As many of you know I decided to homeschool my boys this year. Officially only one of them has to be schooled (my 6yr old, first grader). But my 4 yr old has things to learn as well so he will be in “school” of sorts here at home too. If you want a little idea of what I was thinking when I decided to homeschool Brendan after one year of public kindergarten click here.

So, curriculum. Well, I don’t want to be locked in a box when it comes to teaching what we have to learn. For this to work in our home, I need to exercise my freedom and rights as an American parent and be true to how God made me to thrive in teaching and my boys to thrive in learning.  I guess my approach might be summed up best as “eclectic” because I will use whatever I feel is right and accessible for me and my family. Here’s my plan so far for my first-grader, Brendan and my preschooler, Jack.

I plan to use some version of the Workbox System but please note, I did not purchase anything or attend any workshop. I just read about the various ways other families were using this system and decided to implement my own version into our homeschooling.  This is not the “finished” product. I’ve added velcro and numbers.  {I know, this part isn’t “curriculum” related 😉 }

You’ll have to check back when the Blog Hop is showing off the homeschool rooms to see what mine looks like so you might want to SUBSCRIBE here to see my post on our room.

Math will be done by using the complete first grade Math Mammoth curriculum. In fact, I plan to be reviewing it as we go so if you’re intersted you should subscribe here to get my posts as I write them. For Jack we will just work on basics like numbers and counting. (See my sidebar to the right for the link to Math Mammoth and check them out for some free downloads too).

For Reading, Writing, Spelling, Vocabulary:  I plan to use ClicknKids.com programs and again plan to be writing reviews on how that goes for us too. I also LOVE the affordable and free downloadable lessons and notebooking pages from CurrClick.com and other sources. I plan to have my boys do notebooking and lapbooking activities. These skills can be worked on by doing copywork (copying the stories or bible verses, poems, dictionary words etc) right out of books and onto paper.  By combining methods like this you can also teach/reinforce leaning in particular subjects such as science and history. Throw in a project like mapping out territories or labeling maps for mountains etc and you are teaching/learning geography and getting your art done as well! I love the idea of being creative and being able to get more done with less worry 😉

Science, History, Geography, Social Studies: We will use Usbourne books and other books we have at home as well as using the public library. I also requested my FREE cd (and I have received it)  from (AHEF) American Heritage Education Foundation, INC. . This is a K-12 lesson plan resource cd valued at $150.00 but offered free to educators (including homeschoolers).

Bible: Because we are a bible believing, Christ following, Christian family our kids ARE learning the bible at home (not just Sunday morning at church). I was thrilled to receive Plants Grown Up from Doorposts to help me have an organized biblical resource to cover godly character issues. This book was written by a family who wanted to be sure they were training up their sons (there is a book for daughters too) thoroughly according to God’s  ways. I also plan to be reviewing this great resource.  We haven’t started using this resource yet, but I have spent time reading it and getting familiar with it.

In addition we will be using miscellaneous workbooks (the kind you pick up at the store) to supplement and taking field trips using our newly purchased science museum/zoo membership I bought through Coyote Point Museum in California for $65.00 and yes we live in Ohio and may never visit CA. I’ll share why I did it this way in a future post.

Okay so I know you may be thinking, “Holycow, the kid is only in first-grade! Whats up with all this?” Well, it doesn’t hurt to be learning about all this and its interesting. We may only touch on a little of the not-required stuff here and there but I have these resources and so many things can be taught at the same time with a little planning and organization on my part.

I plan to share pictures of our homeschool room next week 🙂 Subscribe here so you don’t miss it.

I’m participating in the Heart of the Matter Not Back to School Blog Hop where homeschooling families share their homeschooling curriculum, rooms, and more. If you’d like to see what other families are doing click the image below.