1st Grade MID YEAR REVIEW! What we love and what we dropped!

Come join me as I go through an ECLECTIC mix of wonderful first grade curriculum from language arts to math to history and geography to science! Plus see what my ABSOLUTE favorite new history curriculum is!
American Girl history
littleschoolofsmiths.com/prod...
Blossom and Root
blossomandroot.com/
Beautiful Feet Books
www.bfbooks.com/Geography-Thr...
Delightful Reading phonics
simplycharlottemason.com/stor...
RightStart Math
rightstartmath.com/
Simply Charlotte Mason Arithmetic
simplycharlottemason.com/stor...
Form drawing
www.amazon.com/Creative-Form-...
Education/dp/1907359982/ref=asc_df_1907359982/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312403172530&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6643366329618718042&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013639&hvtargid=pla-541923784473&psc=1&mcid=7e89cc87b0473828b95abc47e4c74545&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60300244057&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312403172530&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6643366329618718042&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013639&hvtargid=pla-541923784473&gclid=Cj0KCQiAy9msBhD0ARIsANbk0A-FolOxxcJBgaNr9_qwM1en5lEB2TfXNPXIIkmeO3Jfj161bRnKwTAaAiqYEALw_wcB
Pink Series Montessori
www.foresightmontessori.com/

[@Bee_a_lady]

We use master books for math and it is awesome. Love your review for your daughters curriculum.

[@ashleymurphy4813]

Thank you!

[@EnglishwithGabby]

I thought we were the only ones not crazy about B & Root science! I heard so many good things but it’s just not doing it for us. I have the Book Seeds but haven’t done them yet. I’ll definitely take a look now! Also, I would’ve LOVED that American Girl History as a kid! IT’s amazing.

[@ashleymurphy4813]

Book Seeds are awesome!! We just finished the Fossils unit, it was a blast. We are going to do the whole 2nd grade book seeds bundle and seasonal bundles next year.

[@amanda8905]

So excited to have found a KZbinr doing the American Girl curriculum! I haven’t started it yet but plan to do it with my daughter and have been slowly collecting the books from thrift stores and garage sales and such! Would love to follow along and see how you implement it as time goes on!

[@ashleymurphy4813]

Hi! That’s awesome that you are trying it out! We are finishing up the first girl next week. I hope my daughter likes all the girls as much as she liked Kaya. I plan to do a full review in a few months because I am realizing there are a few things that may bother parents of young ones like some of the book content. I happen to have a mature 6 year old but even so, some of the book content makes me wonder if it’s too mature.

[@amanda8905]

@@ashleymurphy4813I would definitely be interested in hearing what your thoughts are on that! That’s part of the reason I haven’t started it yet since I kinda had that thought if my 6 year old would be ready or not… Did you find anything inappropriate about the book itself? Or was it more the actual history was a little to heavy to hear about? Glad you guys are loving it otherwise!

[@ashleymurphy4813]

@@amanda8905 in the 2nd book, Kaya and her sister are taken captive by raiders from another tribe (something I’m sure was very common) and while nothing happened to the girls, being “kidnapped” is pretty heavy. In the third book, Kaya’s mentor (a young woman) passes away unexpectedly. I think it shook me up more than my daughter, haha, but still…heavy. But then again, someone dies in like every Disney movie, so… I don’t know. I think a sensitive learner might have a hard time with these books. Had I known, I may have waited til she was 8 but she really is loving them.

[@amanda8905]

@@ashleymurphy4813 thanks so much for the info, I really appreciate it!

[@ashleymurphy4813]

@@amanda8905 there are also references to the “pale-faced men” that come and one reference to blood shed. But, of course, history is ugly. I probably would have waited til third grade. But I imagine the references in the American Girl History books are much lighter than many other curriculums….?

[@schultesweeties]

I love mid year reviews! Thanks for sharing what worked and didn’t work. My youngest is in Kindergarten/1st grade. I am also a homeschool KZbin mama! I just subscribed to your channel!

[@ashleymurphy4813]

Hi! Thanks so much! I love them too and have relied SO heavily on homeschool videos to get through our first official year😅 Thanks for your support!

[@Homeschool.in.Paradise]

I love the mid year review! We are also using blossom and root for my 6yrs old but we are using kindergarten level and I love it. I’ve heard the science curriculum for the years after isn’t the best. So we’ll see! Thanks for all the other ressources! I’m gonna check them out! 😊

[@ashleymurphy4813]

Hi! We are going to use B&R kindergarten curriculum for my son this fall, it looks so cute!

[@Well-DoingMomma]

It is fun to see the materials you are using. I am also an eclectic homeschooler and always want to find new and exciting things to use!

[@hannahhensley8497]

I love that you use material that isn’t as common in the KZbin space! Looking into the beautiful feet US geography so looking forward to your future opinions!

[@ashleymurphy4813]

Thank you! I am always looking for unique curriculum. Most of my ideas have come from @alittleglamalotofmom Check her out! And I’ll definitely do a Beautiful Feet geography review. You should check out their science curriculum Seasons Afield. I’ve had my eye on it.

[@filmanddelight]

We love the little school of smiths and are currently doing their space unit!!! 😊

[@UlyGooly]

For reading, we did Montessori approach with pink, blue, and green series...once we got half way through the blue series, we implemented the Free and Tradewell readers - primer first, and now working through the first reader and independent reading of nursery rhymes to help catch on to any new sounds that rhyme with familiar sounds.

[@ashleymurphy4813]

Awesome, thank you for this!

[@asheleybroadway]

❤ thanks love this video where did you find the wooden writing board?

[@ashleymurphy4813]

Hi! The wooden writing board is actually the top of the Montessori letter collection. I bought those wooden letters on Amazon.

[@asheleybroadway]

@@ashleymurphy4813 thanks for quick reply so sweet of you, thank you !

[@user-fb5ze9fx7e]

i have a 1st grader also and B&R science also flopped for us, but I'm trying to battle through it because I don't want to spend anymore money. I'm also looking at Bookshark science for next year. We're completely eclectic and I love trying out bits and pieces of different curricula.

[@ashleymurphy4813]

We are back to B&R science for fossils this week! And will circle back for the weather units too so at least it’s not a complete flop. Good luck with BookShark! I’m not Gaga over it but like that it comes with all the experiment parts.

[@irenescotti4687]

I think for science you might enjoy treehouse schoolhouse or for the love of homeschooling units.

[@ashleymurphy4813]

Thank you!

[@Bee_a_lady]

What is unschooling ?

[@ashleymurphy4813]

It’s a philosophy that puts education in the child’s hands based on their interests and passions. And then the parent acts as a facilitator of those interests buy bringing in the resources to deep dive and learn more. In true unschooling, there is no formal education unless that is what the child desires. It ultimately assumes that a child will learn all basics like math, reading and writing, through his passions and if he is not interested in things like earth science, US history, art, etc, that it is his right not to pursue those topics. It’s a pretty wild idea for our culture that has been so schooled and while there are pieces of it that I really admire and try to implement, I also feel that there is such a beautiful feast of education that I feel is my responsibility to introduce to my children. But in our homeschool, there will be no testing, grading, drilling or high expectations of them to excel in every subject. I leave the majority of the day up to their own whims😄