It is remarkably easy to make mistakes in homeschooling. But, it is a learning process for both students and teachers alike. It can be remarkably easy to dress out over the wrong things and to be worried that you are not doing the right thing.
But, we are here to tell you that you will be learning as much as your child. Going from public school to teaching your child yourself will take some adjustment. For both parties. So, prepare to make some mistakes. But, don’t let that get you down!
Having a bit of experience can be helpful, we know how hard it can be going into something blind. When we started out on our homeschooling adventure, we were far too focused on cramming information.
But knowing what we know now…it is more important to have fun while you are learning. On top of that, we now have a good idea of what your first-grade curriculum should look like and what the best methods of teaching are!
Because we now know so much more about the art of homeschooling, we thought that it would be a good idea to give you some information on how to put together an engaging, fun, and interesting first-grade curriculum.
What Will Your Child Learn In A First-Grade Curriculum?
If you have done your research, you will know that many people think that first grade should include every topic under the sun. But, that does not have to be the case.
If you overwhelm your kid with too much work, they will likely flounder and not do as well as they could. We have found the best core subjects to focus on are actually quite simple. We have listed the main ones below:
Math
Literature
Handwriting
Language Arts
Reading
As for the best enrichment subjects, there are several great options that you can choose from. We have listed the main ones below for you to check out:
P.E.
Bible
Art
Foreign Language
History
Music
Science
You do not have to do all of these topics in your homeschooling. But we have found that this balance works best and keeps your kids busy but not overwhelmed.
How Long Should A School Day Last?
This list of topics looks overwhelmingly long for each day of schooling. But you are not supposed to do ALL of these subjects every day. In fact, the core subjects are the only ones that are done every day.
Enrichment subjects are done on a loop, with a different one every second day or every day. The goal of a day of schooling should take between two and three hours. But this time may vary depending on how long your breaks are.
What Are The Best First-Grade Homeschool Curriculum Books?
There are loads of fantastic homeschooling curriculum (see also: An Easy Guide To Homeschool Writing Curriculum For Every Age)books that you can go with for first grade. The ones we have in this list are options that we found to be the most interesting and worked best for us.
You can always find alternative books if you think that these books and ideas will not work best for you.
Explode The Code For Reading
This book is essentially a workbook-based phonics curriculum. While there is no color, the illustrations that are used to teach you certainly capture your attention and make learning fun. That is what you are aiming for in a workbook!
Explode the Code is an incredible book that instantly captures a child’s attention and gives them the confidence to continue learning. After just a few lessons, our child was able to independently do work on their own.
This is especially helpful for those of you that are trying to homeschool more than one kid! What makes this book such a great learning tool is that spelling is built into the learning.
The workbooks in Explode the Code are designed to help your kid go through several exercises while making the process of learning to read easy. The way that the words are broken down makes learning to read digestible in small chunks.
Part of the learning also includes dictating sentences and then allowing your kid to write what you have said. But there is more! Explode the Code is a very cost-effective choice, and it is not a teacher incentive course.
You can also purchase workbooks in small batches. This is especially good if your child learns in very specific ways. So, if they do not gel with this course, you can always go with another, and it will not cost a fortune to try it out!
As a quick note, if you are getting this course, you will need to purchase the teacher’s manual as well. This course also comes with several great warm-up activities which will certainly help your kid to learn how to read and improve their fluency.
Our experience with this curriculum was only good. We found that our children took to the learning style like a burning house. The lessons are all well-prepared and work fantastically to encourage a love of reading and learning.
If you want to add any supplementary material, you could consider purchasing Easy Phonics Readers. It can help your child grasp reading and sounding out words easier. Best of all, it will help your kid learn with just ten minutes of reading a day.
All About Spelling For Spelling
A focused spelling curriculum can make a difference in your child’s learning experience. Especially if it is something that they struggle with. The best curriculum we found was one called All About Spelling.
This curriculum is best suited to second-grade learning. But some people like to get a head start and use it in first grade. This is not a curriculum that is best suited for everyone.
In fact, we only recommend that you go for All About Spelling if your kid is ahead in reading. If this is the case for you, formal spelling curriculums like this will certainly be a good pick for you.
Alternatively, if you find that your kid is struggling with reading and spelling, this is not going to be a good curriculum for your child. Regardless of where your child is at, this is a fantastic tool that can help your child get a grasp on their spelling.
This is a hands-on course that teaches spelling in a unique but effective way. Best of all, there are no spelling tests!
Writing With Ease For Language Arts
If you need a language arts curriculum that is gentle and gives a good introduction to this particular subject, this is going to be a great option for you. This course goes over a series of classic literature, oral lessons, and written lessons.
You couldn’t ask for a simpler curriculum for teaching and learning language arts. Even standardized tests are incredible. Your child should be able to understand and learn this topic without any trouble.
Handwriting With Tears ‘My Printing Book’ For Handwriting
This book really delivers! It teaches handwriting in a way that your child will grasp more easily and feel less frustrated learning. If you need a first-grade curriculum that will help keep your child’s handwriting in check, this is going to be a good fit for you.
The textbook is easy to navigate, cute, short, and fun. So you know that learning will be a blast for your kids. Making learning fun and accessible really is essential at this time of your child’s life.
By helping them to love learning and giving them a good experience can do a lot for them in the future. This handwriting curriculum has copy work, but that is not the focus of this curriculum. It is an important skill to practice.
Handwriting is a skill that you will need almost every day of your life, which is why we have found that using a separate book to teach handwriting is so beneficial.
Horizons Math For Math
Finding the right math curriculum is a little hit-and-miss. We certainly did not get the right one with our first child. It was for that reason we decided to go for something else. Horizons is a fantastic book that makes math fun, interesting, and easy to understand.
The pages in the workbook are colorful and super easy to follow. There is a lot to love about this curriculum. For one, the way that it engages the brain and teaches children about basic math is amazing.
This curriculum is very well organized, which is why children do so well with it. It is a good way for you to teach your kid the basics and make it fun. What more could you ask for?!
Various Read-Aloud Books For Literature
Do not underestimate the importance of literature and read-aloud books. We have found that the best way to start your day off is to read part of a story out loud. It can make your days seem easy and gets you off on the right foot.
Literature is a great way to instill a love of reading, and improvement of vocabulary, reading, and comprehension. See, reading a story out loud is essential and can be very helpful in the learning development of your child.
You can go with nearly any books that you think are appropriate. Just pick books that your child will enjoy and books that are age appropriate.
The Gospel Story Bible For Bible
Bible is not a core subject for everyone. But if you are looking for a remarkable Bible curriculum, The Gospel Story Bible is a good place to start. Homeschooling is incredible in the way that it allows you to focus on the spiritual aspect of life.
It is for this reason that this curriculum is so good. This is a good curriculum that slowly goes through Bible stories from start to finish. Perfect to read each morning. But this curriculum is more than stories.
There are also gorgeous pictures and questions which can help keep your kid engaged in the story. If you need a good bible curriculum, this is certainly an option that will suit you.
Noeo Science For Science
Science can be the most fun subject for a lot of children. But for adults that are not so good at this subject, it can be a nightmare. But, with the Noeo Science curriculum, you should be able to teach your child this subject without much trouble.
This is a no-prep curriculum that makes learning science a joy. Your child should be able to learn biology, physics, and chemistry without much issue at all. In fact, it might even be fun!
This curriculum was a hit with us. The kids loved every lesson and they learned a great deal. That being said, this can be a pricey curriculum, so don’t be upset if your budget does not allow for this option.
However, it is worth it for lessons that your children will love and a course that you will be able to teach without any trouble.
Early American History K-3 From Beautiful Feet Books For History
History is essential. It teaches us about our past, which can in turn help us not to relive mistakes made by those that came before us. This curriculum does a great job of going over History in an easy-to-understand, digestible, and enrapturing way.
For some children, sitting through history can be boring. Which is why this is such a good curriculum. But which this curriculum, your kids can learn in a read-aloud format, with a visual timeline.
Having both of these features makes things so much more interesting for younger children that struggle to sit still.
Art For All Seasons For Art
This was one book that we were given by another homeschooling parent, and honestly, we could not have asked for a better art curriculum. This book is chock-full of cute and easy craft ideas that your children are going to be eager to go for.
It covers random and fun artsy activities and also holiday-themed art projects. But what makes this such a good option for an art curriculum is that it comes with all the templates you need.
Simply making photocopies of the projects is all you need to do. On top of that, all your supplies are pretty basic. So, you do not need to go dashing to a crafts shop for obscure vegan glue or fancy paint. Your basic supplies will get the job done.
This is a highly recommended art curriculum us you require something that your kids will love and makes this lesson fun and interesting. You and your kids will be making little art projects that you will proudly display all around the house.
Music In Our Homeschool For Music
Not everyone grows up in a home that is musical. Because of that, this particular subject can be difficult to teach for some. But, with the right curriculum, teaching and learning music can be easy. Even for a teacher that is…musically challenged.
Music in Our Homeschool is a fantastic course that helps kids to learn about all kinds of music. From patriotic music, music history, composers, folk, music, seasonal music, and more.
This course is packed full of everything that your child needs to learn and enjoy music. We found that Fifteen-Minute Music Lessons were the best way for our kids to learn.
With this curriculum, there are printable, worksheets, online videos, full lessons, and more that you will have access to. It really is the perfect music curriculum for first-grade music.
You can also make use of Maestro Classics. This is a great first-grade music lesson. This is a great curriculum that focuses on telling stories that teach children about classical music and composers.
Handel, Bach, Tchaikovsky, and more are covered. This curriculum is a series of CDs or MP3s. So you can listen to and learn about music.
Exercising Games For P.E.
PE is an essential part of learning. You cannot train the mind if the body is not kept in shape. Many homeschool teachers skip PE lessons because there is not much that they can do. Well, they would be wrong!
There are lots of fun activities that you can do at home. You don’t need to be an expert to teach PE. All you need are some simple exercises or games that you can play.
You can simply do stretches or exercises, or you can make use of some fun games like the following: Yoga Spinner Game, Turtle Steps, or Exercise Playing Cards.
There are tons more options that you might want to go for. We found that these three worked well for us.
The Cultured Kid For Foreign Language
You do not have to teach a foreign language. But, it is a good way to broaden your horizons and give your child a head start in life. If your kids are predisposed to picking up language easily, you should absolutely try out a foreign language curriculum.
The Cultured Kid has several languages available. Some of these include the following: English, Spanish, Mandarin, Italian, French, and German. The lessons in this curriculum are fun, short, and interesting.
Best of all, the lessons are all based on activities, music, and games. So, you know that your child will pick up a foreign language well.
Final Thoughts
Well, that’s all for now! Each of these first-grade curriculum picks for Language Arts, Math, Reading, Science, Handwriting, Art, literature, Music, History, Foreign Language, Bible, and P.E.
The main focus of the early years of schooling is to have fun and enjoy enrichment subjects. Focusing on core subjects like Math, Handwriting, and Science is also essential. Because at even this young age, you can lay a strong foundation.
Something that your kid can build on to become even better at these subjects. Your teaching should take between two and three hours a day. During this time of learning, you should factor in breaks.
While you are teaching, it is essential that you are always encouraging your child and make sure that you are instilling a love of learning. On top of classroom learning, you should also take some time out of your day to have field trips.
This will help instill a hands-on learning experience and, of course, make learning fun and exciting. This may seem like a lot to take in, and it is….but it is very important to have all of this information at your fingertips.
It is up to you to bring up, and educate, a child. That is no small feat, and it is one that you need to take seriously. If you have enjoyed reading this article and learning about these homeschool curriculum (see also: The Hands-Down Best Reading Curriculum For Kindergarten Homeschoolers)picks, make sure to check out our site.
We have tons of phenomenal articles which cover a range of related topics. You are sure to see something that piques your interest. Just take a look! Thanks for reading!
Hey y’all! My name is Suzy, and I am the founder of SuzyHomeschooler.com. I have homeschooled my kids since they were small, and both have gone on to go to college at wonderful schools.
This is what inspired me to create SuzyHomeschooler.com. It’s a place where I can share my experiences with others, and offer tools, advice, and guidance to all those in a similar position.
If you want to get started on your homeschooling journey with your children, then join me today!
