What curriculm do you use with your 1st grader?

[mama2cntrykids]

I'm pretty sure that I'll be hs my 6 y/o next school yr. and was wondering what curriculm you use (if any)? What do you like/dislike about it?

I appreciate any suggestions/input. It makes mehen I think about where to start, lol.

Oh yeah, if you use free internet sites, pls lmk. We're broke

Thanks!!

[apmommy76]

We unschool..

But I did buy Sing, Spell, Read and Write along with Handwriting without Tears to put in the cabinet for my son. He LOVES doing these types of activities and asks to do his "homework" for at least a little while each day.

We unschool meaning that we learn through real life--trips to the museum, the science center, the library, the local worm farm, the butterfly farm, etc...

Many boys are visual spatial learners and learn better through real life experiences and actually SEEING the topic in action. I'm a former public school teacher and we're having a blast.

[Nitenites]

My oldest son is 6, and this is our second "official" year of homeschooling.

We use Sonlight for science, which we really like. We have three days of reading/workbook/discussion work, and a day of experiments every week. We take Wednesdays "off" for science.

We use Shiller for math. It was a bit pricey - I think we could've done just as well with Math U See. We use a lot of manipulatives, make our own flash cards, and use M&Ms for subtraction. (because then you get to eat them! ) Sidewalk chalk is my secret weapon for math - we draw number lines on the ground and jump from number to number, shouting out equations and answers.

We use Explode the Code for phonics. We also read A LOT (love the library!). We realllllyyy like Explode the Code - not expensive at all, and a good starting point for reading. It's not a full phonics curriculum in itself (as I said, we practice a lot with reading from beginning readers), but helps him learn phonics rules in an orderly fashion.

We used Sonlight's booklist as an "idea list" for history. We've started a book of centuries that we add dates & drawings to often. In fact, we draw a lot, because it helps DS to picture what we're reading & talking about.

We also have a couple other subjects (handwriting, Catechism, language arts, and spelling), for which we use materials from a Catholic supplier.

Best of luck to you! Homeschooling is FUN!

[chfriend]

Originally Posted by apmommy76

Many boys are visual spatial learners and learn better through real life experiences and actually SEEING the topic in action.

so are many girls.....

We don't use a curriculum, but my dd like Handwriting without Tears and Singapore Math.

She wants more "hand-on" math, so I got Minquon from someone on the TP....we are eagerly awaiting its arrival.

Lots of science stuff.

Today they're at a school show of the nutcracker. Saturday was the science museum and the eye doctor.

Everyday brings wonderful new things to learn.

[annethcz]

For phonics, DS uses Explode the code. I ask him to do one workbook page each day. He also checks out a few easy readers from the library each week, and reads a couple of pages to me most days.

For math, DS uses Miquon. I ask him to do one workbook page each day.

For handwriting, I ask DS to do one line of copywork each day.

We also have Sonlight core K curriculum. We've over halfway through it, and we're not using it much at this point. Although some of the books are great, others are too serious and just boring for DS. At the current time, we're mostly reading library books for read-aloud time. DS and I are weighing options right now, trying to decide how to proceed. We may just do unit studies or research topics for awhile. Another option is that we may delve a little deeper into Story of the World. We have the SOTW vol. 1 audio book, and all of the kids love listening to that in the car. So I'm considering buying the activity guide for SOTW for DS to work on.

DS also attends a weekly homeschool co-op, where he takes a Spanish class and science class.

In any case, DSing homeschooling activites usually consist of about 20 minutes of workbooks and a half hour of listening to books each day. I feel this is plenty. I'll also add that we're pretty relaxed, and some days we don't do anything schoolish. For example, today was an unseasonably warm day in MN, so we chose to go for a hike and take a picnic lunch instead of staying inside. I feel this was more valuable experience than sitting at the table and doing a workbook page!

[Roo_Online]

I loosely follow the Ambleside curriculum, but when DD was in first grade, she wasn't ready for it. So I developed my own curriculum. I really enjoyed doing that, and it was a great year.

The only purchased curriculum I used was Singapore Math. We still use Singapore.

Roo_Online

[raleigh_mom]

We are relaxed homeschoolers. Here are some of the sites we use.

http://www.abcteach.com/directory/ba...sy_worksheets/

http://www.starfall.com/

http://www.preschoollearners.com/


This has great CD's:

http://www.songsforteaching.com/store/home.php?cat=518


We go to the library at least once a week.

My 1st grader also uses: Clifford's Reading CD
Math Journey CD
Let's Start Learning CD
The Mystery of Veggie Island CD
Paws (Sign Language Games) CD

And we have found great workbooks at Sam's, WalMart, and the Dollar Store.

[Fieryfly]

Our 1st grade curriculum(now homeschooling my second 1st grader as the first one is now in 5th grade):

Hooked on Phonics, Complete Writing Lessons for the Primary Grades by Marjorie Frank(author of If You're Trying to Teach Kids How To Write... book), and lots of library books for language arts.

Singapore Primary Math text and workbook, intensive practice book and word problem book for mathematics.

Investigating Science Series by The Mailbox Magazine activity guides and ScienceWorks for Kids Series activity guides for science.

Story of the World, library books, and field trips for social studies/history.

Extra Curricular: local sports leagues, Girl Scouts, and homeschool group.