Our oldest daughter went to public school for her Kindergarten year and the bus ride was outrageously long and we had a few minor issues as well. Because of these issues, we've decided to homeschool the girls. So for the past few months, I've been researching curriculums and deciding what we would use for this year. I have a very tight budget, so I tried to find mostly free or very inexpensive curriculum choices that wouldn't be too difficult to implement since we also have a 16mo and expecting a new baby in January. We'll be getting started next week and will probably work through until mid-January with as few breaks as possible so that we can take a good 1-2 month break then while we get baby settled in. So here are our "low spend" curriculum choices for 2013-2014 school year!
Heather - 1st Grade
Bible -
We
will be using Raising Rock Stars Bible program for learning the Bible
history (this will also integrate into ancient history at several points
throughout the year). We will be using ABC Bible Verses by Susan Hunt
for our Memory Verses and devotional.
Math - We will be using Math Mammoth this year. I found a great deal on Homeschool Buyer's Co-op for 1st -6th grade light blue math curriculum for about $70 total! So assuming we like this curriculum, we're set for the next few years! I like what I've seen so far and just finished printing the first workbook and the corresponding reviews & tests. Even if we don't like it as well as I think we will, we can still use it as a resource for extra work and such.
Language Arts:
Spelling -
K12 Reader lists for 1st grade and a few DIY worksheets and games that I found online. We'll play some fun games with the words and do word searches (which she enjoys), word scramblers, shape puzzles, and some typical copy 2-3 times each and the like with a test on Fridays.
Grammar -
First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wirts along with a few corresponding worksheets I've found for free online. I was able to use Swagbucks to pay for half the price of this book. I got it gently used on Amazon for a great price!
Phonics -
We'll be using the Progressive Phonics readers and the Spectrum Phonics Grade 1 workbook this year. It'll last through December and then we'll transition to more reading than phonics.
Reading & Comprehension -
Through December, we'll be reading from McGuffey's 1st Eclectic Reader. Once we finish that reader, we'll start using Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool Level 1 for reading. This will include reading 'The Tale of the Jolly Robin' and some other stories on there (all material will be free on the public domain using the Kindle App on Heather's tablet).We will also read some short stories, fairy tales, aesop's fables, and other selections from the book "What Your 1st Grader Needs to Know." I was able to purchase this book completely using Swagbucks!
Social Studies -
We will be studying ancient history this year. We're going to start with Creation and use the Bible as the core for our History studies as well as bringing in other topics in a timeline order. We will be studying ancient civilizations such as Ancient Egypt, Greece, & Rome using Lapbooks and a variety of living history books that I can find at the library or by using swagbucks to purchase through amazon. This will be more time consuming for me but I just haven't been able to find a free or very inexpensive curriculum that I like so far. We will be borrowing some things from Easy Peasy AIO Homeschool as well. In addition, we will have a few short unit studies on local history. We have a wonderful Pioneer Museum here in town that usually has a few special events throughout the year that we are planning on attending. There are also 2-3 nearby Civil War re-enactment events around the state. We will choose one of them to attend as well.
Science -
We will be using the Easy Peasy All In One Homeschool, Year 1 program for science this year. It uses Mr. Q's Life Science (free), kidshealth.org, and other free online information to teach science with several hands-on activities throughout the year. I am really looking forward to using this program!
Extras:
We will be using the Easy Peasy AIO Homeschool program for music appreciation, Art, & P.E. We will also be choosing a couple of fun classes with our local homeschool co-op as well. At some point this year, I'm hoping to also teach her to play the piano but haven't decided on details for this yet. She will be playing soccer with the local recreation league and I am considering putting her in cheerleading with Upwards as well but we haven't decided yet. Usually we attend a dance school as well but they had to take some time off recently and we aren't sure when they will be re-opening. We will probably enroll both girls in this as well when it does depending on what activities we are doing at the time.
Mikayla - Preschool:
Bible - We are using Carissa's Raising Rock Stars Bible program as our core learning for Bible as well as the bible verses from RRSP which uses the book "ABC Bible Verses" by Susan Hunt for the memory verse and devotional for each week. (Heather will be participating in this as well).
We will be using Carissa's Raising Rock Stars Preschool program as our core along with a few other random printables depending on the topic for the week. She already recognizes and knows the sounds for all of the letters. So we'll be reinforcing this as well as working on writing letters and recognizing lowercase letters this year. It also includes a sight word each week along with a number, color, and shape. I will be adding extra resources for these things as well....especially the numbers and shapes which she is still weak on. She has colors down pretty well so I shouldn't have to add anything for that.
Other subjects - she will be sitting with us and listening as well as doing age appropriate activities with Heather's Science, Social Studies, P.E., music, and art. These subjects will be very integrated between the two ages so that both girls can learn the same thing and it should also help with keeping both girls occupied at the same time.
I'm hoping to blog about our activities, field trips, and lessons throughout the year. I'm looking forward to showing the girls lapbooks (which will play a large part of our learning in Science, History, & Bible), projects, and other things on here as well. I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to check back for updates!
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