What should you teach for each grade?

[bttrflyvld]

Is there a site that breaks down what subjects should be taught for each grade?

[Hunter]

WTM book does that

 

Core Knowledge Sequence

 

World Book Typical Course of Study

 

It also depends if you think you might ever put them into public school. If you think you might, then you'll want to follow along with your local school districts curriculum guidelines to make sure there's no gaps.

 

Core Knowledge is what I am using right now. I still undecided which edition of the Need to Know books that I want to use.

 

World Book is more about what you COULD teach instead of what you MUST teach. I find it useless for my needs.

 

How to Write a Low-Cost/No-Cost Curriculum for Your Home-School Child is another good option I have used in the past.

 

There are the Kathryn Stout books.

 

The Educated Child

 

I have a pdf on my hard drive that I can't find or remember the name of.

 

What Your Child Needs to Know when

 

Ruth Beechick Books

 

The Noah Plan Guides

 

The Amish Scope and Sequences in To Train Up a Child.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Hunter

[2_girls_mommy]

The Well Trained Mind is what I use.

[Hunter]

The Well Trained Mind is what I use.

 

I prefer the 1st edition, and don't try to keep average students on grade level, when I consult TWTM.

[Farrar]

Lots of lists... because it's pretty subjective, especially in terms of content subjects. ;)

[boscopup]

I used WTM to get started. It laid out a good list of subjects to be taught in each grade. For example, in K, she recommends focusing on reading, handwriting, and math. In first grade, she adds history, science, and grammar, etc.

 

Now am I following the exact lists in there? No. What you teach is really up to you. I'm not currently teaching art. I think typical elementary art isn't very useful. I personally learned nothing in elementary art or music classes. It was middle school and up where they actually taught real art and music (though I never took art, since I was in band). I do have art supplies available, and my kids draw and color and occasionally convince me to let them paint. :D

 

So don't feel locked into any particular list. You have to decide what is important in YOUR homeschool. For some people, art is non-negotiable! We are all different. Our kids are all different, and thus their needs are different. Unless your state requires certain subjects, you really need to decide for yourself what subjects you think are important. Some subjects that are important in the long run may not be important early on either. For example, I don't think grammar is important for first grade, or at least not a full grammar program. First graders need to learn to capitalize the first word in a sentence and put a punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. Those are the most important grammar concepts a first grader needs to know. Parts of speech? They can be learned a year or two later without harm. Likewise, history does not absolutely have to be started in first grade. The focus in first grade should be teaching the child to read. Once the child can read, they can learn anything else! History and science can encourage the child to learn to read, of course, and they add some fun to the homeschool. So I'm not suggesting skipping those outright, but I'm saying that the homeschool police won't come and get you if you don't do some subjects in the early years. ;)

[Mrs Twain]

I also use the Core Knowledge K-8 Sequence. It is the best IMO.

[Hunter]

 

I didn't see Home Learning Year by Year by Rebecca Rupp.

 

I find the Rupp list list easier to use in the early years than the older ones. When I am obsessing over choosing a list to use as my main list, I always pick a list that looks understandable and doable in the older grades. Some lists look like a table of contents from a badly written middle/high school textbook that would have been used as a teacher RESOURCE that she would have been expected to pick and choose topics from.

 

farrarwilliams is right that it is pretty subjective. By me looking for a doable and understandable middle school list, I'm excluding anything that is generally called "complete" and "on grade level" by many people here. At the middle school level I'm still entirely focused on the 3R's and BASIC cultural literacy for content, when many families have moved on to full blown SELECTIVE college prep, no matter what the cost.

[TracyP]

If you are just looking for a simple list of basic subjects, I have used this page at Donna Young in the past.

 

For more depth, TWTM is my favorite reference.

[bttrflyvld]

These have all been great recommendations. I appreciate all the feed back. These are all great!

[ItoLina]

This is one area where I can't seem to shake my teacher training from my pre-mommy years. I still look to my state standards or the common core standards often. I find it calms me down and I feel less overwhelmed once I do that, but that may just be me.