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It is that time of year. Summer is the perfect time to think about what worked and didn’t work the previous school year and make changes as needed. I love reading about what other bloggers select for their children in hopes of coming across a great curriculum I haven’t heard of or tried before. So, here are my Elementary Level Homeschool Curriculum picks for the 2018-2019 school year. Hopefully you will find something to try from these picks!
Preschool Level Homeschool Curriculum Picks
My preschooler loves worksheets and begs for “school work.” My preschool picks for her are based on her individual interests and the types of activities that she likes. I follow her lead on how much she wants to do and when she wants to do school work. I have also attempted to pull some books from preschool readings lists (like those from Book Shark or Sunlight), but most of them do not hold her attention. She likes to be doing things instead of just listening to and/or looking at books. CLICK HERE for my complete list of preschool curriculum and resources.
The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts for preschool
Evan Moor’s Jumbo Fun with the Alphabet, Basic Phonics Skills level A, and Everyday Literacy Math.
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We are also trying out Preschool Math at Home by Kate Snow.
Hands-on on letter and handwriting activities from my multi sensory handwriting program.
For science, I am trying out the preschool curriculum by Elemental Science called Preschool Science and Exploring Science. I also bought the Mudpies to Magnets preschool science curriculum to try out.
We are using Edmark level 1 for reading whole words.
General music skills will be taught using the Kindergarten level of Pfiffer Music. We may also try out some basic piano skills as she is interested.
Kindergarten Elementary Level Homeschool Curriculum Picks
Langauge Arts
The Good and the Beautiful Kindergarten level.
I am also using an unpublished phonics program I acquired from a professor in graduate school. CLICK HERE to read about additional phonics reading program options.
McGruffy’s Readers (CLICK HERE to read about where to get these and other readers for free. You can also purchase physical books from several sources including both Amazon and Rainbow Resources)
Handwriting
Cuisenaire Rods Alphabet with cuisenaire rods and other hands-on on letter activities from my multi sensory handwriting program.
Math
For Kindergarten math, I generally recommend using Jump Math or Singapore math. Both are excellent programs.
My Kindergartener has already mastered Kindergarten math skills and we are now gradually going through 1st grade math using both Mammoth Math and Miquon Math. CLICK HERE to read my full review of Miquon Math. CLICK HERE to read more about Mammoth math.
We may also start time and money later in the school year. CLICK HERE to read about my favorite time and money curricula.
Science
Elemental Science‘s “Introduction to Science.”
Art
We are going to try using Artistic Pursuits Book 1 for grades K-3.
Music
We will be working on basic music skills such as rhythm, recognizing pitch (high and low sounds), and patterns. I may end up making up my own activities to work on these skills in order to tie them into his interests. In the past, this child has absolutely hated participating in music activities. We may start simple piano activities later in the year depending on his interest level.
Second Grade Elementary Level Homeschool Curriculum Picks
Langauge Arts
The Good and the Beautiful for grade 2 (the FREE downloadable version).
For handwriting we are finishing up Print Path’s “Lower case at last book 2” from Teacher’s Pay Teachers. My second grader also has an interest in cursive, so we have just started using Cursive Logic. I am also using the cursive exercises from the back of the McGruffy’s Readers.
My second grader has advanced decoding skills, but we do need to focus on grade level reading comprehension skills. We are working our way through The Reading Comprehension Kit for Hyperlexia and Autism Level 2. We will also use Evan Moor’s Daily Reading Comprehension book and Reading Comprehension Fundamentals for second grade. CLICK HERE to read my review of the Reading Comprehension Fundamentals book.
For writing and grammar, we are using Writing with Ease Level 1 and First language lessons book 2. We are also using components of Brave Writer. CLICK HERE to read my article comparing Writing with Ease and Brave Writer. We will be using copywork, memorization, French dictation, and monthly report writing projects on a topic of interest. I will be integrating the components of Brave Writer into science lessons.
Math
Miquon Math worked well for us over the past year, so we are continuing with this curriculum. We are finishing up the Red book and will start the second grade books (Blue and Green) in the fall. For our comprehensive math program, we are using Mammoth Math Light blue series for 2nd grade. When we get to the multiplication units, we will practice skip counting with Sarah Jordan’s “Multiplication Unplugged.” I will also pull out our Time Tales. CLICK HERE to read my full review of math fact curricula.
History
Story of the World Vol. 1. We are also reading history books recommended by Ambleside for 1st and 2nd grade. We are currently reading “Island Story” as recommended by Ambleside and love it. I also plan on using library books based on Book Shark’s 2nd grade selections.
Science
We love science at our house and read a lot of science books. My second grader has taken a great interest in Botany, so we are currently reading Exploring Creation through Botany as a daily bedtime story. For school time botany curriculum, we are using Great Science Adventure’s “The World of Plants.” I also am using the botany related lessons from R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey’s Life Science, Level 1.
Just to make sure we cover general 2nd grade science topics, we are also reading Science A Closer Look Grade 2. These science books also provide excellent reading fluency practice as they are written at grade level.
I recently came across Sassafras science on Pinterest. The author’s have written a series of science books in a novel format, similar to the Magic Treehouse style. I bought the Zoology volumes and love the book so far.
We are also going to try out Elemental Science’s Biology for the Grammar Stage during part of this next school year.
Art
For art, we are trying out Artistic Pursuits, book 1.
Music
I was going to use Kinderbach, but it ended up not being a good fit for my 2nd grader. Instead we will attempt to use the Hoffman Piano curriculum. I may have to modify depending on interest level.
Social Skills
We have tried a loot of different social skills curriculum over the years. This one works on conversation skills with friends.
Crafts
We will be starting sewing lessons using this machine. No set curriculum, just beginning projects using this sewing machine. I selected this particular machine as I can adjust the sewing speed. Younger children may do better with a slower machine speed while learning to adjust pressure on the foot pedal. We may also introduce knitting and crocheting, if interested.
Fourth/Fifth Grade Elementary Level Homeschool Curriculum Picks
Langauge Arts
The Good and the Beautiful for 4th grade (the free downloadable version).
Writing with Ease level 4. CLICK HERE to read my review of elementary writing curricula. We will also be using components of Brave Writer including copywork and a monthly writing project about an area of interest. The copywork will be used to work on handwriting. We are also working on beginning typing skills using the book, “Computer Keyboarding for Beginners.” An alphasmart has worked well as a non-internet based device (no online distractions or games) for typing practice.
For reading comprehension, we are using Evan Moor’s Daily Reading Comprehension book and Reading Comprehension Fundamentals for 5th grade. Later in the year we may try out reading detectives.
For vocabulary we are using Ceasar’s English II. After we finish this book, I plan on using Rummy Roots.
Math
Although I love Mammoth Math, my child does not. So, we are for the most part switching to Jump Math for 5th grade. I still love Mammoth Math and think it is a great comprehensive and appropriately challenging program, but for some learners, the visual content on the page is overwhelming. I am still sneaking in Mammoth Math 5th grade content by writing out problems on another piece of paper.
Evan Moor’s Daily math practice (alternating the daily word problem book and the daily math practice book to review and maintain 4th grade math skills). CLICK HERE to read my review of Evan-Moor’s Daily Math Practice series.
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Electives
I am teaching my 2nd and 4th graders at the same time for both history and science. For history we are using Story of the World Vol. 1 and for Science we are using Sassafrass Zoology and Elemental Science’s Biology for the Grammar Stage. For grade level science concepts, we are using Science a Closer Look grade 4.
Music
For music instruction, we are trying out guitar and piano using these books:
Art
For art we are using Artistic Pursuits book 1 for grades 4-5.
Social Skills
We have tried a loot of different social skills curriculum over the years. This one works on conversation skills with friends.
Foreign Language Elementary Level Homeschool Curriculum Picks
This year we are going to work on American Sign Language and Latin. For my younger children (Pre-K and K) we will only be working on sign language using Signing Time. For the older children (2nd and 4th grade) I am adapting Dawn Sign’s Signing Naturally Curriculum, units 1-6. For Latin, we are trying out both Latin for Children (4th grader) and Prima Latina (2nd grader), and may drop or switch depending on how well it works for them.
Technology Elementary Level Homeschool Curriculum Picks
My little ones are interested in programming. My skills and knowledge in this area are very limited, so my husband (an IT guy) is taking over this one for me. He is using Scratch with the Kindergartener and 2nd grader. We are still searching for coding curriculum that will work for our 4th grader.
Conclusion on Elementary Level Homeschool Curriculum Picks
I hope you enjoyed reading through my Elementary Level Homeschool Curriculum picks for the 2018-2019 school year. I will be adding reviews of curriculum I haven’t used before once we get through enough content for to evaluate the programs. See below for reviews and additional information about curriculum we have tried. Also if you are on a tight budget, consider free homeschooling resources. CLICK HERE to learn more.
If you would like to see my picks for the 2019-2020 school year, CLICK HERE.
Additional Resources for Elementary Level Homeschool Curriculum
CLICK HERE to read my review of math programs I have tried and for tips on selecting the perfect math curriculum for your homeschool.
CLICK HERE to read about my must have math manipulatives for grades K through 3.
CLICK HERE to read my about how to teach reading comprehension skills.
CLICK HERE to read my review of science curriculum
CLICK HERE to read my review of History.
CLICK HERE to read about free homeschool curriculum and resources.