Today, I am sharing our gifted homeschool curriculum choices for kindergarten, 1st grade, and 3rd grade.

I don’t know how it happened, but September is here. Whether you like it or not, it’s time for planning and getting back into the (home)school swing of things. 

Last year, I wrote this post about our curriculum. I almost didn’t write it because we do not use any of the resources mentioned in a linear fashion, but rather we pick and choose and dabble and dive down rabbit holes. Well, I am so thankful that I decided to write that post because it resonated with readers. Parents of gifted and twice-exceptional children can relate to this style of homeschooling.

You have asked for an updated post for this school year, and as promised, I have written one. I hope you enjoy it!

Gifted Homeschool Curriculum Choices

{K, 1st, and 3rd grade}

I invite you to read our original curriculum post if you haven’t already. We will be using most of the resources outlined therein, but with more intention. This will be my first year homeschooling all three children from start to finish and I am attempting to be more organized and thoughtful about our focus.

If you’re new here, you must know that we are gifted homeschool curriculum ‘dabblers’

If you haven’t already, I invite you to read our posts from past years. You can find all previous homeschool curriculum and resource posts on this landing page:

• Gifted Homeschool Curriculum Choices Year by Year: A Resource Page

Homeschool resource landing pages:

• Homeschooling: Resources by Academic Subject
• Gameschooling: Resources by Academic Subject
• Books: Resources by Academic Subject
• The Best Homeschool Subscriptions and Memberships

Check out My Little Poppies Course Offerings:

• The Lazy Homeschooler’s Guide to Unit Studies
• How to Rock THE MOST IMPORTANT PART of Your Homeschool Day
• Gameschooling 101: How to Add More Play to Your Homeschool Day

Homeschool Routine vs. Schedule

When I first found myself (unexpectedly) homeschooling, I attempted to recreate school at home. I created a schedule and I tried my best to stick to them.

That didn’t last long.

Next, I tried a loop schedule. I love the concept, but it didn’t work for us.

Homeschooling is an evolution, especially when all you have ever known has been the public schools. That public school mindset is tough to shake!

Eventually, through trial and error, I found what works for us right now: routines. 

Gifted Homeschool Curriculum Choices & Our Homeschool Routine 

I plan to start each morning with Coffee and Books. (I promise to be better about sharing Coffee and Books on Instagram. You have my word!)

 

Coffee and Books! ?☕️?

A photo posted by MyLittlePoppies (@my_little_poppies) on Aug 22, 2016 at 5:07am PDT

After Coffee and Books, our days will follow this general pattern:

Monday – Music

Tuesday – Poetry

Wednesday – Nature

Thursday – Art

Friday – Games Galore

Saturday – Family Movie Night

I am making one addition to our morning time this year. As part of my poolside professional development, I read a fantastic book. I loved it so much that I quickly devoured every book the author has written and then several of the books she recommended. Now, we have always loved math games and play over here but I am going to be intentional about adding it to our morning routine. I think it will be a great way to sneak in some fun, practice math in a stealth way, and start the day off on the right foot.

Planning Our Days

I know I’ve gushed about it multiple times before, but I am a huge fan of Sarah McKenzie’s homeschool spiral notebook. Sarah’s spiral notebook idea is both simple and genius. We have adapted it to fit our family’s homeschool needs.

Instead of a spiral notebook, which my oldest ruined in less than one month, we use these heavy-duty K-2 composition notebooks. I like them for several reasons:

• The are durable
• The lines are perfect for elementary school students who are still working on proper letter formation and spacing
• The top half of each page is blank, leaving space for art

Each evening, I sit down with my favorite pens and get to work. The entire process takes me less than 10 minutes. I simply write the date and each child’s “must-dos” for the day. Our “must-dos” are those heavy-hitter subjects, like math and reading, and also those neglected chores that I’m tired of nagging my kids about. I also include the fun stuff, or what I call “the homeschool carrot” –  the child must complete the must-dos to get the carrot.

This year, I am thinking of adding a bit more to each child’s notebook. These will vary by the day, but here are some of my ideas:

• Asking the children to write down something they are grateful for (so that we can incorporate our gratitude journals)
• Share a fun fact about the day
• Offer a “challege” for the day unique to each child. It might be a question to research or something to create. The goal is to have it be fun, novel, and unique to each child’s current interests.

When I am finished, I place each child’s notebook on our kitchen island. That way, during Coffee and Books, they can see what is planned for that day. They are also welcome to doodle in the space provided.

In years past, I also had a composition notebook for each subject. This year, I am keeping everything one notebook. If the kids have a free write assignment, it will go in that notebook. If they watch a movie, the review will go in the notebook. Everything will be in one spot. When we fill one, we will start another. (The only exception will be our doodle diaries because we use a specific sketch pad for those.) This way, nothing gets lost. Also, it makes for easier end-of-the-year planning. When it is time to assemble year-end homeschool portfolios, all the work is in one place.

Our Focus, By Subject

I plan to use the resources mentioned in our original post, but I am trying to be more intentional about having a focus. Here are our main areas of focus this year and we will dabble in the rest!

Math

We probably use the most resources for math. I am paranoid about educational gaps and I like to keep it both fun and interesting.

My 3rd grader will use the following:

• Beast Academy
• Khan Academy

My younger two (kindergarten and 1st grade) will use the following:

• Singapore
• Right Start (trying something new!)

Everyone will enjoy:

• Learning about money thanks to this book
• Math storybooks
• Math games
• Logic games

 

Math today: The Button Box. Have you read it? We read it (again!) this morning and the kids have been sorting, counting, matching, and trading buttons all afternoon. I love fantastic math storybooks! Do you have a favorite?

A photo posted by MyLittlePoppies (@my_little_poppies) on Aug 15, 2016 at 1:36pm PDT

 

Language Arts

Everyone will enjoy:

• Amazing read alouds
• Michael Clay Thompson’s Language Arts program
• Word of the Week – This is something goofy that we started last year. I write a new vocabulary word (often a silly one) on the kids’ bathroom mirror using window markers. We try to use it as much as possible during the week.
• Parent-Child journals- This is something I’ve been doing off and on for years. During the kids’ quiet time, I’ll often leave them a note in yet another composition notebook that is kept in each child’s bedroom. This isn’t a daily thing, just something fun that encourages writing.

Science

My oldest two participate in a homeschool nature class. In addition, everyone will use:

• Building Foundations for Scientific Understanding: A Science Curriculum for K-2 by Bernard J. Nebel – This is nothing like the [boring!] elementary school science textbooks of old. I am so excited to use this resource- it looks fantastic!
• Exploring Nature with Children
• Groovy Lab in a Box
• Frequent hikes
• Nature games
• STEM toys
• STEM books
• Science storybooks
• We are excited to use these mini-microscopes more in the upcoming months. We discovered them last winter and they have inspired so much learning… especially on hikes!

Also, I just discovered this gem:

STEAM Kids

This beautifully-illustrated book is filled with 52 hands-on STEAM projects for children ages 4-10. Activity chapters are broken up into five areas of inspiration: Build, Color, Play, Sense, and Grow and each is identified by its STEAM category (science, technology, engineering, art, and/or mathematics).

Each activity explains the STEAM behind it, detailed instructions and illustrations, materials required, difficulty level, time required, and several extension activities to take the learning to the next level.

One thing I really love about STEAM Kids is the fact that it includes an activity planner at the end. This is akin to a meal planner, but for STEAM activities. The planner includes five activities per week (one from each category) and materials required for over 10 weeks. The activity planner also includes fantastic field trip ideas and links to over fifty additional STEAM extension activities.

STEAM Kids was created by a team of amazing moms and bloggers. You’ll recognize many of these names: Anne Carey (Left Brain Craft Brain), Ana Dziengel (Babble Dabble Do), Amber Scardino (Wee Warhols), Chelsey Marashian, (Buggy and Buddy), Dayna Abraham (Lemon Lime Adventures), Erica Clark (What Do We Do All Day?), Jamie Hand (Handmade Kids Art), Karyn Tripp (Teach Beside Me), Leslie Manlapig (Pink Stripey Socks), Malia Hallowell (Playdough to Plato), and Shelley Brewer (STEAM Powered Family). These women are a group of engineers, teachers, math nerds, art lovers and writers who all believe that STEAM is important for children to experience and learn.

Geography & History

Everyone will use:

• Around the World Stories
• Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time by Jamie C. Martin – We have been slowly working our way through the books listed in this phenomenal resource. We will continue to do so, in conjunction with the GYCTW book club over at Simple Homeschool. We can’t wait to test out some of the recipes!
• History Unboxed
• Geography games

Art

My oldest two kiddos take an art course and we will continue our outdoor art. In addition, everyone will dabble in:

• Discovering Great Artists by Maryann F. Kohl and Kim Solga
• Doodle Diaries
• Mixing with the Masters, Volume One
• Simply Charlotte Mason Picture Study Portfolios

Music

Guess what?! My kids and I are taking a 10-week ukelele course this fall! We are super excited! In addition, my big two will take piano lessons. And then everyone will:

• Music Appreciation with Zeezok
• Music books

Cooking

Last year, I started something new and it worked so well for our family. I’ve never enjoyed cooking and, if we’re being honest, I still don’t love it… but I’ve learned that it is far more enjoyable with a buddy.

• Every weekend, each child selects a recipe. We purchase the necessary ingredients and then each child gets the chance to be “lead cook” one night during the week. They help me prep, cook, and clean-up. That guarantees three nights of dinner with help and, if we plan it correctly, plenty of leftovers for the other nights!
• Restaurants – Last year, my children had a weekly restaurant for their grandparents. I am hoping to continue this tradition again this year, although I need to set it up with the grandparents first!
• We are all learning how to use my new Instant Pot. I am hoping this will make dinner time less chaotic some nights.
• Cooking books

Service

This year, I am hoping to work on monthly service projects with my children. We want to spread the kindness out all year long, not just during the holidays!

Technology

My oldest is considering taking a typing course, although we haven’t decided on one just yet. Everyone will dabble in:

• Coding

Foreign Language

Everyone will dabble in:

• Song School Latin
• Rosetta Stone Spanish

Do you want to see our other gifted homeschool curriculum choices?

If you are interested in checking out previous years, you can view them here:

• Gifted Homeschool Curriculum Choices Year by Year: A Resource Page

Now, it’s your turn. Tell me: What are your gifted homeschool curriculum choices this year? Share here!