My mom homeschooled all of her kids (there were 5 of us). Some of us were only homeschooled for a few years and others our whole lives. So, when I knew I was going to start homeschooling, I went to the expert on what she used with us and what she liked or didn’t like. I did a TON of research, read reviews, tested my kids on what levels they would be at, etc. I wanted to really challenge my kids and I probably went overboard our first year, but most days we still finish by noon (or shortly after).
If you are homeschooling or thinking about homeschooling, I hope the list of things we did this year are helpful. I didn’t follow one particular program, but I did take what I thought would work best for my kids to create my own curriculum. Make sure you do your own research and take your child’s learning style into consideration.
I have added links to the items I purchased from each company.
Reading – Sonlight Readers – We used the readers for my 3rd grader and we will use them again next year when he is in 4th grade and when my other son is in 1st grade. I didn’t feel like the kindergarten readers were necessary. The readers have a schedule that comes with the books, so it tells your child exactly what chapters or pages to read each day. My son really loved all of his readers.
Language Arts – Good and Beautiful – I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Good and Beautiful language arts program. I used it for both my kinder and 3rd grader. HIGHLY recommend. My kinder guy went from knowing letter sounds at the beginning of the year to being a very confident reader. If you get ANYTHING from this post. Get this!
Writing & Grammar – IEW – I linked to the exact packet we got for our first year. Recommend this for 3rd grade and older. My son has become a much better writer this year. His grammar knowledge is probably better than most high schoolers.
Math – Saxon – I personally love Saxon. I feel like most people/kids love it or hate it. I used Saxon when I was in school and it seems to work well with my kids as well. Saxon has a spiral approach, so it continues to test the child on things that they have learned before. You would need to test your child to know which level they should be at. The tests can be found here.
Handwriting – Good and Beautiful – My kiddos enjoyed their handwriting books. This company does a great job at making their books very colorful and enticing.
Typing – typing.com – A free online typing program that my kids enjoy. Always a bonus if they like it!
Latin – Latin Primer – We only did the first 14 lessons, we are going to continue with this book next year for my 3rd grader.
Piano – Joy Tunes – Kids LOVED this and so do I. You can create up to 4 profiles and it teaches you how to play while adding in current or popular songs to learn along the way. Kept my kids entertained.
History – Our Star Spangled History – American history textbook with different activities you can do after each lesson, either baking something, acting something out, or building something. We are going to do Story of the World next year and compare the two.
Science – Good and Beautiful – Space Science, Water In Our World, and Geology – We liked these science units. They contain about 12 or so lessons that you do 2 times a week. You will have to gather supplies but it isn’t too bad. I would like to find a science curriculum that comes with everything in it because it is a challenge in an RV having everything you need on hand.
What curriculum do you use with your kids? Any recommendations?
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XO,
The Fabulous Life of an RV Wife
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