Year two curriculum picks are here! There’s something so exciting about going into a new year. I can’t wait to share our plans for next year with you.
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2024-25 curriculum picks
1st Grade
Math: The Good and The Beautiful Level 1
LA: The Good and The Beautiful Level 1
Handwriting: The Good and The Beautiful Level 1
Preschool
LA + Math: The Good and The Beautiful Preschool
Handwriting: Writing Without Tears: My First Schoolbook + TGATB Doodles and Pre-Writing
Family Study
Social Studies/Geography: Little School of Smith’s Adventures to the New World
Nature Study: A Year of Learning Slow Down
Science Unit 1: Little Hands and Hearts Sparks and Stars
Science Unit 2: Me and My Amazing Body
Music: Prodigies
First Grade
We loved using The Good and The Beautiful (TGATB) for Kindergarten, so we’re sticking with the same curriculum for 1st! I can’t say enough good things about this curriculum and I’m excited to see how First grade will go for us. In First grade, we’ll be continuing on with Booster B cards and continuing to learn the mechanics of reading in Language Arts.
The only new thing my oldest will be adding on to his core subjects this year will be handwriting. Last year, my son had a pretty good grasp on writing and we practiced handwriting in everyday life and I felt like that was enough. This year he’ll be completing Handwriting Level 1 from TGATB. I really like how this handwriting curriculum incorporates coloring, mazes, and games. One thing to note is that it is faith based and incorporates some tracing activities related to bible verses (which I personally love).
Preschool
The main priority in the Preschool years for us is play. I’m a firm supporter of the quiet growing years and I believe that this age is all about learning from the world around them. With that being said, I typically follow my children’s lead and watch to see when they are ready to start school work. Since my 4-year-old has been watching his older brother do lessons, he has expressed a strong desire to do school just like his brother.
This year my youngest will be playing and learning through books, but he’ll also be getting his own workbook to work on at his own pace. I decided to try The Good and The Beautiful’s Preschool course with him this year to see how he does with formal lessons. This will be my first time completing their Preschool course. Flipping through it, I can tell you…I’m super excited! I love how even though it’s a workbook, it’s still interactive. There’s fun learning songs and videos that go along with the lessons. My favorite part is the activity folder that is already organized for you (a mom’s dream)!
For handwriting, we will be using Handwriting Without Tears and TGATB’s Doodles and Pre-Writing books for fun. I have loosely used Handwriting Without Tears with my oldest in the past and love the concepts they use to teach handwriting. I’m hoping I can report back with success after using it with my youngest this year.
Family Study
I am SO excited for our family studies this year. We’re adding in some new subjects, like music, and diving deeper into topics that my boys have been interested in. I can’t wait!
Science
My kids love science! They would probably even say it’s their favorite subject. In the past, I’ve loosely thrown in experiments here and there and focused on our nature study as our main topic of science. This year, I wanted to focus more on what my kids have been interested in.
The first thing we plan to jump into is a study on the human body! My kids have had lots of questions about the human body lately and how things work, so I figured it would be a good study to start the year off with. We’ll be using Little School of Smith’s Me and My Amazing Body. Her guide is full of great book suggestions and hands-on experiments that help kids connect what they’re learning. I know my kids are going to love it!
Our second science study for the year will focus on electricity and space. Last year, we completed Little Hearts and Hands Wind and Waves and loved the it. This year we’ll be diving into Little Hearts and Hands Sparks and Stars. We’ll also be using the Space Science Activity Book for fun! This is a newer science course from TGATB for little learners (ages Preschool-2nd grade). It focuses on planets, space, electricity, gravity, and machines that move. The guide has short lessons with audio narration and experiment suggestions. One thing to note: These lessons are a good starting point and can be explored more if you feel like they aren’t diving into the topic as deep as you would like.
Social Studies/Geography
I’m going to be really honest… finding a social studies curriculum that would interest my young boys was the hardest thing for me this year. My idea of a perfect Social Studies/Geography curriculum for them included:
- Hands-on/ project based
- Notebooking element
- Easy for young children to understand
I found all of that in Little School of Smith’s Adventures to the New World !
Adventures to the New World uses the “You Wouldn’t Want To..” Books to teach kids about Vikings, Christopher Columbus, the Jamestown settlement, and the Mayflower. We’ve used a few of Little School of Smith’s guides and they are always a huge hit with my kids. I think this is a great choice for young learners who need more visuals to help them connect to big topics like these.
We plan to stretch this guide out for the whole year (completing 1-2 lessons a week), but it could be completed in 4-5 months. Next year we’ll be diving into part two: Adventures Through America.
Nature Study
Nature study is hands down my favorite subject. There’s something so calming about being out in nature and learning about the life around us. It’s also given me more appreciation for the creepy crawlies my kids like to collect.
This will be our third year using A Year of Learning’s Slow Down Collection for our Nature Study. Every lesson is based on a moment from the book Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature. Lisa’s guide has over a 1,000 pages and ideas for how to explore nature. My kids really enjoy the recipes and science activities.
We’ll also be utilizing notebooking more this year. I plan to get some simple blank notebooks for my kids to bring on nature hikes/ walks. I’m hoping this will get them to slow down and observe more in nature this year.
Music
This year we’ll be adding music into our morning time! I wanted to start simple and introduce music/notes in a fun and engaging way, so the first instrument my 4 and 6-year-old we’ll be learning how to play is….
Deskbells!
We’ll be using a program called Prodigies that is designed to teach children ages 2-12 about music literacy, music theory, and pitch. What I love about this program is that kids get to play along to videos. I know my kids are going to have a blast learning how to play and I can’t wait to see them grow a love for music.
That’s a wrap on our curriculum for the 2024-25 school year. If you’re curious what we used for last years curriculum, you can check out the post here!