Hi everyone-
I’m a long time reader of topics, 1st time poster. I could use some input from everyone to hopefully save my sanity as we continue with our homeschool journey!
background: We had initially considered homeschool, however an opportunity came from my then TK kiddo to join an immersion public school which seemed like a great thing. Enter Covid, some politics at the school we didn’t like, the lack of accommodating our special needs, etc and we decided that we would go back to our initial plan of school at home. I already had MFW K, ETC, AAR, RS to do so even though he was a bit young we started him doing K during his TK year and slowly continued until he’s just about done with parts of it now. I took breaks and let him go at his own pace for some things like reading, although he really seems to be doing well now minus the social aspect since our state is still pretty much closed to everything... we seem to be a CM type approach although we definitely have some classical influence as well and we try to be flexible based on learning needs from DS.
here’s my problem and I know I’m over thinking and over-stressing this but I’m SO confused what to do for 1st grade! The more I look the more I stress and change my mind and it’s driving me nuts!
my initial plan was to continue what we are doing but advance the parts we are finishing up but we end the K portions in just another week or two so then I thought, maybe I should just fill in what we’re finishing and start all new in the fall? We tend to do light work during the summer but our schedule is messy since we started part way through a school year and took some breaks or days/weeks off if we felt burnt out.
Right now we are doing:
MFW K- only another week left, I like MFW but about 1/2 way through it became way way way too easy and honestly we don’t use their math, science, only some of the language arts, etc. i have considered MFW 1, got the TM but I just don’t love it, I like the idea of the ECC and US history but they seem too old for what we need this year and I still won’t be using their math, science, etc
Language Arts- ETC 1 (just starting after a,b,c), AAR (2/3 of the way through- we took a break and really worked on blends and getting the basics of sounds and reading before we’re moving on), sight words, hand writing (channies and hwot) and of course lots and lots of reading out loud together (he does easy readers and I do small chapter or picture books). We like what we’re using (although ds doesnt always love ETC) so I’m ok continuing and adding AAS but what about grammar, writing or copy work? I feel like there is a piece of this missing as we get older that we will need
science- we are loving elemental science intro to science. We plan to finish and continue with elemental science classical or possibly Sassafras next (this is one of the only subjects I feel good about)
History- we are currently using 180 days of social studies and geography workbooks which he actually likes a lot, plus Expedition Earth (were only a little in), which I love because it allows him to see other cultures without a ton of extra he’s not old enough for yet, we’re also reading some SOTW 1. I have considered SL A and Biblioplan- I got both TM and I think Biblioplan meets our needs the best although I’m not sure I completely love it. This one is tough- I’m also not sure on what “cycle” will work as we continue
French- we take live classes with language sprout which we LOVE and also are working on a read aloud book a day, online resources like dinolingo and other game type practice plus play practice for basic words (like I say a word in French and he has to act it out or other ways to practice the words we know but active and fun). This one we can continue as is for now, although I’m always looking for something that is helpful as I’m not exactly fluent.
Math- RS A- we like it, it seems to click for him for the most part, if it’s not broke... we’re 2/3 of the way through. We considered singapore but so far we plan to just keep going with RS as he likes it well enough and it’s working for now
we also have added in morning “writing” that includes calendar in French and English, counting days of school, the weather (at some point I’d like to add a simple sentence for the day like What I like about fall is.... and he copies then adds a final word or two that he creates with help if needed)- those kind of start our morning with a circle time type feel and we do book basket then too, we also add speech help, PE or active time (playing outside is a must! Sometimes I lure him with a “nature study”), Piano with revolutionary piano method although he got the younger kid version and it may be a little too slow for him, and we are cycling through greatest artists, composers, inventors as we can including lap books and art and reading about them to make it fun and exciting, we also do weekly keyboarding without tears, artistic pursuits and real kids cooking class. We also do daily devotions from Long Story Short that we don’t count as Bible but really could be considered Bible.
if the day is too much we slim it down to MFW, language arts and math, if we have extra time we do it all and add in art projects or whatever he is into that day (I let him have free access to art supplies, a sensory bin, stem toys). Although it seems like a full day it really only takes 2-3 hours if he can focus that day and we don’t put a ton of pressure if we don’t get to an extra that day- it happens, some things are just that extra for days we’re home and have time. I have a problem that I have so much I want to show and teach and I tend to over do and over achieve....
anyway- long story longer now I need to figure out a longer term plan- what comes next and what my plan is (at least for now) so that his elementary and beyond school works and makes sense, that it has everything he needs, plus some fun stuff he wants- I put a lot of pressure now that he’s actually home that I don’t fail him and that he learns what he needs to be successful. I try to keep in mind the kids are all on Zoom in my state so he’s not behind like that and he’s further then what they are teaching if he was in public school so anything more then that is icing on the cake but I literally can’t sleep some nights worrying what to do all the way through high school- did I mention I’m a worrier? Ha! So what do I actually need to keep him up to par for 1st grade year? What books/curriculum do I use? I’ve looked and it’s just overwhelming now. I need some sane homeschool parents that have been there done that to bring me down- this year I added, changed, took away and it was all fine- it felt good, flexible and once I get next year set I’m sure it’ll be the same but getting there is rough...
Ideas:
continue what I’m doing, start all 1st grade this fall, what our spine curriculum for history and Bible will be I’m not sure, I’m still looking for a good fit or a good mesh of things to work for us
—or—
start our 1st grade core now and just continue with each subject as we get there
things I’ve looked at:
SL- I think we might use their reading list and questions (I got the TM) but I don’t know if we love their spine of history and the rest
MFW 1- I liked MFW K, but it had too many projects so towards halfway we cut out to only what we wanted to do that week and the material halfway began to be way too light, we love the structure and idea of it but looking at TM for 1st it seems really light in everything but phonics, which we have AAR and ETC for
Biblioplan- this seems like the best fit for us so far but I’d still have to mesh it with something to work for us. Not sure what or if there’s a better option?
if you were able to read through- thank you!!! Any thoughts or advice especially on history, Bible and if we should be adding something for Langauge Arts (WWE, grammar?) I’m trying not to go too crazy planning the what next or mapping out too far haha
