You probably already heard but they are switching A and K for sonlight this year. A lot of people felt the K American History was too much. But A does have a lot of chapter books. I always have wanted to try a Beautiful Feet Books level!!!
Yes! That news came out after I filmed this video, but it's very good to note! I think that was a great decision on Sonlight's part, the K program was a LOT for Kindergarten. I'm still very content with my choice though--excited to stick with picture books for the most part and to dive deep into learning about countries of the world.
@@SevenInAll It sounds like such a wonderful plan especially with it relating to your interests and where you live that will make it come alive even more!! I am doing A with a six year old K student and an eight year old and it has been totally fine for them, a tad light but fine still. Picture books are magical! Sarah Mackenzie on Real Aloud Revival changed my view on them years ago. I had stopped reading them and started pushing chapter books like levels and she spoke about the complex lexicon in chapter books and how some are even written towards older kids and it was like a whole wall opened up. I still read them to all my kids even to my 13 year old!! This was a fun video to listen to and I hope you have a wonderful year!!
@@SevenInAll There is no "perfect" curriculum, except that "we" pursue that with the tools we have. Just as in relationships, once married, make it work no matter what!
I love hearing the thought process behind curriculum choices. That's usually more helpful than the picks themselves. :) And agreed on so much of what you said. I had the same thoughts when my oldest son was in kinder. It just makes so much more sense to focus on geography rather than history when their sense of time is still developing. We loved doing picture books around the world that year! And yeah, we went with Logic of English at that time and made it work, but it has definitely caused issues, especially with my 2nd born now because of including so many aspects of language arts in one curriculum. When your kids have different abilities in the different areas it is tricky with a curriculum like LOE. I will have to see what to do when we get to kiddo #3... Also, it will be fascinating to see what happens when you add in Spanish reading to the mix!
I also find the reasoning behind curriculum choices to be very interesting. And I thought geography/countries of the world just like a more concrete concept, especially for a kid who's had to fly over an ocean occasionally. I think it's fairly common for kids to naturally advance more quickly through reading skills vs. other foundational LA skills...And yes, I'm also interested to see how learning to read in Spanish will play out...a new area for me...
I can’t wait to hear what you think of Sonlight Science K - that is what I am planning with my twins! We are also doing the HBL-K … World Cultures, they just switched it! I completely agree with you in Sonlights American History for kindergarten - my kids were 1st and 2nd grade when we did it and it was perfect for that age!!
From looking through it so far, I am very excited for Science K. I'm still waiting to see how good my follow-through on experiments will be. "Household items" just don't always mean the same thing in my overseas life that they mean to a typical US household...but I'm hopeful we'll be able to pull off most of them. And yes, I think the switch Sonlight made this month was a very smart move!
I just started Math with Confidence with my kindergartener and I really like it! I wish I could switch my older daughter to it but she’s just old enough to be ahead of the books being released. I also agree with not teaching history, particularly American History, at that age. We are doing an around the world study (no curriculum, I just find books), and they love it and it clicks better than when I briefly attempted to teach history to younger kids!
This is the problem with any curriculum that's still in production! But I appreciate how carefully and methodically they are doing the releases, after testing with pilot families. And I also feel like Geography is a much more concrete concept for young minds...and can lay a good foundation for history later on.
Can’t wait to hear how you like the Sonlight science in future videos! That’s one curriculum I’ve looked into but just can’t justify the price until my youngest is older. Are you planning on Sonlight HBL K when your youngest is in K? I’m pairing my boys together with HBL K once my youngest is in K… already bought it second hand in anticipation and am so excited 😊
Sonlight science had a lot of features I really liked in a science program but the price definitely was a tough one to swallow. I bought my Science K secondhand and then just bought a new pack of student sheets from Sonlight. Great that you found HBL K secondhand!! Awesome find!
I think Kindergarten is a perfect year for a literature-based geography curriculum. I just love geography! I used Around the World with picture books last year in morning basket with a 2nd and a 4th grader. My kids have both done AAR. It really turned my child who was not taught reading properly in public school into a good reader over the last two years.
You didn’t mention in your video, but just wondering if you do anything unofficially for critical thinking/logic? I know you said you’re not much of a game/puzzle person lol
I don't really...my oldest is becoming very much of a game lover and will usually persuade us to play games with him whenever he has a chance (and we have collected a handful of games he loves over the years...not a lot, but maybe 5 or 6 that he plays on repeat). I have heard good things about the Critical Thinking Company Logic/Mind bender type of activity books and may add those in someday if I have a chance to pick some up when we're in the US sometime. I always feel like I OUGHT to like these puzzles/games but they're just not my favorite hahaha.
We are using a few of the same things for 1st grade next year! I’m still undecided on whether I’m using math with confidence 1st or switching to CLE 1st. We loved Math with Confidence for K but I’m just not sure.
I'll have a video coming up soon with a thorough look at Math with Confidence 1. It's definitely going to be one of the more teacher-intensive hands-on type of math resources...
I already bought it because I love K! I need to compare the concepts being taught to CLE since that’s mainly what we use for elementary math and she’ll be transitioning to it at some point. I really love Kate Snow’s method! We also have her multiplication facts a stick book and it has been great as well!
I also was having issues with finding a curriculum that had enough Biblical focus as most seem to really lack substance. But I FOUND ONE! It was truly an answer to prayer because they have it in English AND SPANISH!! Generations of Grace Bible Curriculum, or Generaciones de Gracia. It has a teacher's guide, family devotional, activity guide which you can purchase separately but I bought the whole lump some. I teach the kids in Spanish and my husband teaches them out of the English family devotional since he only speaks English. The instructors manual shows you how to teach a lesson and is divided by age groups from ages 3 to 12. It is a lot of reading from the Bible, but that is what I wanted. Even though my son is only 4, the importance of Biblical substance was high on my list. I hope you check it out!
Yes! Science has been my most difficult curriculum to choose. We've done two different Master books series: "God's Design" and "Let's Talk Science." We prefer God's Design because it's less wordy, but we may try the "Let's Talk Science" series again later. I thought about trying Singapore's MPH Science, but I can't find any reviews on it. As far as Bible with my kindergartener, we just read our Bible together, and I have her draw pictures of what we're reading. We also have some ABC's Names of God cards from Tiny Theologians and some other books that we keep in our morning basket.
Rachel, I always enjoy your thoughtful and peacefully researched choices. I think we all have to remind ourselves that the curriculum is not the most important part of our homeschools, though it is very helpful and important. Have you considered the Berean Builders Science Through History Series for your boys? It is so economical, there are free worksheets to download, and there are simple experiments that use very simple materials. I am really curious if it is one that you considered. I would adore it if you released the Bible curriculum that your mom is writing. The Beautiful Feet curriculum that you chose is one that I wish I had used, I would love to see a more in-depth review of it once you get started. I have always adored literature based geography/history.
YES, the curriculum is not the most important part of our homeschools. Absolutely. I have had Berean Builders recommended to me before by those who think it would fit my style, and I have looked into it...but, prior experience with other resources aimed at "K-6" made me think of it more as an option for when the boys are older. I have noticed that the "K-6" age range doesn't tend to fit super well when your oldest kid is a kindergartener. And this definitely won't be the last time I talk about the Beautiful Feet geography...we'll actually be starting that up in April!
@@SevenInAll oh great, I look forward to those vlogs. I personally like formal science to begin a little later depending on the science interest of the kiddo. We spent years with the Handbook of Nature Study and "all" of the science encyclopedias (Usborne, DK, Kingfisher, etc.) to figure out where my little boy had an interest before we started a formal curriculum.
I Loved AAR. My 6 year old did Level 1 last year for K and is doing Level 2 now for 1st grade. She got some what bored recently so we are switching to Learning Language Art through Literature for 2nd grade with TGTB booster C cards and readers. She is also starting Math with Confidence 2nd grade and I’m so excited! Because of one of your videos I’ve decided to hold off on history till 3rd grade and just continue to do Social Studies and Geography for 2nd grade. I feel like she’s so innocent and isn’t ready to really dive into some of the harsh truths of history 🥹
Love hearing some of your plans! Yes--I'm very comfortable with my plan for not starting history in this next year...and I think geography actually lays a very good foundation for history! Will help give kids a better sense of where in the world events occur.
Very good choices :) I have been searching for bilingual option and I found Nobis Pacem. They have I think a solid curriculum that I am considering for my next school year.
In this video I share what our family's current 11th grader is working on: th-cam.com/video/4BoBEhnSYxc/w-d-xo.html (near the end, and I also list it in the description) For my own kids, Sonlight 100-500 level programs are probably what I'm most leaning towards, as I found those to be excellent, and will probably wait a while before choosing curriculum for other subjects.
Apologia has some great options for elementary science these days. I have a flip-through video of one of their newest releases here: th-cam.com/video/8Zx7HRqzZ1U/w-d-xo.htmlsi=4hynLZCKqMLZ54w6
We had a group Bible time, but then I had my kindergartner read one story from the Hear Me Read Bible daily. Also, once a week, I would read one story from the ABC Bible verses book by Susan Hunt. Both activities were quick, but impactful. 😊
The gospel project has homeschool curriculum for elementary school. We use the gospel project at church and I really like it but haven’t tried the homeschool curriculum. We’re also using the Greatest Story Bible Storybook which I think is very appropriate for kindergarten, but it’s not a whole curriculum, the stories just go beyond the preschool level Bible stories.
I want to start llamitas with my first grader this year. I'm a native speaker but haven't taught my kids Spanish at all. Now I'm regretting that. How do you incorporate llamitas into your daily homeschool? I think my kid gets burned out after math and language arts, I don't think she would like to do it all again in Spanish every day.
Llamitas (level 1) is definitely going to be gentle and short lessons in comparison to 1st grade math and English lessons. I'd suggest playing active games with the vocabulary flashcards. Are you set on using Llamitas? I have another video about different Spanish curriculums...with a child who didn't have any background in Spanish, I might recommend Homeschool Languages Spanish instead. I think Llamitas is easier to use if the child comprehends some Spanish already. For dealing with burnout--You can take breaks between lessons in different subjects, do different subjects at different parts of day. Start incorporating Spanish into the music you play around the house, if you don't already.
I prefer a geography to a history literature core for the younger years!!! We found we had to go to AAR with my older kids and I started it with my youngest and I feel like it’s better for her!!! We love science with books but our state requirements don’t require science till middle school so we start about age 8 in our homeschool!!! We love sonlight science for the high school levels!!! When we where in the U.K. we bought the wrong thing in the store for the experiment and I bought the right thing online so we learned about using the right thing with the right chemical makeup!!! I agree with your plan on handwriting!!! We don’t have an issue with just including bible time as Bible!!!
I share your thoughts on Bible for the kindergarten age. My son is 5.5 (my oldest) and I’ve also considered Leading Little Ones to God. We are planning to do G+C primer this year but I had debating doing Leading Little Ones instead of The Ology. Did you like The Ology with Primer?
I will be sharing a full review of Primer soon--short answer on The Ology was that I didn't dislike it...but I also didn't LOVE it. You only read 1 The Ology lesson per week....or sometimes 1 per 2 or 3 weeks, so it's not a book you're using every day in Primer. I haven't looked closely at Leading Little Ones to God for a while but I've heard it's often a good fit for this age level.
We have finished Gentle and Classical Primer! :) Review coming soon. I do plan to use it again with my younger son, but not for a while yet, he will do Gentle + Classical Preschool first.
I have also noticed the lack of Bible curriculum for the kindergarten age too. My oldest daughter is also going into kindergarten this coming year. My thoughts are leaning more toward doing character development with Bible backing of the character traits. My daughter will also be using mwc 1 for kindergarten year. We will prob finish up mwc k this week and then just play math games a few times a week to keep the information fresh until fall.
I would love to start Spanish with my daughter, but I don't speak it (only knowledge coming from 3 years in high school...so that is a scary subject for me. 😅. But it would be so great to start the bilingual journey early!!! We just finished AAR 1 recently. I loved it and thought it was so thorough (i have a speech impediment so reading didnt come as naturally to me since i couldnt say the correct sounds) so i needed a program ti really help guide me. It is so expensive to me though, so I'm hesitant to get AAR 2 when my daughter doesn't have this issue and picks things up quickly.
If you're looking for a Spanish curriculum that might work for you if you don't speak Spanish and you're teaching a Kindergartener...I would look into Homeschool Languages. That's probably the option I would have picked if we were starting from ground zero. AAR is expensive...I had that same thought. But I knew I wanted thorough. Right now, I'm feeling like we'll do 1 and 2, but probably won't do 3 and 4 as I don't really feel like there's that many more phonograms to learn after that, and I can probably teach those using flashcards/etc.
That could be a good option! I think Beautiful Feet's program works well in combination with other resources--I have purchased some extra resources to add on to it to flesh it out a little more.
This was helpful. Thanks! I really wanted to use Veritas Press Bible K. I loved so many things about Veritas. But I read thru some of the questions in the sample for K and didn't agree with some of the answers....maybe I'm missing something. But that was a great disappointment.
I think it's always a good thing to read samples - especially with Bible. I had the same sort of experience of being interested in a curriculum, then reading the sample closely and being pretty disappointed with the actual teaching or questions.
@@SevenInAll Goodness, yes! There's one in particular that looked interesting, different, and just really good - until I got a closer look. Nope! Sigh. Maybe I'm too picky but with something this important, I think I ought to be at least a little bit picky.
If you ever end up using Spelling You See, it includes a small bit of writing practice that has been fantastic for my kindergartener this year. I also love that it includes short copywork so she can practice on writing in short chunks. I love the author always says not to force or push them too hard. If they don't finish all of it within 10 minutes then to move on so that you don't stress them out or make them hate writing. I found that copywork really works better for all of my kids over an actual handwriting curriculum. We've tried several (handwriting without tears, Channies, Memoria Press, Keeping my Kinders busy, and random Amazon workbooks but tracing and copying words in short copywork chunks made such a big difference in both writing and reading!
My mom has used Spelling You See for a number of my siblings--there's a lot to like about it! I also lean more toward the copywork method of practicing handwriting...especially if it can then double as reading/spelling practice or Spanish practice for us.
HISS!!!! Handwriting Without Tears!!! When my children were stuck in public school, that's what their schools used. Awful! I've had to re-teach them how to write because it was so bad, their teachers didn't help or correct them, and my children just plain loathed it. Without tears, my foot! MANY tears, actually!!
We use answers in Genesis as bible but we def had to alter it for kindergarten. We basically read the lessons and watch the videos but don't do the worksheets because like you said they all required spelling.
Yes, I'd love it if there were some options for worksheets that were more like circle/match/number in order/or copy one word for an answer...but most make a pretty big leap!
Right now I'm reading through a Spanish book of folktales (for kids) called "Cuentos que Contaban Nuestros Abuelas" and taking the time to look up words that I'm not sure of and write them down (writing down helps me a lot with remembering new words)....last year I read a kids' chapter book in Spanish by Alma Flor Ada. Sticking with kids' books is a little less intimidating at this point than picking up a Spanish book for adults. I also ask my husband about conjugations or grammatical structures that I'm wondering about (you know, conversations he loves to have after coming home from a day of teaching Spanish...ha!). I'm also finding that simply using resources with Spanish scripts to read aloud has helped me a LOT in learning oh, that's how you say "match each vocabulary word with the picture" or "Circle the syllable that begins each word". For me, it also helps to identify weaknesses: I have a pretty good vocabulary but fewer specific verbs and I'm not very creative with using my verbs...I tend to stick to simpler sentences when I'm speaking and need to get more comfortable with more complex sentences.
Welllll I hope it is in God's plan for you to release the Bible curriculum your mom has made and is using at church!! That would be so exciting to see and use!
Leading Little Ones to God was an excellent book. We did it with the older Sonlight B level. They switched it to The Ology since then. In Kinder we used BJU Press Bible Truths K5. I didn’t have the worktext pages, but I would do the suggested hymns (which are in the back of the TE) and we would do the stories and questions. It included catechism questions too. We’ve used up through 3rd grade now, but are switching to CLE Bible and doing the Old Testament Faithopedia from Not consumed now that she’s older. 😊
Thanks for sharing! I know my mom already has Leading Little Ones to God somewhere on her shelves, so I lean toward that if I find myself wanting to add something for my older son.
My sister sent me the link to the Sold A Story podcast, and I had thought that phonics was important (you see that word everywhere for a reason, right?), but the whole thing left me 🤯 We have been using 100 easy lessons to learn to read, and it really is cool to see it work! AAR looks so good too! As far as Bible, I am right there with you. I am super picky about what religious stuff we buy, cause if I get something, I don't want to have to change huge swaths of it to match our beliefs (we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so we are definitely on the unique end of the Christian spectrum!) We read out loud from the KJV, and discuss what it actually means, since the words are hard I figure that is enough for the early elementary years.
I heard a lot of buzz about the Sold a Story podcast but I haven't actually listened to it yet. I think my homeschooled background gave me a general value for explicit phonics instruction (ironically, I didn't have much phonics instruction personally because I was the type of kid that pretty much leaped to reading fluently once I knew the alphabet...but with so many siblings, I sure eavesdropped on lots and lots of phonics instruction!)
@@SevenInAll Yeah, I told my sister that it was clear the homeschool community had really been fed up with brick and mortar school's reluctance on phonics! Turns out, homeschoolers knew better!!
You probably already heard but they are switching A and K for sonlight this year. A lot of people felt the K American History was too much. But A does have a lot of chapter books.
I always have wanted to try a Beautiful Feet Books level!!!
Yes! That news came out after I filmed this video, but it's very good to note! I think that was a great decision on Sonlight's part, the K program was a LOT for Kindergarten. I'm still very content with my choice though--excited to stick with picture books for the most part and to dive deep into learning about countries of the world.
@@SevenInAll It sounds like such a wonderful plan especially with it relating to your interests and where you live that will make it come alive even more!!
I am doing A with a six year old K student and an eight year old and it has been totally fine for them, a tad light but fine still.
Picture books are magical! Sarah Mackenzie on Real Aloud Revival changed my view on them years ago. I had stopped reading them and started pushing chapter books like levels and she spoke about the complex lexicon in chapter books and how some are even written towards older kids and it was like a whole wall opened up. I still read them to all my kids even to my 13 year old!!
This was a fun video to listen to and I hope you have a wonderful year!!
@@SevenInAll There is no "perfect" curriculum, except that "we" pursue that with the tools we have. Just as in relationships, once married, make it work no matter what!
I was about to say the same thing, lol.
I love hearing the thought process behind curriculum choices. That's usually more helpful than the picks themselves. :) And agreed on so much of what you said. I had the same thoughts when my oldest son was in kinder. It just makes so much more sense to focus on geography rather than history when their sense of time is still developing. We loved doing picture books around the world that year! And yeah, we went with Logic of English at that time and made it work, but it has definitely caused issues, especially with my 2nd born now because of including so many aspects of language arts in one curriculum. When your kids have different abilities in the different areas it is tricky with a curriculum like LOE. I will have to see what to do when we get to kiddo #3... Also, it will be fascinating to see what happens when you add in Spanish reading to the mix!
I also find the reasoning behind curriculum choices to be very interesting. And I thought geography/countries of the world just like a more concrete concept, especially for a kid who's had to fly over an ocean occasionally. I think it's fairly common for kids to naturally advance more quickly through reading skills vs. other foundational LA skills...And yes, I'm also interested to see how learning to read in Spanish will play out...a new area for me...
I can’t wait to hear what you think of Sonlight Science K - that is what I am planning with my twins! We are also doing the HBL-K … World Cultures, they just switched it! I completely agree with you in Sonlights American History for kindergarten - my kids were 1st and 2nd grade when we did it and it was perfect for that age!!
From looking through it so far, I am very excited for Science K. I'm still waiting to see how good my follow-through on experiments will be. "Household items" just don't always mean the same thing in my overseas life that they mean to a typical US household...but I'm hopeful we'll be able to pull off most of them. And yes, I think the switch Sonlight made this month was a very smart move!
Hope you love BFB! We have made great memories from that one. And totally agree about not needing to focus on grammar at such a young age
Yes, I figure there's plenty of time for all the rest of "LA" once he's really got phonics down.
I just started Math with Confidence with my kindergartener and I really like it! I wish I could switch my older daughter to it but she’s just old enough to be ahead of the books being released. I also agree with not teaching history, particularly American History, at that age. We are doing an around the world study (no curriculum, I just find books), and they love it and it clicks better than when I briefly attempted to teach history to younger kids!
This is the problem with any curriculum that's still in production! But I appreciate how carefully and methodically they are doing the releases, after testing with pilot families. And I also feel like Geography is a much more concrete concept for young minds...and can lay a good foundation for history later on.
Can’t wait to hear how you like the Sonlight science in future videos! That’s one curriculum I’ve looked into but just can’t justify the price until my youngest is older. Are you planning on Sonlight HBL K when your youngest is in K? I’m pairing my boys together with HBL K once my youngest is in K… already bought it second hand in anticipation and am so excited 😊
Sonlight science had a lot of features I really liked in a science program but the price definitely was a tough one to swallow. I bought my Science K secondhand and then just bought a new pack of student sheets from Sonlight. Great that you found HBL K secondhand!! Awesome find!
I think Kindergarten is a perfect year for a literature-based geography curriculum. I just love geography! I used Around the World with picture books last year in morning basket with a 2nd and a 4th grader. My kids have both done AAR. It really turned my child who was not taught reading properly in public school into a good reader over the last two years.
That's awesome to hear about the reading progress with AAR! I'm really looking forward to our adventure around the world! :)
You didn’t mention in your video, but just wondering if you do anything unofficially for critical thinking/logic? I know you said you’re not much of a game/puzzle person lol
I don't really...my oldest is becoming very much of a game lover and will usually persuade us to play games with him whenever he has a chance (and we have collected a handful of games he loves over the years...not a lot, but maybe 5 or 6 that he plays on repeat). I have heard good things about the Critical Thinking Company Logic/Mind bender type of activity books and may add those in someday if I have a chance to pick some up when we're in the US sometime. I always feel like I OUGHT to like these puzzles/games but they're just not my favorite hahaha.
We are using a few of the same things for 1st grade next year! I’m still undecided on whether I’m using math with confidence 1st or switching to CLE 1st. We loved Math with Confidence for K but I’m just not sure.
I'll have a video coming up soon with a thorough look at Math with Confidence 1. It's definitely going to be one of the more teacher-intensive hands-on type of math resources...
I already bought it because I love K! I need to compare the concepts being taught to CLE since that’s mainly what we use for elementary math and she’ll be transitioning to it at some point.
I really love Kate Snow’s method! We also have her multiplication facts a stick book and it has been great as well!
I also was having issues with finding a curriculum that had enough Biblical focus as most seem to really lack substance. But I FOUND ONE! It was truly an answer to prayer because they have it in English AND SPANISH!! Generations of Grace Bible Curriculum, or Generaciones de Gracia. It has a teacher's guide, family devotional, activity guide which you can purchase separately but I bought the whole lump some. I teach the kids in Spanish and my husband teaches them out of the English family devotional since he only speaks English. The instructors manual shows you how to teach a lesson and is divided by age groups from ages 3 to 12. It is a lot of reading from the Bible, but that is what I wanted. Even though my son is only 4, the importance of Biblical substance was high on my list. I hope you check it out!
Thanks for sharing! I'll have to check it out!
That was interesting to hear. Thanks for sharing all that. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
Yes! Science has been my most difficult curriculum to choose. We've done two different Master books series: "God's Design" and "Let's Talk Science." We prefer God's Design because it's less wordy, but we may try the "Let's Talk Science" series again later. I thought about trying Singapore's MPH Science, but I can't find any reviews on it. As far as Bible with my kindergartener, we just read our Bible together, and I have her draw pictures of what we're reading. We also have some ABC's Names of God cards from Tiny Theologians and some other books that we keep in our morning basket.
Science is a tough one!
Rachel, I always enjoy your thoughtful and peacefully researched choices. I think we all have to remind ourselves that the curriculum is not the most important part of our homeschools, though it is very helpful and important. Have you considered the Berean Builders Science Through History Series for your boys? It is so economical, there are free worksheets to download, and there are simple experiments that use very simple materials. I am really curious if it is one that you considered. I would adore it if you released the Bible curriculum that your mom is writing. The Beautiful Feet curriculum that you chose is one that I wish I had used, I would love to see a more in-depth review of it once you get started. I have always adored literature based geography/history.
YES, the curriculum is not the most important part of our homeschools. Absolutely. I have had Berean Builders recommended to me before by those who think it would fit my style, and I have looked into it...but, prior experience with other resources aimed at "K-6" made me think of it more as an option for when the boys are older. I have noticed that the "K-6" age range doesn't tend to fit super well when your oldest kid is a kindergartener. And this definitely won't be the last time I talk about the Beautiful Feet geography...we'll actually be starting that up in April!
@@SevenInAll oh great, I look forward to those vlogs. I personally like formal science to begin a little later depending on the science interest of the kiddo. We spent years with the Handbook of Nature Study and "all" of the science encyclopedias (Usborne, DK, Kingfisher, etc.) to figure out where my little boy had an interest before we started a formal curriculum.
I Loved AAR. My 6 year old did Level 1 last year for K and is doing Level 2 now for 1st grade. She got some what bored recently so we are switching to Learning Language Art through Literature for 2nd grade with TGTB booster C cards and readers. She is also starting Math with Confidence 2nd grade and I’m so excited! Because of one of your videos I’ve decided to hold off on history till 3rd grade and just continue to do Social Studies and Geography for 2nd grade. I feel like she’s so innocent and isn’t ready to really dive into some of the harsh truths of history 🥹
Love hearing some of your plans! Yes--I'm very comfortable with my plan for not starting history in this next year...and I think geography actually lays a very good foundation for history! Will help give kids a better sense of where in the world events occur.
@@SevenInAll thank you! Your videos have helped me tremendously I appreciate it 🫶🏼
Very good choices :)
I have been searching for bilingual option and I found Nobis Pacem. They have I think a solid curriculum that I am considering for my next school year.
I have heard of them for Spanish-speaking homeschoolers!
New subscriber! Love to have you ❤❤
Thank you for coming by!
Would love to see high school choices…either you did and liked or are considering doing
In this video I share what our family's current 11th grader is working on: th-cam.com/video/4BoBEhnSYxc/w-d-xo.html (near the end, and I also list it in the description)
For my own kids, Sonlight 100-500 level programs are probably what I'm most leaning towards, as I found those to be excellent, and will probably wait a while before choosing curriculum for other subjects.
What about Apologia for Science? I’m new(ish) to kinder HS but well seasoned in older grades.
Apologia has some great options for elementary science these days. I have a flip-through video of one of their newest releases here: th-cam.com/video/8Zx7HRqzZ1U/w-d-xo.htmlsi=4hynLZCKqMLZ54w6
We had a group Bible time, but then I had my kindergartner read one story from the Hear Me Read Bible daily. Also, once a week, I would read one story from the ABC Bible verses book by Susan Hunt. Both activities were quick, but impactful. 😊
Thanks for sharing what you used!
The gospel project has homeschool curriculum for elementary school. We use the gospel project at church and I really like it but haven’t tried the homeschool curriculum. We’re also using the Greatest Story Bible Storybook which I think is very appropriate for kindergarten, but it’s not a whole curriculum, the stories just go beyond the preschool level Bible stories.
Thanks for the recommendation!
I want to start llamitas with my first grader this year. I'm a native speaker but haven't taught my kids Spanish at all. Now I'm regretting that. How do you incorporate llamitas into your daily homeschool? I think my kid gets burned out after math and language arts, I don't think she would like to do it all again in Spanish every day.
Llamitas (level 1) is definitely going to be gentle and short lessons in comparison to 1st grade math and English lessons. I'd suggest playing active games with the vocabulary flashcards. Are you set on using Llamitas? I have another video about different Spanish curriculums...with a child who didn't have any background in Spanish, I might recommend Homeschool Languages Spanish instead. I think Llamitas is easier to use if the child comprehends some Spanish already.
For dealing with burnout--You can take breaks between lessons in different subjects, do different subjects at different parts of day. Start incorporating Spanish into the music you play around the house, if you don't already.
I prefer a geography to a history literature core for the younger years!!! We found we had to go to AAR with my older kids and I started it with my youngest and I feel like it’s better for her!!! We love science with books but our state requirements don’t require science till middle school so we start about age 8 in our homeschool!!! We love sonlight science for the high school levels!!! When we where in the U.K. we bought the wrong thing in the store for the experiment and I bought the right thing online so we learned about using the right thing with the right chemical makeup!!! I agree with your plan on handwriting!!! We don’t have an issue with just including bible time as Bible!!!
I'm very excited about our geography focus for the next year!
I share your thoughts on Bible for the kindergarten age. My son is 5.5 (my oldest) and I’ve also considered Leading Little Ones to God. We are planning to do G+C primer this year but I had debating doing Leading Little Ones instead of The Ology. Did you like The Ology with Primer?
I will be sharing a full review of Primer soon--short answer on The Ology was that I didn't dislike it...but I also didn't LOVE it. You only read 1 The Ology lesson per week....or sometimes 1 per 2 or 3 weeks, so it's not a book you're using every day in Primer. I haven't looked closely at Leading Little Ones to God for a while but I've heard it's often a good fit for this age level.
Does this mean you’re not using Gentle and Classical Primer?
We have finished Gentle and Classical Primer! :) Review coming soon. I do plan to use it again with my younger son, but not for a while yet, he will do Gentle + Classical Preschool first.
I have also noticed the lack of Bible curriculum for the kindergarten age too. My oldest daughter is also going into kindergarten this coming year. My thoughts are leaning more toward doing character development with Bible backing of the character traits. My daughter will also be using mwc 1 for kindergarten year. We will prob finish up mwc k this week and then just play math games a few times a week to keep the information fresh until fall.
I would love to start Spanish with my daughter, but I don't speak it (only knowledge coming from 3 years in high school...so that is a scary subject for me. 😅. But it would be so great to start the bilingual journey early!!! We just finished AAR 1 recently. I loved it and thought it was so thorough (i have a speech impediment so reading didnt come as naturally to me since i couldnt say the correct sounds) so i needed a program ti really help guide me. It is so expensive to me though, so I'm hesitant to get AAR 2 when my daughter doesn't have this issue and picks things up quickly.
If you're looking for a Spanish curriculum that might work for you if you don't speak Spanish and you're teaching a Kindergartener...I would look into Homeschool Languages. That's probably the option I would have picked if we were starting from ground zero. AAR is expensive...I had that same thought. But I knew I wanted thorough. Right now, I'm feeling like we'll do 1 and 2, but probably won't do 3 and 4 as I don't really feel like there's that many more phonograms to learn after that, and I can probably teach those using flashcards/etc.
I would love to see what you did for each country when you recap. If you feel up to it
I will try to share that in our recaps!
Wanted to leave my suggestion: I really loved Christie Thomas’ Wise for Salvation for a Bible curriculum for this age.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll have to look that up!
I couldn’t choose between BF’s all around the world and Guest Hollow’s Jr geography for my 3rd grader. I’m gonna try to combine both maybe.
That could be a good option! I think Beautiful Feet's program works well in combination with other resources--I have purchased some extra resources to add on to it to flesh it out a little more.
Could you do a video in review of using All About Reading?
I will definitely be filming a review of that one!
I just heard of Grapevine. Have you considered that Bible curriculum?
I have heard into it, I've only looked into it a little bit but it does intrigue me! Maybe when my boys are a bit older I will check it out again.
This was helpful. Thanks! I really wanted to use Veritas Press Bible K. I loved so many things about Veritas. But I read thru some of the questions in the sample for K and didn't agree with some of the answers....maybe I'm missing something. But that was a great disappointment.
I think it's always a good thing to read samples - especially with Bible. I had the same sort of experience of being interested in a curriculum, then reading the sample closely and being pretty disappointed with the actual teaching or questions.
@@SevenInAll Goodness, yes! There's one in particular that looked interesting, different, and just really good - until I got a closer look. Nope! Sigh. Maybe I'm too picky but with something this important, I think I ought to be at least a little bit picky.
If you ever end up using Spelling You See, it includes a small bit of writing practice that has been fantastic for my kindergartener this year. I also love that it includes short copywork so she can practice on writing in short chunks. I love the author always says not to force or push them too hard. If they don't finish all of it within 10 minutes then to move on so that you don't stress them out or make them hate writing.
I found that copywork really works better for all of my kids over an actual handwriting curriculum. We've tried several (handwriting without tears, Channies, Memoria Press, Keeping my Kinders busy, and random Amazon workbooks but tracing and copying words in short copywork chunks made such a big difference in both writing and reading!
My mom has used Spelling You See for a number of my siblings--there's a lot to like about it! I also lean more toward the copywork method of practicing handwriting...especially if it can then double as reading/spelling practice or Spanish practice for us.
HISS!!!! Handwriting Without Tears!!! When my children were stuck in public school, that's what their schools used. Awful! I've had to re-teach them how to write because it was so bad, their teachers didn't help or correct them, and my children just plain loathed it. Without tears, my foot! MANY tears, actually!!
We use answers in Genesis as bible but we def had to alter it for kindergarten. We basically read the lessons and watch the videos but don't do the worksheets because like you said they all required spelling.
Yes, I'd love it if there were some options for worksheets that were more like circle/match/number in order/or copy one word for an answer...but most make a pretty big leap!
What do YOU personally use to further your Spanish studies?
Right now I'm reading through a Spanish book of folktales (for kids) called "Cuentos que Contaban Nuestros Abuelas" and taking the time to look up words that I'm not sure of and write them down (writing down helps me a lot with remembering new words)....last year I read a kids' chapter book in Spanish by Alma Flor Ada. Sticking with kids' books is a little less intimidating at this point than picking up a Spanish book for adults.
I also ask my husband about conjugations or grammatical structures that I'm wondering about (you know, conversations he loves to have after coming home from a day of teaching Spanish...ha!). I'm also finding that simply using resources with Spanish scripts to read aloud has helped me a LOT in learning oh, that's how you say "match each vocabulary word with the picture" or "Circle the syllable that begins each word".
For me, it also helps to identify weaknesses: I have a pretty good vocabulary but fewer specific verbs and I'm not very creative with using my verbs...I tend to stick to simpler sentences when I'm speaking and need to get more comfortable with more complex sentences.
Welllll I hope it is in God's plan for you to release the Bible curriculum your mom has made and is using at church!! That would be so exciting to see and use!
Leading Little Ones to God was an excellent book. We did it with the older Sonlight B level. They switched it to The Ology since then.
In Kinder we used BJU Press Bible Truths K5. I didn’t have the worktext pages, but I would do the suggested hymns (which are in the back of the TE) and we would do the stories and questions. It included catechism questions too. We’ve used up through 3rd grade now, but are switching to CLE Bible and doing the Old Testament Faithopedia from Not consumed now that she’s older. 😊
Thanks for sharing! I know my mom already has Leading Little Ones to God somewhere on her shelves, so I lean toward that if I find myself wanting to add something for my older son.
We loved using leading little ones to God. It was short and my kiddos seemed to get a lot out of it.
I think I may wind that one into our routine.
I think we are using build your library level 0 that is around the world
That sounds fun!
My sister sent me the link to the Sold A Story podcast, and I had thought that phonics was important (you see that word everywhere for a reason, right?), but the whole thing left me 🤯 We have been using 100 easy lessons to learn to read, and it really is cool to see it work! AAR looks so good too!
As far as Bible, I am right there with you. I am super picky about what religious stuff we buy, cause if I get something, I don't want to have to change huge swaths of it to match our beliefs (we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so we are definitely on the unique end of the Christian spectrum!) We read out loud from the KJV, and discuss what it actually means, since the words are hard I figure that is enough for the early elementary years.
I heard a lot of buzz about the Sold a Story podcast but I haven't actually listened to it yet. I think my homeschooled background gave me a general value for explicit phonics instruction (ironically, I didn't have much phonics instruction personally because I was the type of kid that pretty much leaped to reading fluently once I knew the alphabet...but with so many siblings, I sure eavesdropped on lots and lots of phonics instruction!)
@@SevenInAll Yeah, I told my sister that it was clear the homeschool community had really been fed up with brick and mortar school's reluctance on phonics! Turns out, homeschoolers knew better!!
Masterbooks has good stuff
Good to know!