Curriculum

Please Note

I get asked about curriculum a lot, so I wanted to put something in here, but remember there is no one right answer! What works for my family, may not work for yours. It will vary wildly depending on your child/ren’s ages and learning styles. My kids are in elementary school, so naturally this list is focused on the younger students.

That said, here are some pointers, what has worked for us and what hasn’t, etc. I’m not saying you should run out and buy everything listed below; this is a jumping-off point. Also, a reminder about my advice on this post: it’s completely fine to change your mind, and you’re going to change your mind.

Last update: August 2021

Join a group

  • I highly recommend that you join a group of some kind. There are so many out there, with more popping up all the time.
  • What we do: My kids are enrolled in Classical Conversations (“CC”). In brief: CC is a nationwide group with a nearly-complete curriculum. The program uses a faith-based, classical method of education with an emphasis on community. That’s the socialization everyone’s talking about! To fulfill the community aspect, CC meets once a week and in that respect is similar to a co-op. For simplicity, many CC’ers refer to their group as a co-op, but it’s not exactly the same.

Free, complete curriculums online

Online resources (paid)

  • Reading Eggs – Paid annually per child, and it includes MathSeeds. My kids like this because they can work independently and learn basic computer skills like how to use a mouse. My 4-year old can navigate the site and work on her own! I’ve heard people complain that it’s “too easy” for their child, but I didn’t feel that way at all. My son is 7 and he is really doing well in the program. I told him from the beginning that if it seemed easy, it’s because the program was working on something else like controlling the mouse. (Update August 2021: my son is now 8 and reading excellently. I asked him what helped him the most when he was learning, and he said Reading Eggs! He doesn’t use it much anymore)
  • ABC Mouse – Didn’t work as well for us. My kids had trouble navigating the site on their own. Maybe if it had been all they’ve known it would have been okay, but after having fun using Reading Eggs they just didn’t even want to try.
  • Scholastic Learn at Home – I didn’t feel like we needed another program because we enjoy Reading Eggs so much. But it’s a monthly fee instead of annual, and a family subscription instead of per child, so pretty cost-effective.

Workbooks

  • My mom was an early childhood educator, and I think it’s because of her that I value good, old-fashioned pencil/paper so much. There is a lot to be gained from the physical act of holding a pencil and using your brain while writing. I believe hard-copy workbooks are an important piece that can not be duplicated with 100% online curriculums.
  • Flash Kids Complete Curriculum (through 6th grade). We used 1st grade last year and it was fine. This is supplemental for us, so I didn’t worry about it too much, but it was a great way to keep us on in touch with what other first graders are learning.
  • Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills (through 6th grade). This is the one we’re trying this year. We didn’t switch because we didn’t like the one we used last year, but only because I found this one at Sam’s Club for a reasonable price. I don’t feel that we need both, so after this year if I have a preference for one or the other, I will update this post with our experience.
  • Summer Brain Quest and Brain Quest (through 6th grade). The Summer workbook has been an absolute hit! We’re using Between 2/3 and Between K/1 and the kids are really loving it. Lots of stickers and a map inside to keep track of progress. We’re going to try the regular level books for during the school year. Unfortunately it doesn’t come with the map/stickers, but we’re going to make our own.

Resources by subject

Phonics

  • Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (book) – A lot of people LOVE this book and swear by it. It did not work for us.
  • LeapFrog DVDs – My kids love these. They really work well for our family.
  • Rock ‘N Learn DVDs – There is a whole series and to be honest, we didn’t want to spend the money. But we did get the Sight Words Level 1 DVD and a 4-DVD set I found on sale, and both were awesome. My daughter still sings the songs!

Handwriting/Penmanship

  • Like I said above, writing by hand is important. There is no shortcut with handwriting practice. Luckily, there are a plethora of cheap workbooks and free printables out there, and for handwriting practice I don’t think the “quality” of the material matters as long as the child is using a pencil. Not a pen. Not a crayon. Not a stylus.
  • Check your local Dollar Store for workbooks.
  • Dafont.com – Download your own font and invent your own! I like “Letters for Learners” with dots and lines. Point size 60+ in a Word document, and you can print out anything under the sun. My personal favorite: “I will not hit” about 50 times.
  • Education.com – They have Lesson Plans and Worksheets and a lot of free resources, as well as a paid membership.

Math

  • Saxon – Didn’t work for us. Too much repetition, and too easy for my son. We both hated it.
  • MathSeeds – This is included in your Reading Eggs membership, and is great!
  • Prodigy Math – Our current favorite! This is a free online game, great for extra practice. It is not a complete math curriculum; use to supplement a full curriculum. The game is completely free, but there is an optional paid membership with more advanced reporting features and cooler in-game stuff for the student. My kids like this better than MathSeeds.
  • Math-U-See – This is what we’re trying this year. To be determined!

Fine Arts

  • Art Hub for Kids – free on YouTube, but they also have a subscription service. These are amazing tutorials that even my 4-year-old can follow.

Places to purchase educational books (besides Amazon)

Other notable stuff