Our Curriculum for the Year

After a lot of research, I feel like I have compiled a flexible, yet thorough curriculum for Kate's first year of homeschooling. My criteria for our curriculum was that it has to be fun, not too expensive and somewhat challenging. This might look like a lot, but my plan is to take our time and make sure Katelyn enjoys what she is learning.

Math
We'll be using Singapore's Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics. Singapore Math is known for its incredible results and I've been excited to use it ever since I read about it. We will be using manipulatives and games to learn Math. I was able to find Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics 1A and 1B in perfect condition at the The Homeschool Room for $6.99 each.


Reading
We have been doing Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and we will continue on with it. It really, really does work. I've just had to give Katelyn some extra motivation to get through each lesson. Stickers have worked well.

In addition, we are using Explode the Code 1. We are still working on just a few letter from the Explode the Code Primer books. Katelyn took the consonant pretest at the beginning of Explode the Code 1 so we could see which letters she was struggling with. When she has mastered those letters we will begin ETC 1, which I was able to find at The Homeschool Room as well for $6.75 in perfect condition.

For reading practice, we Now I'm Reading Level 1. They are very simple readers with simple, but colorful pictures. They come with stickers to place inside each book, once your child has successfully read it on their own.

Of course, we use the library a ton. Most of our read aloud books are borrowed. Such as The Magic Tree House Series.

Handwriting
Katelyn absolutely loves to draw, so when I came across the Draw Write Now series, I knew it would be perfect for her. Each "lesson" teaches you how to draw something and then has you copy four sentences about that something. By the end of the lesson, you have drawn a picture, practiced handwriting and learned four facts. Book One is farm yard animals. I've been printing off story paper for Kate to use for these lessons and it has worked perfectly.


Science
We will get lots of books from the library about whatever we may be interested in. I've been considering ordering Weekly Reader, but I need to do some more research. We have a science kit full of simple experiments as well as a Physics workbook full of neat projects that I found in the Target dollar bin. We're just going to have fun!
Scriptures
The plan is to work on memorizing the Articles of Faith. The kiddos have enjoyed listening to the Book of Mormon stores on The Mormon Channel. We like to turn these on after breakfast while we are doing chores.



There are so many different curriculums out there, it can be completely overwhelming. However, I had a few great resources to turn to when I needed more information.

Homeschool Reviews

You can look up almost any curriculum and read reviews from families who have used it. I love this. Most of my curriculum choices have been based upon customer reviews. Why not!

Love to Learn

I love the You Tube videos available for many of the products on this site. Being a visual person, it really helps to be able to see the product "in person".

The Homeschool Room

This is a homeschool consignment store located in Matthews, NC. It it awesome. Since it's a consignment store, it's always changing. If there is a specific item that you are looking for you can ask them to call you if it becomes available. And who are you going to meet when you shop here? Other homeschoolers! My kids love to go and play with the Legos, train table and puzzles while I look around. Check it out if you can.

Learning with Leap Frog

If you have never seen one of the Leap Frog Learning cartoons, you need to. End of story. They are a great investment. Right now they are available at Costco for only $6.99. You can't beat that. The cartoons teach about letters and phonics. There are also a couple of cartoons available that teach about beginning math. My kids really love them. They have catchy music to teach simple principles such as letter sounds, punctuation and word building.

The Letter Factory is a fantastic way to teach letters and the sounds they make. Even my two year old is starting to learn his letters. I love it and so does he!

Talking Word Factory teaches about building simple words such as CAT and MAT.

Word Caper teaches more difficult words and the use of silent E.