Please share your 1st grade curriculum recommendation

[BlessedMom]

I would love to hear what you loved & what worked well for you & your child, as well as, what you would avoid.

I would also love any history & science recommendations from a Christian perspective.

Are there any games or extra materials that you found helpful?



Thank you in advance for your time.

[Sue G in PA]

in a year. I'm really anxious to do it b/c of all the great reviews and the samples at the website. I love the Bible Reader for reading. I'm not sure about science or history and how they are integrated into the 1st gr. curriculum but you can check out the samples at www.mfwbooks.com.

Another curriculum I'm really loving is LLATL. We're just getting started and so far, so good. I have the 2nd grade (Red Book) so I don't know about the 1st grade (Blue Book), but it sure looks great! HTH

[patchfire]

For my nowhere-near-natural speller :), All About Spelling was a godsend when we discovered it at the end of 1st grade last year. For the same reason, Spelling Workout was a complete bust for us. Most of our other curricula were 'good enough' but not huge standouts.

[Hillcrest Academy]

We completed MFWK and moved on to MFW 1st. However, we just dropped MFW 1st and switched to HOD LHFHG.

The LA in MFW 1st moved far too quickly. They have games in the TM to practice the phonics, but eventually I was going stir crazy flipping around as we moved ahead with the Bible portion and had to flip back to the LA. The camps are divided as to whether the Math in MFWK and 1st are sufficient. My dd had holes all over the place with Math so we also had to add more "formal" math (Singapore Earlybird) because their games etc just weren't really doing the trick. The hands-on, science, etc only happened two or 3 times a week which wasn't enough for my kiddos. So I was adding reading (HOP), Math (Singapore Earlybird), Science (was looking into Apologia Elementary) and whatever I could find online to add in for activities related to the theme.

Enter Heart of Dakota's "Little Hands to Heaven" (for my pre-k'er) and "Little Hearts for His Glory" (I chose the K program for DD6 even though we did MFWK because I want to fill in the gaps with math and just take a year to have FUN!) Wow! We all look forward to school every day, and they both want to do each other's work. What blew me away is that it used all the curricula I had listed as my top picks in each subject.

Anyway, I haven't used their first grade program yet, but if it's anything like the pre-K and K programs, I can't wait to use it! You can read about it here: http://www.heartofdakota.com/byd-little-hearts.php

HTH!
~Caryn~

[Dawn E]

BJU Math 1
Primary Phonics
Riggs Inst. Phonogram cards
GWG 1/2
A reading basket of leveled readers
Lots of "Let's Read and Find Out" and Magic School Bus books for science as well as playing "SomeBody" by Aristoplay and Using "My Body" by Teacher Created Resources.

We actually both have enjoyed all of the above. :thumbup:

I had originally chosen to do MFW 1st and purchased it a long time ago, but then shelved it because I decided to piece my own things together. When I became dissatisfied with using the Vos Bible for Bible time, I pulled out MFW. Using the Bible stories in the TM, the Bible Reader and the Student Notebook as our Bible program was the highlight of our year. Depending on the child, MFW 1st may need some supplementing with math. I can't speak to that as I didn't try the whole program, but it was a concern of mine. However, for the jewel that it is, I would try it. You can always add something later if necessary.

[Parrothead]

The one I'd buy again for first grade would be FLL 1&2. I'd also do MUS and SOTW.

[WTMindy]

Loved, loved, loved SOTW!!!
We also like FLL
We did Living Learning Science for science, but you could pretty easily do that yourself.

[Shanna]

Well since you are looking specifically for history and science from a Christian perspective have you looked at Ambleside or MOH for history? What about the elementary Apologia courses for science?

[Plaid Dad]

It's not an overtly Christian book, but we enjoyed CHOW as a read-aloud for first grade.

[prairiegirl]

What worked well for me and my ds was letting him do his own thing. He was not at all interested in history or science. I did 'make' him do math, reading and writing (RightStart Math, OPGTR, ETC and copywork.) The rest of the time he just wanted to play. I am so glad that I didn't push him into doing something that he wasn't ready for.

He turned 7 in Jan. and I have a new little boy. The light has been turned on and he is interested in a myriad of things now. We are not doing a formal history or science curriculum but he is actually listening to me read Greek Myths. He is also interested in fooling around with various science kits like magnets. Anyway, this is what has worked for us this year.

[fenni]

We love MFW 1st! If my child wouldn't have kept up with the phonics, I would have just halted the entire program and filled in with something else. I wouldn't want to move on with Bible because it is tied to the phonics. I actually have dropped the science because I just don't feel we need it. We read a lot of science type books and my kids do plenty of exploring and experimenting.

[linders]

Sorry, the following got rather long...

DS7 is just finishing up 1st. He finished Phonics Pathways and was reading fairly well (Henry and Mudge books) going into the year, for a point of reference. Here's what we did:

ETC 5,6,7 - I like the phonics reinforcement, he likes it as long as I help with the writing or do some of it orally.

SWO A,B - Oddly, the kid who doesn't like writing in ETC loves SWO and spelling tests. Maybe because he has done well with little effort. But there is something weirdly attractive to him about seeing "15/15" at the top of the page. And I swore I wouldn't just do "school at home."

FLL - DS likes it, I find it repetitive and condense/skip a lot. But I must say he has retained the basic grammar concepts well and is doing better narrations.

Reading - Lots and lots, aloud, silent, he devours books now and easily reads 3rd-4th grade level books. I just fill the book basket every week.

Writing - A little, very little copywork. He can draw detailed pictures for hours but hates writing. I'm looking at WWE1 for next year. Or maybe not.

RightStart Math B, into C - We both love it. A perfect fit for my hands-on learner, and it really, really works to teach math concepts.

SOTW1 - Huge hit. Except I'm accused of not doing enough projects.

REAL Science Earth Science - Another big hit. I supplement with even more hands-on experiments and we do lots of nature walksm astronomy nights, pull out the microscope, etc.

Art/music - Nothing formal this year, but he had an art class at co-op, he takes piano, and we listen to lots of varied music.

Legos - Which should be a formal subject. We have Star Wars, Aquaraiders, and generic. They teach following directions, creativity, persistence, and cleaning up after yourself so you can find the one little piece you need to make the whole thing work.

Very best wishes on planning. There are so many wonderful programs out there! I drool over WP, SL, TOG, etc, but realize I just like to tweak too much.

[Karenciavo]

We are going into 1st this September, most things will remain the same

Horizons Math 1
Tapestry of Grace (history & some of his literature) includes SOTW
Teach America to Read and Spell (phonics and spelling)
Primary Language Lessons
Nature study for science
Song School Latin & other odds and ends
Bible - ?

[dalynnrmc]

My oldest was in ps for first.

My youngers are K-age. (Well, middle one is k-age for the fall, and my younger one would be K-4. Eh.)

BUT, I'm a curriculum [information] junkie, so I have a plan! ;)

Had I the money, I'd go for MFW. (That goes for K and 1st both!)
Since I don't, here's the plan!

Math-U-See (primer in k, alpha in first)
First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind
Spelling Power
Five in a Row (maybe)
Nature and unit studies and cub scouts for science/citizenship

Heart of Dakota for Bible and History - Little Hands to Heaven for K, Little Hearts to God for 1st. (My oldest does MOH for history, and we love it! Highly recommend it if you're wanting to start the 4-year cycle in 1st grade.)

And K and 1st we learn ASL (sign language) as our foreign language. (2nd and 3rd are for Spanish, because we're in south Texas and NEED it, and Latin starts with 4th grade.)

[Kate in Arabia]

My 6 yr old 1st grader is working on this:

SWO A
Lots of graded readers and picture books
Zaner-Bloser Handwriting 1
(finished that early so now I print out copywork)
Arabic
Singapore Math 1A & B
Beginning Geography

For history and science, he's studying along with his older brother, who is doing physics and SOTW 2. SOTW 2 has been great; physics was not so great, not as engaging for him. Next year I'll be doing what I did with his older brother in first grade, which is following the WTM recommendations for animal studies. We had a *great* time the first time I did this, and I think my next ds will really enjoy it too.

Kate

[asher]

We like a mishmash :)

My ds is working on this for 1st:

American History (following www.ourlosbanos.com (http://www.ourlosbanos.com) suggestions)
MUS Alpha followed by Singapore 1A & 1B
First Language Lessons 1
Explode the Code
Noeo Science Bio I +whatever he's interested in (he's a science buff)
Draw Write Now for handwriting and learning to draw

:D

[TengoFive]

We enjoyed first grade this year. Here's what we did:
MUS Alpha
SOTW 2 (with olders)
HWT 1, 2, 3 (she loves workbooks)
ETC 1-5 (again with the workbooks)
OPGTTR (finishing up)
FLL
Zoology 1 (with olders)

Have fun this year!

[Susan in Central Texas]

History....SoTW is a must-have!!! Also, I highly recommend really using the activity guide, the CDs, and the student pages. As you add more children (if you do), then you can do this program multi-age. Also, we have LOVED the additional reading suggestions in the activity guide, and have checked out loads of them from the library for our "couch time" read-alouds.

Science- Christian perspective would definitely be Apologia, and my DC have enjoyed learning from these texts at all levels (1st-7th). It also encourages the Notebooking advocated by the WTM.

English....not splashy, not colorful, but truly tested, thorough, and excellent through and through. For 1st grade, you have "work-books" for reading and phonics. A traditional grammar text takes over in 2nd grade.

[Lizzie in Ma]

My little one is a workbook kid, she really likes them so I went with Christian Light Education for Language Arts, Reading, Math and Science and Bible.

Science was supposed to be 2X a week but she liked it so much sometimes she did it daily and sometimes she would complete half a light unit on a single day. Do we went from that into Apologia Zoology 2 and we are lap booking it. She loves that too. We also picked up the Discover and Do dvds from Sonlight. This child is a science freak. Lots of supplemental books and Magic School Bus too. Also are reading through the Clara Pearson books, "Among the Meadow People", etc.

CLE Bible she loved but I am not going to get it again, she also did that daily and finished early so we are reading through the Golden Children's Bible together for the rest of the year. Next year we are just reading the Bible and working out of Nacy Gantz's commentaries.

For History and Literature we have read through Famous Men of Greece, 50 Famous Stories Retold, Black Ships Before Troy and now The Wanderings of Odysseus. She adores Greek mythology. On her own she read the Mary Pope Osborne series about the Odyssey which she now has on tape and practically memorized. Thanks to a homeschoolradioshows.com purchase, she has also mostly memorized 50 Famous Stories! From the same place she got a fairy tales set for her birthday and has now run through a great deal of Grimm's and Hans Christian Anderson as well. It led to long and interesting discussions about the "Disneyizing" of the material.

Math she adored until subtraction, I don't know why she hates it and I am still working on fact families and triangle flash cards with her. We very much like CLE as a program.

Language Arts combines phonics, spelling, penmanship and grammar. She enjoys it well enough.

She also loves the Reading. We finished that early as well. I didn't do it "by the book". She would sit in my lap and read the story to me and then we would do the 2 lessons for that story with me writing in her answers. She loved it.

She also reads many books on her own, she mostly chooses things that are easy for her to read, which is fine, but occasionally will pick out a more difficult read due to interest. For example, she flipped over The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe. We took turns reading it aloud. Strange child I have on my hands!

[Closeacademy]

We did first last year with my oldest and used:

1st Semester:

Spell to Write and Read (5 words per day/phonogram review daily) alternated weekly with First Language Lessons (daily drill of definitions of parts of speech)

Story of the World (the Greek parts) and Usborne Book of Greek Myths for Young Children alternated weekly with Christian Liberty Nature Reader 1

Rightstart Math B/C

Handwriting without Tears or Copywork

The Greek Alphabet

It went really well and she learned a lot but by the end of the semester we needed change.

2nd Semester:

Story of the World 1
Christian Liberty Nature Reader 1
Copywork--tied into history or used as a grammar exercise
Singapore Math 2a
My Pals are Here Science 3a/b
30 Minutes a day in a corner reading books

For my 2nd dd who will be in 1st next year, I am going a different route because she has a different learning style (textbook rather than visual):

Rod and Staff Reading 1 Units 2 through 4
Singapore Math Earlybird 2b/Primary Math 1a
Rod and Staff Math 1
Christian Liberty Nature Reader 1
Copywork

I am looking at using Galore Park Junior History with her but I think I will start that in 2nd grade.


Some of the stuff I use is secular but none of it is evolutionary at this point. We use a mix.

Hope this helps and good luck in the coming year.:001_smile:

[Trivium Academy]

With my youngest, we'll do
Explorer's Bible Study: Beginnings I Old Testament
Tapestry of Grace Year 1
finish Sing, Spell, Read & Write K/1 then consider whether to do
Explode the Code and start Language Lessons for the Very Young by Sandi Queen.


Horizons Math 1
Earth Science & Astronomy
Poetry Memorization
Themes to Remember (Classical music) informally; start piano lessons
French songs and games

[Mommyfaithe]

"She also reads many books on her own, she mostly chooses things that are easy for her to read, which is fine, but occasionally will pick out a more difficult read due to interest. For example, she flipped over The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe. We took turns reading it aloud. Strange child I have on my hands!"



LOL!!! I have a strange one like that too. I just had to giggle...she is now 9 and is still a strange , precious little bird enamoured with Roald Dahl, Monty Python, and Shakespeare.....hahahaha

Our first grade looks like this:

Math: BJU Math 2 (I have it...he finished a bunch of grade 1 workbooks, so we'll try)

Phonics/ Reading: Phonics Museum, lots of Frog and Toad etc., ETC, Read...read...read....

Copy Work

For Bible he will read the Beginners Bible and sit in on family Bible time, coloring pages

Science, Magic Schoolbus videos, Read and Find Out, Nature Study

History: United Streaming Videos to go along with SOTW 3 w/ older sister

Music/ Art: Ambleside Online rotations w/ older siblings

OH, Our 4 year old will be in on most of our shred subjects too.

~~Faithe

[Susie in MS]

Here is another vote for Heart of Dakota that HilcrestAcademy mentioned. Your child may fit in Little Hearts for His Glory or Beyond Little Hearts.

Hod uses living books, CLP, One Small Square, R&S gramar by 2nd grade, Singapore, and tons of CM. Children find it fun and beg for more!

[Lovedtodeath]

http://www.tanglewoodeducation.com/


Especially the readers DD loves them and hated Sonlight.... http://www.tanglewoodeducation.com/bksrd.htm

but I plan to use the history as well and have not yet looked thoroughly into the science.

[Johanna]

Each one of my dc have excelled and thoroughly enjoyed MFW1st! We slide easily into it from MFWK.
It produces wonderful independent readers and a wonderful love for the Bible!
I am so glad I found it when i began my homeschooling journey:-)!

[ArwenA]

Here's my 1st grade plan for DD6 and DS6
Explorer's Bible Study: God's Promises
Story of the World Vol. 1 - I love this this series it isn't Christian but it does cover major events in Christian history and is wonderfully written.
My own biology plans
Nature Study - We've just discovered the beauty of nature studies through Green Hour (http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HarmonyArtMom/480223/), you may want to give it a try.
Explode the Code 3 and 4 - This is an eight book phonics curriculum which we really like. It is simple yet effective.
Language Lessons for the Very Young - I'm excited to start this because it's the kind of thing I like. I just hope the kids like it too.
Informal French - We will be doing this with a variety of materials and maybe a co-op.
Violin lessons
Art appreciation which we will tie in with history
Cultural cooking - We will learn about and cook something from a different country weekly.
Poetry memorization - This is the only memorization we do until 5th grade because I don't think young kids should be bogged down with too much. There can be lots of meaning in poetry which makes them a good thing to memorize and the rhythm can make memorization easier.
Copywork
Handwriting Without Tears 1
DD will do Miquon but I'm not sure which book because whe roars through them and DS will finish Saxon 1 and start Saxon 2. Both Miquon and Saxon are great math curricula depending on learning styles.
Lots of reading and read alouds - This is the best part of our day, don't miss it!:)

[Narrow Gate Academy]

This year my first grader did:

Language Arts
SWO B and part of C
daily copywork (Bible verses, poetry, or prose)
daily reading aloud to me
Literature was combined read aloud with DD1

Math
Singapore Math 1B and 2A
Miquon Red and Blue
The Big Book of Time and Money

Critical Thinking
finished BTS Primary and VPSB1
Dr. DooRiddles A1

History and Geography (combined)
TruthQuest AHYS1
US geography lapbook I created

Science (combined)
Apology Zoology 1

Music and Art
piano lessons
Classical Kids tapes
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers series of books
tried DWC unsuccessfully

[LadyAberlin]

Okay I'm a crazy one who has curriculum picked all the way through 12th grade and my oldest won't be 5 until Dec. I am already doing k stuff with him though. Here is what I would like to do for 1st. Everything is subject to change if I end up not liking it.

Handwriting: Pentime
Language Arts: First Language Lessons, Learning Language Arts through Literature Red (used blue in K)
Math: Righstart B, and supplement with Rod and Staff 1(used level A in K)
Science: apologia – Astronomy and Botany(we did LLB1 in Prek, LLB2 in K)
Art/music: Harmony Fine Arts
Geography: galloping the Globe (We will have started this in K and spread it over 2 yrs)
History: Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory(Used LHFHG in K)
Languages: The Easy Spanish(Started in K)
Bible: Rod and Staff readers, CLE
Health: Abeka

[Cadam]

We used MUS, HWT, FLL and we are finishing up OPG. For the rest she is tagging along with her big brother but I wish I would have gotten her MFW 1st so she had her own things. The phonics would have been review and that's why I didn't do it.... but my next one will get it if I can scrape together the $$.

[Donna T.]

My youngest son will be six in a few weeks. We've already started most of this, but I'll be adding MFW First Grade in the fall.

My Father's World First Grade - I'm definately using it to teach him to read. So, he'll be doing the phonics workbook, the Bible Reader, the Bible timeline, and the Bible Notebook. We'll skip the copywork and some, but not all, of the math (we'll be making bean sticks for sure). We'll do the science and Drawing With Children.
MathUSee - continued from K
First Language Lessons 1 - I had said I would not teach any grammar for first grade, but he wanted to try this (I had it from using it with my oldest son), so we did, and he loves it.
Handwriting Without Tears - continued from K
Explode the Code - continued from K.
I'll fit in as many read-alouds from Sonlight Core 1 as possible.
Sonlight Science K (or C... whatever they are calling it now)
extra poem memorization from The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

[attachedto4]

What worked well for me and my ds was letting him do his own thing. He was not at all interested in history or science. I did 'make' him do math, reading and writing (RightStart Math, OPGTR, ETC and copywork.) The rest of the time he just wanted to play. I am so glad that I didn't push him into doing something that he wasn't ready for.

He turned 7 in Jan. and I have a new little boy. The light has been turned on and he is interested in a myriad of things now. We are not doing a formal history or science curriculum but he is actually listening to me read Greek Myths. He is also interested in fooling around with various science kits like magnets. Anyway, this is what has worked for us this year.

I kind of did something similar with my 1st grader this year. We started with SL Core 1 but he was so uninterested in the history, and history is not a must-do for a 1st grader, imo, so I shelved it.

He likes ETC, so we did that. He loves SL's reader packages, so we worked through those. He did math (MUS and Horizons). We followed his interests- he loves bugs so I got him a lot of books on the topic and he really increased his reading proficiency. He would practice writing through the notes and letters he likes to write, or by making signs for his bedroom door, drawing maps and pictures of imaginary lands he would make up, etc. We did Galloping the Globe lightly, because he loves geography, and that was just fun, not schoolwork. We always had a read aloud going, but just read them at our pace, and went to the library a lot.

As he got closer to the halfway mark of 1st grade, he seemed more ready for school, and actually prefers the structure now. So we do copywork, handwriting, narration, and SL read alouds, in addition to math and readers.

[5sweeties]

I think our "1st grade" year has been a glorious success! All the olders were in public school for 1st, and have not come even close to covering all the material that I have covered with my 2 youngest this year! Even my highly academically gifted oldest, was seriously short-changed, compared to what these two little ones have accomplished!

We came into the year with absolutely no formal education whatsoever. No formal math, no formal reading. They each knew the basics of addition, and some very minimal alphabet recognition. (These two, who have September birthdays, were 5 and 6 this year, and are seriously active children...no time to sit and listen before this year.)

Anyway, we started with 100 EZ Lessons for reading and finished that right after Christmas and are now working our way through K12's (off-line) phonics program. My 6yo is reading at a solid 2nd grade level and my 5yo is reading at a solid, end-of-1st grade level. Both are progressing rapidly and have very, very good decoding skills. We also used ETC books at the beginning of the year, along with 100EZ. K12 has its own workbook pages, so we no longer use ETC. We also use Zaner-Bloser handwriting.

We use MUS Alpha! Three cheers for MUS. My 5you has a better understanding of math at 5.5 years, than any of the rest of my dc did! I'm very impressed.

We have done SOTW 1 along with olders. 6yo loves to tell anyone and everyone stories from her history lessons. Not only is it highly impressive and a great brag, but she loves it and I'm thrilled for her! Ds loves the battle stories and all the cool coloring pages!

We are using Apologia's Elem. Astronomy book. So fun! Ds thinks he will live and work on Mars someday!

We dabbled in French this year, and they both picked it up so quickly! Mostly just Muzzy, but I can't believe what they learned! We are looking for something for next year to take it further.

We mess with art and music whenever we get around to it. Mostly once each week, but it is mostly just my own thing. We've used Color the Classics and Classical Kids for music and SOTW AG projects for art. Fun! We will add Artistic Pursuits for next year.

I can't think of anything else this year. IMHO you just can't go wrong homeschooling these little ones. They learn, learn, learn, and in a quarter of the time it takes their public schooled counterparts. Too awesome!

[BlessedMom]

You guys are truly amazing & so very helpful.

Thank you so much for sharing your curriculum choices, links, resources, and opinions.

You have provided so many great ideas & helpful suggestions.
Now I will need to research some of your recommendations a little further & make some decision.

I really appreciate your time & willingness to be so helpful.
Thanks again & bless you all!

[Angela]

Tapestry of Grace Year 1 & the Apologia Elementary Science books have been a hit here! Angela