A Charlotte Mason(ish) First Grade Homeschool Curriculum

I can’t believe my oldest has graduated from early learning into first grade! Where does the time go? And how do you choose a first grade homeschool curriculum that still allows time for skillful play and good books while trying to incorporate all the required subjects?

For us, it’s the first “official” year of homeschooling where I’m required to show attendance, proof of progress, and meet state guidelines for what’s taught. I’ve felt a lot of pressure to make sure I get everything right, but at the same time, I don’t want to overwhelm my son with busy work.

One of the big things I discovered last year was that doing too much leads to overwhelm in both myself and the boys. 

This year I’m trying to keep our homeschool curriculum simple by letting go of the elective subjects my boys don’t care for. We can reintroduce them later, but with a very active two year old in the mix, this year it’s going to be challenging enough trying to fit in the things we do love. 

These are the 3 guidelines I set for myself as I started researching our choices for a first grade homeschool curriculum: 

1. I did not want to slip into a fear based mentality and end up teaching to a test. It’s important to me that we maintain the freedom to follow my son’s curiosity and fall back on living books when all else fails. 

2. I wanted to teach family style as much as possible because I love the dynamic it creates as well as the time it saves.  But I also wanted to make sure I built in one on one time working beside each child and creating personal connections.

3. I wanted to join a co-op.

With these things in mind, I set off on a journey to build a perfect-for-us year of learning. I’m so excited to share with you the curricula we’ve chosen for our first grader this year.

Core Curriculum: The Playful Pioneers

I love everything The Peaceful Press puts out. We’ve used their Peaceful Preschool and Nature Guides in the past, and now we’re moving on to the elementary curricula.

I love Jennifer Pepito’s (the creator of The Peaceful Press) eclectic homeschool style that beautifully blends Charlotte Mason, Classical, Montessori, and Wild + Free, while incorporating activities that appeal to every learning type.

My oldest in a kinesthetic/visual learner. My middle guy is an auditory/visual learner. And my youngest is still too little to tell. So I needed something that my varied family of learners could use, or I would be homeschooling all day and night.

Another reason I chose this homeschool curriculum over others that I considered is that The Peaceful Press elementary guides loosely correspond with Classical Conversations’ history cycles (more on this below!). 

History & Science Supplement: Classical Conversations

I live in a large suburb, so I was surprised to learn that there aren’t many small, local co-ops with families who match our eclectic style and hold similar homeschool values. I asked around at my church and found out that the majority of our homeschool families used Classical Conversations (CC) as their co-op.

I spent some time doing research and chatting with ladies in the program, and finally decided that it was exactly what we were looking for in this season. Especially when I found out that The Playful Pioneers, which I’d already settled on, was perfectly set up to accompany CC’s Cycle 3 that they start this coming year!

There is so much that I love about the Classical style of homeschooling, but I’m Charlotte Mason at heart, so instead of following CC as our core homeschool curriculum, I’m going to be supplementing the history and science offered in The Playful Pioneers with living books that correspond with CC’s weekly study and memory work. 

As each week approaches, I will post our supplements here on the blog with the hope that it will help others who want to try a Charlotte Mason approach to Classical Education. 

Math: Right Start Math

We’re continuing with Right Start Math this year. We didn’t quite finish Level A, so we’ll pick up where we left off before moving on to Level B.

My oldest used to struggle though math, so we went through a few programs before settling on Right Start. It’s a multi-sensory approach which appeals to my kinesthetic learner. And it turns out, once we found the right program, he actually excels at math!

Reading: All About Reading

We started reading in Kindergarten, but it was an arduous task that sucked the joy out of our days, so we stepped back and took a break. After a few months, my oldest was ready to try again, and things seemed to click much better this time. 

We started back at the beginning of Level 1, and we’ll finish it up this coming year before moving on to Level 2.

Writing: Brave Writer

We already use quite a bit of the Brave Writer Lifestyle, including Poetry Teatimes, Nature Journaling, Movie Nights, Read Alouds, and Language Games. But this year we’re going all in with the Jot-It-Down program.

My boys are natural storytellers, and I’m honestly really excited to see where this takes us!

Nature: Exploring Nature With Children

We have used Exploring Nature with Young Children in years past, and love it. There are extension exercises that can make each week fresh even when repeated.

Spanish: The Cultured Kid

We started these Spanish lessons as a family over the summer, and we all love them. 

Instead of your normal read, say, repeat method, The Cultured Kid uses a multi-sensory approach to language by incorporating video, audio, flash cards, and movement into their weekly lessons. 

Even my two year old comes running when he hears the video intro!

Beauty Subjects: Morning Time Post

I cover these in detail in our Morning Time Post. Check it out if you’re interested in learning about how we incorporate the Charlotte Mason Feast into our mornings.

And that’s it! It sounds like a lot, but we follow Charlotte Mason’s recommendations, and our homeschool curriculum incorporates short lessons that we alternate with periods of movement and outside play.

My boys really seem to thrive with that routine. If you want to learn more about our homeschool rhythms, check out my post 6 Tips for Creating A Life-Giving Daily Homeschool Schedule. 

I hope these first grade homeschool curriculum choices will help you plan a year of simple learning that is full of beauty and connection. I’m really looking forward to this school year, and hope my boys enjoy experiencing it as much as I’ve delighted in planning it!

I’d love to hear what you chose for your little learners this year. Leave a comment and let me know!

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