plan out my own curriculum for the whole year and go all out, but I had to be realistic and recognize I have three older children that I also still need to be working with. As much as I want to do ALL the preschool things, I decided it’d be better just to have a few fun tools on hand to pull from.
Playing Preschool 1 & 2 from Busy Toddler
I was able to pick up these curriculum guides up on sale or I probably couldn’t have justified buying both of them because they look pretty easy for my 4 year old. I know we won’t get through everything in these guides, but I love doing themed preschools and in these guides there is a new theme every 2 weeks. There are book recommendations, songs, poems, and then a bunch of suggestions for learning activities. At this point, I went with these guides because I was looking for something to lighten my mental load and have some quick easy ideas I could do with my youngest son.
My plan is to randomly pull from some of these themes/ideas in the afternoons as just some fun things to do with him. I doubt I will follow her schedule. If you’re looking into homeschooling for pre-school -especially if it’s your first year - I think this would be a great curriculum to follow more routinely though!
Pre-reading & Phonics: Explode the Code Primer Books
We just started book A a few weeks ago (along side a PreK summer bridge book) my little guy is loving these! So, following his lead, we will keep working through primer books. I have a full blog post on Explode the Code books here if you need a little more guidance with these books.
Handwriting: Doodles & Prewriting Part 2 from TGTB
I love these intro books to handwriting! We did Doodles & Prewriting Part 1 and they’re perfect for early childhood!
The Good and The Beautiful Kindergarten Prep
A prerequisite to this course is letter sound mastery. My little boy is definitely not there yet, but I have it on hand so as he progresses over the next year, we’ll be able to pull it out when he’s ready.
And, that’s it! If you need some ideas, I have an Amazon list of all our favorite preschool and early childhood favorites to keep on hand. We still use many of these things up through early elementary years!
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