2023-2024 Curriculum Choices
I am so delighted to share our curriculum choices for our first year of homeschool! I am hopeful that our plans will be just right for our family and our values. I know we will learn a lot along the way, and I’m giving myself the freedom to adapt as needed.
Below I’ve shared many of the choices we’ve made for this school year. I believe these choices will provide simplicity, rigor, and a love of learning. I desire our learning to be measurable and academically challenging, but I also desire open-ended, authentic learning. You’ll find that both math and language arts will be more traditional this year, while science and social studies will be interest-led and literature based. I’m excited for all we have planned! I’m hoping for a lot of learning this school year, but also… we’re hopeful for a lot of play and adventure! Academic subjects are important, but the most important part of our homeschool will be the relationships in our home. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to homeschool. To teach all things with eternity in mind and to shepherd my children’s hearts in kindness and wonder of God and humility and courage. To have a front row seat in who God is creating them to be is a gift. Homeschool for us feels both right and good, and we’re so excited to get started.
I couldn’t help but think ahead to what might work for us in future years. At the end of this post I shared other curriculums I’m interested in for future homeschool years! I hope sharing our plans for our’ “first grade” year helps you in your curriculum decisions.
Morning Time: Morning time will be a time for our family to gather together to read scripture and study family subjects. This is the heartbeat of our homeschool. Daily, we will read from The Explorer Bible. This year we will be reading through the gospels. We will loop through family subjects each day.
Monday: The Ology — We will read and study one truth each week.
Tuesday: Timeless Hymns for Family Worship — We will learn and study one hymn per week. This book will be our guide, but we will also pull in hymns specifically related to Christmas and Easter during those seasons.
Wednesday: Window on the World — The boys will choose a different country/people group to learn about and pray for each week.
Thursday: Laying Down the Rails — We will study character and habits using the topics in this text.
Friday: Artist & Composer study — We will be using A Child’s Introduction to the Orchestra to study composers. In the fall we will study Vivaldi, and in the spring we will study Bach. For our artist study, we will study Monet in the fall and Van Gogh in the spring.
Math (5x a week): Abeka, Arithmetic 2 — We chose Abeka because Mills is strong in math, and it’s an open and go curriculum. Whether we choose a traditional program like this in the years to come, we’ll see, but for our first year of homeschooling, an open and go, spiral approach curriculum with low costs was the best fit.
Language Arts (5x a week): Similarly to math, we chose Abeka for our Language Arts curriculum because it’s open and go, and it helps me feel assured that he’s learning age appropriate concepts. I may be comfortable with a different approach in the years to come, but for now, a workbook in language arts gives me confidence as a first time homeschool mom.
Letters and Sounds 1 — phonics
Language 1 — grammar
Spelling & Poetry 1 — spelling
Writing (5x a week): We will loop through copywork, writing lessons, journal prompts, and handwriting.
Monday: Copywork (memory verses and poetry)
Tuesday & Wednesday: Writing lessons & journal (still deciding on what we’ll use, but I’m browsing writing units on Teachers Pay Teachers)
Thursday & Friday: Handwriting Without Tears
Reading (5x a week): Mills will read 20 minutes independently each day, and I will read chapter books aloud to him during the week. We’ll also be reading a lot of picture books. Whether they’re related to topics we’re learning about in science and social studies or maybe related to the current season and holiday, we’re excited to utilize our local library to discover new picture books we love. If you follow me on Instagram (@francieoutlaw) I plan to share a lot about what we’re reading throughout the year.
Science (2x a week): God’s Design for Life — This fall we will be studying the World of Plants. In the spring, we will study the World of Animals. I’m using this curriculum as a guide/sequence for our learning. We’ll be supplementing with picture books, chapter books, documentaries, and nature walks. I’m most excited about my plan for documenting our learning: we’ll be using a sketchbook to keep a record of all we’ve studied together!
Social Studies (2x a week): In the fall we will be using Beginning Geography to study map skills, continents, and oceans. In the spring, we’ll use Don’t Know Much About the 50 States to study the United States of America. We’ll also study American monuments, landmarks, and symbols along the way. We will read picture books related to our studies all year long!
Technology: Mills will be practicing computer skills using Typingclub.com and IXL. I used IXL in my classroom and decided to use it in our first year of homeschool. Ultimately it’s a fun way to master skills, but it will also provide an opportunity for Mills to use a computer rather than an iPad.
Other Curriculums We Considered…
Beautiful Feet Books — We are planning to use their units for Social Studies in the future.
The Good and the Beautiful — Science
IEW — Fix It Grammar, Structure and Style, & All About Spelling (This might be a good fit for us starting in 3rd grade. We will see!)
Story of the World — I could see us using this during family studies rather than as our social studies curriculum.
I would love to hear from you! Let me know if you have a favorite curriculum you think we would love, or if you have any positive insight to the ones we’ve chosen this year. You can reach out by email at heyfrancieoutlaw@gmail.com or on Instagram (@francieoutlaw).