This post was our very first post on gifted curriculum choices. I always refer to this post as “the one I almost didn’t write” and, gosh, I’m glad I did. Our resource-dabbling resonated with so many parents out there!
Gifted Homeschooling Curriculum Choices:
{Pre-K, K, and 2nd grade}
If you’re new here, you must know that we are gifted homeschooling 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:
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 Homeschool Course Offerings from My Little Poppies:
- 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
Gifted Homeschool Curriculum Choices
I almost didn’t write this post, you guys.
When we had our oldest tested, the psychologist advised us not to think too far ahead. She recommended that we think in terms of six-month to one-year chunks. I’ve been trying to heed this advice and have found it quite helpful. The reality is, when you have an asynchronous child like ours, figuring out homeschooling curriculum can be tricky. Leo is many ages at once, and therefore many grade levels at once.
When I think of our homeschool, curricula doesn’t immediately come to mind. I think of us as student-led, passion-led, unschool-leaning homeschoolers of an asynchronous many-ages-and-grades-at-once-kiddo, and as such, I don’t use homeschool curriculum in the traditional sense. I don’t plan for the year during the summer. I don’t open chapter one and work through the resource until we have reached the end of the book. Instead, we pick and choose based on interest. We skip through entire chapters. We dabble in this and then lose ourselves in that. There’s a lot of diving down rabbit holes and hands-on learning happening over here and much of it is unplanned.
But, here’s the thing… If you are homeschooling a profoundly gifted child, even if you are student-led, passion-led, unschool-leaning homeschoolers, that kid is going to plow through A LOT of curriculum. I know there are other parents out there who can relate to this and so I ultimately decided to write this here little post.
We are blessed to have access to a ton of curriculum, thanks to the generosity of friends and neighbors, a fantastic local used bookstore, and the used section of good ol’ Amazon. When you read this, please keep in mind that we are not following a clear path from point A to point B, but rather we are dabbling in some material and using other material to dive down rabbit holes.
Mathematics
Bedtime Math
We have been using Bedtime Math for a few years now. I love the texts and the nightly emails. My children adore the quirkiness and fun facts in each story, and I love that the books have three challenge levels so that it can be used with multiple ages.
Life of Fred
We have been reading Life of Fred at bedtime for the past year-plus. Fred is a quirky, funny, and interesting read. I don’t feel comfortable using Fred as a stand-alone curriculum, but I will say that my children have learned a ton from Fred. When you read LoF, you are learning about all subjects, not just math.
Singapore Math
We used Singapore Math last year and will use it again this year. I love how thorough the program is, and how easily it can be compacted for gifted learners.
Beast Academy
Leo is thrilled to be starting Beast Academy this year. BA, from the makers of the Art of Problem Solving, is a rigorous math curriculum in graphic novel style.
Miquon Math
Homeschooling one child is interesting because the younger children not only pick up on the material that you are teaching, but they also request their very own lessons. This year, I’m planning to dabble in Miquon Math for my younger two. They have repeatedly asked for more than bedtime math stories. I chose Miquon because someone gave it to me so it’s already here, and I like that the program is so hands-on with concepts. Plus, my little two love Cuisenaire rods!
Games
I love to use board games for every subject, but board games provide a wonderful way to practice math skills for children who are resisting curriculum or those who need extra skill practice.
Math Story Books
We love to read books about mathematics. From Full House: An Invitation to Fractions, to Sir Cumference, to Penrose the Mathematical Cat, to The Number Devil, to the Murderous Maths series… we love them all!
Reading, Writing, Language Arts, and Handwriting
Michael Clay Thompson: Grammar Island
This will be our first year using MCT. I have been reading rave reviews of the program for gifted children for years and I decided it is finally time to try it out over here!
Draw Write Now
We found this program at our local dump and it’s a wonderful way to encourage children to write. The program teaches children how to make simple drawings, and then they copy several sentences about a given topic. There are eight books in the series. Leo has almost completed the program and I will be starting it with my little two this year at their request. I like to combine it with Handwriting Without Tears, as it is a great way to practice the letters while keeping it interesting.
Handwriting Without Tears
Leo used this program when he was in occupational therapy and when we were discharged it was recommended that we continue it for a bit. I see a huge improvement in handwriting when he’s been using it. It can be a bit on the dry side for sure, but it certainly teaches children proper letter formation and pencil grip.
Stone Soup
We adore this magazine! Written for kids by kids, my children delight in the stories and artwork that arrives each month. So many stories have served as creative writing inspiration over here!
Read Alouds
We incorporate read alouds for every subject. Throughout the year, I read fiction, nonfiction, poetry, textbooks, magazines, and more. My children also enjoy audiobooks and SKYBRARY by Reading Rainbow.
Science & STEM
Our children love hands-on science. We love to take an entire day and devote it to science. Sometimes we do simple kitchen science, while other times we pull from science books, online resources, or boxed kits.
Magic School Bus
My kids adore the Magic School Bus series, the Magic School Bus books, and the Magic School Bus science kits. Combined, this is a fantastic and easy way to introduce a love of science to young children.
Groovy Lab in a Box
I have gushed about Groovy Lab in a Box on this site multiple times. Why? Because the company is incredible. We have had a number of boxed subscriptions over the years and Groovy Lab in a Box is our absolute favorite!
Young Scientists Club
Let me tell you, one of the bonus features of living through construction is that you did not have the chance to complete every kit that arrived. We thoroughly enjoyed these kits until we had to stop due to construction. We have several Young Scientists Club kits leftover from last year that the kids will love to try out!
Tinker Crate
Leo received this subscription as a gift and he has enjoyed it immensely. I love that he can complete these kits with no assistance from me, so they are a perfect activity for a day when I am busy for whatever reason.
Brain Pop!
My children are obsessed with Moby the robot from Brain Pop! They adore the program and I’m amazed by what they learn from a little bit of screen time. I love that Brain Pop! covers so many subjects. It’s a wonderful resource.
Nature Study
My children love to explore the natural world with their very own nature packs, which are filled to the brim with science fun.
Science Books, Magazines, and Read Alouds
One of the main ways I teach science is through read alouds. Here are just a few of the books we read from:
Horrible Science series
The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim
The Usborne Science Encyclopedia
Usborne 100 Things to Know About Science
Usborne World of the Microscope
Science/STEM Toys & Activities
We also enjoy taking science a bit further with some hands-on fun, using toys and STEM-related activities, including:
Our family’s favorite STEM toys
History & Geography
Horrible History
I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that we are a Horrible fan. We have these boxed sets for every subject and we wish there were more! Leo loves the Horrible History boxed set.
Story of the World (audio, text, workbook)
Last year, we completed SOW Volume 1 and part of Volume 2. We love to listen to SOW while we are driving. I pop in the CD and Leo follows along in the text. Then, later, we complete workbook activities that are of interest to us.
History of US Joy Hakim
We started this series last year as well, and will continue on this year. Some may balk at covering two histories with a 7-year-old, but believe me: he asked for it.
Liberty’s Kids
This series is extremely affordable and educational. It’s a wonderful way to teach your children a little US history!
Kids’ Animated History with Pipo
It can be difficult for very young children to understand ancient history. My kids have enjoyed this series so much.
Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
This is yet another television series that my children adore!
Mapping the World by Heart
This curriculum is new to us this year and I am excited to try it out!
Travel Journal
This was one of the most fun and easiest projects we did this year and we learned so much about geography and culture!
Pen Pals
We are so grateful to our pen pals! We have learned so much from them this year. From Tanzania, to New Zealand, to Taiwan, to NJ, to NV, to right here in NH- we love them all. Our pen pals include former teachers, DYS friends, friends of mine, and even a Catholic Brother!
Read Alouds
Usborne Encyclopedia of Geography with Complete World Atlas
Usborne Encyclopedia of World History
Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World
Games
We love to incorporate games into our homeschool routine, including Scrambled States and Brain Box World.
Foreign Language
Song School Latin
Children learn so much when learning incorporates music. All three of my children love to listen to Song School Latin, but Seuss is obsessed. He will often sing Latin songs while we are out and about. I’ll often pop in the CD while we are eating lunch to get some language learning in.
Rosetta Stone Spanish
When Leo was in kindergarten, his favorite subject was Spanish. We dabbled in Spanish and Latin this past school year, but we were frequently thrown off-course by construction. This year, we are excited to try out Rosetta Stone for Spanish.
Technology
Leo’s Lounge!
Leo was the first blogger in our family, as his blog predates mine by several months. I cannot tell you how much he has learned through blogging. Blogging encourages his creativity, writing, typing, photography, and technology skills, just to name a few!
Coding
Last year, Leo enjoyed using Code.org until construction made our homeschooling routine a bit tricky. We plan to continue with it this year. We’re also looking forward to trying out Code Master, a new product from ThinkFun. Stay tuned for a review!
Art & Music
Discovering Great Artists by MaryAnn F. Kohl & Kim Solga
I love this book! Are you looking for hands-on art activities that are tied to famous artists? Look no further, folks. This book is fantastic!
Doodle Crate & Kiwi Crate
The kids’ grandparents got them subscriptions to these kits. Leo loves his Doodle Crates and our younger two love Kiwi Crates.
Southern Hodge Podge: Art for All Ages
Recently, my kids had a blast with Sharks and Shark 2 from Hodge Podge. We are looking forward to testing out more from this program throughout the year!
SQUILT by Homegrown Learners
I was initially drawn to SQUILT because of its title: Super Quiet Uninterrupted Listening Time. Doesn’t that alone sound lovely? I was also drawn to the program because, while I LOVE music, I have no musical background. SQUILT appealed to me because it is designed for parents with no musical background so that you can learn alongside your children.
Piano Lessons
Leo will continue with piano lessons this year, and games like Compose Yourself will help with learning.
Read Alouds:
Audiobooks that encourage music appreciation
The Usborne Book of Famous Artists
Mindfulness
This year, we are excited to incorporate a mindfulness curriculum into our day. It is called MindUp and we think it’s fantastic!
Theology & Philosophy
We will be using the curriculum that our parish provides, but in addition, we will use these two books:
Usborne Encyclopedia of World Religions
Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions that Help you Wonder about Everything!
How it all ties together
I follow Leo’s lead in our homeschool. We will have several weeks that are very history-heavy, and then we will have several more that are science-heavy. We do not have a strict schedule at home, but rather a routine. Much of our homeschooling incorporates time spent outdoors, library time, read alouds, board games, and hands-on learning. My goal is to cover math, reading, writing, and fitness each day, and then to add in other subjects depending on what is interesting at the moment. Does that always happen? No way! But –believe me– I’ve learned that learning is happening all the time.
Do you want to see our other curriculum posts for homeschooling gifted kiddos?
If you are interested in checking out previous years, you can view them here:
This is so great Cait! Thank you for sharing. A few of these I haven’t heard of. Now I have to research yo do 🙂
Thanks for this awesome list! I’m particularly interested in the Kid’s Animated series. I’ve been waiting until Vertias Press goes on sale, but even so, this set (which you can preview on Hulu) looks awesome. And very reasonably priced. I have the SOTW books as well. I may look into Biblioplan for history as well.
Re: Math, we also use Singapore. I was concerned that she was getting the higher concepts, but wondered if she had a solid foundational base (addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.) And of course, she hates drills and review. So, I picked up Think Art’s Math Dice. You can structure the “game” how you want it, depending on skill level. Basically, you roll the two round-ish dice to come up with a sum, difference, product, etc., then you roll three regular dice and try to create a math equation that comes closest to the round dice number. So, I’m sneaking in review in a fun way.
So glad you decided to share your recourses and plans! Your post was awesome, I have like 4 tabs open with programs I am going to check out! Thanks, hopped over from the Not Back to School Blog Hop.
Leo is going to have a great year! We tried Stone Soup here too, but my daughter never clicked with the stories. We use a lot of similar materials while supplementing public school education at home.
We are using several of the same pieces of curriculum but the ones I’m most excited about are Michael Clay Thompson grammar, vocabulary, and poetry and Mapping the World by Heart!
Thanks for sharing all that wonderful curriculum! We also enjoy Life of Fred, Kiwi Craft, are about to try Tinker Craft. We also enjoy “Moving beyond the page” which is a fun language arts, science and social studies curriculum, plus Math Mammoth, an monthly subscriptions to “Little passports” and ‘Top secret’ and “Which way USA” all language arts and geography), and Mathmania (math fun).
I loved reading your curriculum selections. Our daughter devours books and curriculum as well. I hope you have a blessed year of learning with your lovely family!
Thank you so much, Sharra. I wish you a wonderful year as well!
Right now, we use Moving Beyond the Page, which is a boxed curriculum for advanced and gifted students. I really love it, but I’m thinking about moving away from boxed next year and exploring some of his favorite subjects. We use RightStart Math this year. I love that it teaches math conceptually because he is behind a little in math. He has a terrible math teacher! She does NOT know what she’s doing! HaHa!
Have you ever tried out Redbird math online curriculum? I am thinking about getting it for both of my boys(4&7) b/c they are both very good at and interested in math.
Hi, Hollie!
We have used Redbird in the past with much success. In fact, I have a review on my site. It’s a fantastic program!
I tried to find this review and got lost in the black hole of interesting posts – could you help me out of the abyss with a link? Thanks!
We’re planning to use Stanford for math and language arts, but I’d love to read your review!
We’re doing In the Beginning for Science, and Heritage Studies for history. I had to start somewhere, and I’d become overwhelmed by all of the options. Now, I’ve pinned this post to give me even more options to research. Oh dear.
Hi Janelle!
Here it is: https://my-little-poppies.com/homeschool-math-course/
Happy planning 🙂
Thank you so much!
I use to draw write now for myself to learn how to draw ☺️
I’ve just bookmarked all the educational videos you listed. My kid lives Magic school bus as well. We are not doing much that is structured besides reading writing math. Lots of read alouds though 🙂 Can’t wait to read this year’s post.
Be sure to share your favorite read alouds <3
Can you please share more about Mind-up?
Chapter books we’ve read and loved:
2016
1- The trumpet of the swan 01/2016- E.B WHITE
4- The wizard of Oz 02/2016- Frank Baum
5- The jungle book- 02/2016- Rudyard Kypling
7- Charlie & the chocolate factory 04/2016- Roald Dahl
9- The Secret Garden- 04/2016- Frances Hodgson Burnett (audio read by
10- The night fairy- 05/2016- Laura Amy Schlitz
11- The princess and the goblins- 06/2016-George MacDonald
12- Fifi brindacier- 06/2916- Astrid Lindgren-(pippi in French)
13- The princess and Curdie- 07/2016-
George MacDonald
2015:
1-Charlotte’s web E.B WHITE
2-Stuart Little- E.B WHITE
3-The Littles- John Peterson
4-Betsy Tacy- Maud Hart Lovelace
5-A little princess- Frances Hogson Burnett
6-The mouse and the motorcycle- Judy Blume
7-Babe- Dick King-Smith
8-Betsy Tacy & Tib- Maud Hart Lovelace
9-James and the giant peach- Roald Dahl
MinUP is a fantastic and easy to use curriculum for K-12 (I believe). We love it. It explains the brain on the child’s level. It’s created by the Hahn Foundation- they have a whole website you can check out to learn more.
I’m not reading this in a timely manner, but I wanted to thank you for compiling this list. It’s quite helpful. I’m planning to homeschool next year and the amount of curricula available is overwhelming, to say the least. Nice to have some leads and reasons for them. Thanks again!
It IS overwhelming! We’re deep into our third year and I still feel overwhelmed by the options from time to time… which in some ways is not a terrible problem to have, but it does make it hard to sort through and choose the one that best fits our family.
Hi Cait! My son absolutely loved two short classes with MCT this year over the holiday break, and so we were thinking of doing his full curriculum next year for language arts. I’m not sure I saw you guys continuing with MCT past this post (or maybe I missed it). Any thoughts on your experience with MCT?
Hi, Dana.
We love MCT. We dip in and out of it. We haven’t used it much this year but it’s not because we don’t love it. This year is just nuts!