My Thought Process in Choosing Curriculum | The WHY? Behind My 1st Grade Curriculum Choices

[@justifiedgold]

I love that there are multiple adults taking up a learning opportunity with your children. I feel it shows that learning is not just for “school time”. It’s a part of all our relationships - especially inter generationally!

[@SevenInAll]

I very much treasure that and don't take it for granted that my mom has her own teaching sessions with my boys.

[@salishheights2320]

It is so delightful to listen to you think. 🤓 Listening to your rationale, thought process, and careful study of your particular kiddo for the past 24 hour binge :D has been so healing, and is a direct answer to prayer, for the wisdom and patience in how to mother and teach the larger-than-life minds and personalities in our nest. Your example of joyful confidence has assured me (I long ago began believing otherwise) that my mind and heart are not pathological or ridiculous, but beautiful and created by God for the specific purposes He has, to nurture the particular children He gave me. Thank you!

[@SevenInAll]

Oh, I am so glad to hear this! Encouraging peaceful, joyful confidence in doing the daily, worthwhile work of parenting and homeschooling is exactly my aim. I have a few of those larger-than-life personalities in my home--it is truly amazing to watch the way God forms and creates our unique children, and to actively participate in raising them, teaching them, and equipping them to be who they were made to be. It's a journey, and we should not be overly dismayed if this journey requires us to do hard things...most epic journeys do!

[@elsa4559]

I purchased the 50 State flashcards. Look forward to using them with my son.

[@SevenInAll]

Oh, thank you, that's awesome to hear! I love those cards!

[@countrywisheshomeschool]

I enjoyed this video! Thanks for sharing!

[@SevenInAll]

Glad that it's enjoyable!

[@MyHomeYourHomeOurHome]

Your sister is such a talented artist! Beautiful cards! Also, I love hearing your nerdy thoughts. ;)

[@SevenInAll]

Thank you!!

[@kita3256]

I’ve been homeschooling for 13 years but I feel like such a newbie, because every child is different and my own ADHD is sometimes a roadblock…. But just want to say, you’re such a blessing and am glad you make such videos! Thank you!

[@SevenInAll]

Awww, thank you! It's so wonderful to hear that.

[@laurenm.6320]

I homeschool our three kids - Beast Academy, Explode the Code, and First Language Lessons are all things we’ve used since the beginning with our oldest now all of the way through those series since she’s in middle school. For her we have continued onto Art of Problem Solving and Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind, so in that sense she is even still doing those. 😊

[@laurenm.6320]

Oh, and I am also a second-generation homeschooler. 😊

[@SevenInAll]

Good to hear that you've been able to continue with those series for so many years! Explode the Code has been a part of homeschool life since my own homeschool days, the other two are newer to me.

[@theselittlesprouts]

I LOVE your “nerdy videos”

[@SevenInAll]

:) I'm glad to hear that!

[@lisaroper421]

I am all in for the nerdy content! Sounds like a really fun year, and I am excited to hear how it all goes!

[@SevenInAll]

I'm excited for it, too. First grade is fun because we're getting past just the beginnings of math and learning to read and getting a little bit into slightly more complex skills and ideas.

[@nateandrosannaengebretson3996]

lol I have had the same reaction to GCP as an earlier commenter- it’s overwhelming just to look through the instructor guides 😆 I love your comment about history memory statements. Sometimes all the history literature is so good, and I worry they’re remembering mostly random fun facts that don’t have much to do with the big picture. I’ve thought timelines would help, but maybe memory statements would be another great help 😀 Planning for the next school year is something I love, and you’ve helped by sharing such practical advice (like know yourself and your pupil!) and helping me have confidence in all my decisions.

[@SevenInAll]

I agree that the GCP instructor guides definitely leave a first impression of "overwhelm"...however, because I've used multiple curriculums and levels (Nature, Primer, etc.), using the guides is kind of 'automatic' at this point, because they are all set up in a very similar way. But it can take a bit to get the hang of the GCP 'system,' but now that I have the hang of it, I just keep rolling with it and adding my own style/flair. ha! I love that you're finding that helpful advice and leaving you confident in your decision--that confidence can make all the difference. :) It's so important to plan for our REAL unique personalities as both teachers and students.

[@nateandrosannaengebretson3996]

It’s definitely a beautiful curriculum, but since the price is sort of out of our budget (my printer is pretty lightweight so I usually get hard copies of big things) I might as well decide it doesn’t work for me 😜 I do love trying a curriculum with lots of new, fun things, figuring out what works for us and then adding our own “flair” and making it ours.

[@Jfonner09]

Hello! I really like the Llamitas Spanish curriculum that you highlighted. I have a 5yo and an 8yo who are completely new to Spanish. I haven’t focused on it since high school. Would you recommend level 1 to use family style?

[@SevenInAll]

Hi! I have really enjoyed using Llamitas with my oldest who is now on Llamitas level 2, however, he already had a background in Spanish, because we've used it with him since he was a baby. I think it would be a little bit more difficult to use with kids who are brand-new to Spanish because it doesn't focus on high-use/high-frequency words as much. For example, it doesn't teach how to say the kinds of phrases you need in everyday conversations: "I'm hungry" "Can I have a snack?" "Put on your shoes, we're going to the park." Personally, I think Llamitas is easier to use with kids who have a background or have the basics of Spanish comprehension down, but need to expand their vocabulary and need to learn how to read, and need academics in Spanish. I would honestly recommend Homeschool Languages level 1 for the ages of your kids and given that they are just beginning Spanish, because it DOES focus on those basic sorts of vocabulary and it does focus on putting simple sentences together. It is designed for family-style use. I have a video on it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jl60eX-PmZqtj6ssi=-sNNHsaOS798rNtB

[@Jfonner09]

@@SevenInAll Thank you so much!

[@shannonstewart4737]

I used that edition of FLL with both of my older kids. It's such a great book. The Keys poem is a beautiful one that is tucked in their heart. If one of my kids forget their manners, I simply whisper, "Little keys" and instantly, they'll smile and say "Thank you" or whatever polite thing needs to be said to whomever. Sweet memories.

[@SevenInAll]

Aww, thank you for sharing that! We have just started FLL, as it was one of the subjects he was already ready to 'roll over' to the next year in, and so have been memorizing "The Caterpillar" and what a noun is. I'm glad I found this book for a steal of a deal, I think we'll get a lot out of it!

[@faithfullyinfertile]

You’ve got me thinking about sequence 1 next year for my younger two (both boys). They will be 2nd and 4th but are special needs learners so are working basically at K/1st grade level right now. But my older son in particular LOVES to be read to and he loves audiobooks. He cannot yet read himself. Anyway- gentle and classical preschool didn’t really click with them. We read the literature which was great but they didn’t like the Flashcards or memory work or any of those components really. However, I would love to find a literature based curriculum for history that I can start working through with them starting next year. I need to see if you have done an in depth video of Sequence 1 because I know your video would help me figure out if G&C is the way I want to go for them for history. I really enjoyed this video and always love to hear your thoughts behind the resources you choose to use with your boys. I love following along with your homeschool journey as we gravitate toward similar curriculum choices but we have very different learners!

[@SevenInAll]

I have done a flip through video of Sequence 1 here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGqvnKCcq56ae5osi=8b9THqQivunlldgt I feel like it's very adaptable to get what you need out of it, and could definitely work for different ages. My youngest sister has read most of the books I collected for Sequence 1, just reading them to herself, because she's very interested in history.

[@HSLearningwithMaK]

Love, love, love Beast Academy! Both of my gifted and radically advanced kids used it and loved it. Be careful saying he won’t fly through it. I thought the same thing, but both of my kids flewww through it. They did Beast Academy levels 2-5 in full plus 5 more complete years of math in just one and half years total for one kid and two years total for the other. It was still 100% worth doing and they learned and grew so much. Hope your son enjoys it!

[@SevenInAll]

See, that's why I got Level 2, with the hopes of moving a little more slowly with a little more challenge. ha! We just started two weeks ago and he's loving it so far. I don't think he's quite as speedy as your kids, though. (saying that, yesterday he drew a square root symbol over a number and asked me "What is a root?"....so...yeah...kindergarteners wanting to know more about square roots is where we're at)

[@ladyjustice7]

New subscriber. Looking for ideas to help my nephew.

[@jessicaTX964]

I find your approach so refreshing! It seems like everyone out there is just like "Oh we'll just read some books and 10 minutes of math. They're so young." It sounds like a lovely year you have planned. I really enjoy Spelling Connections - the word lists have not been terribly challenging for my kiddo, but I like that it reinforces phonics since we're not continuing phonics instruction anymore either, and it does introduce some of those skills like alphabetizing, synonyms, analogies, etc. She's also able to do it pretty independently, which is nice. Llamitas 😍 I kind of had the opposite reaction to sequence 1 from GCP. I looked at the teacher guide and was like "This is so random... and mostly you pick this and that." But now I feel like I should look at it again based on your excitement about it. LOL. Have you ever used or looked at Tapestry of Grace. It intrigues me a lot, but seems very expensive....

[@SevenInAll]

haha--yes, 10 minutes of math + stories is not quite my approach. Yes, they are indeed young, but the ability of young minds to learn is SO incredible, and so deserving of a feast! I have looked at Tapestry of Grace a little bit, but not enough to actually understand how it works. I have to admit, one of the things I love about GCP is the price point--we buy digital, printing is inexpensive, and it leaves more money in the budget for the books. I did plan from my first look at Sequence 1 that I'd be adding additional books to it -- but somehow that TG just 'clicked' with my brain that I can use those main ideas and the booklist for a structure that can be built off of for teaching some of these big ideas, names, and stories of history.

[@non-gmo]

I have TOG yr 4 for my elementary children. We don't use a lot of the recommended history books (some of them are hard for me to obtain) but I do glean from the time periods that they mentioned and find other books. I really enjoy their literature selections for the younger - mid grades, but I'm not really crazy about the high school choices.

[@JessicaChipepo]

I love listening to your thought process behind your pics… we continued AAR with my 6 year old and she is on level 4 and I can say that I have definitely seen the benefits of continuing. We don’t do the activities mostly just do the lesson teaching and learn the phonics rules. I can’t wait to be done with it! I don’t have the ability to teach it on my own otherwise I could definitely see skipping it. We are also doing beast academy, and it has been really good for us. It’s helped my daughter learn what it feels like to get a problem wrong and what to do when that happens! Shes used to getting everything right. I definitely think it’s a great program… even though it’s so different than what I’m used to. I’m excited to look into your other pics! They look great!

[@SevenInAll]

That's great to hear how these have worked for you! We have just been using Beast Academy for two weeks so far, and I'm already noticing how it's made my son need to stop and think a bit instead of just racing ahead, because the problems aren't as straightforward/easy as the more traditional math we use.

[@sandylawrence3704]

I have stayed up late to watch this! Super fun!

[@SevenInAll]

Aww! Hope it was worth the late bedtime, haha!

[@sandylawrence3704]

So worth it! Yay for nerdy homeschool videos!❤ what are you going to do for Chinese?

[@SevenInAll]

We've been doing Little Chinese Learners (website subscription) this year and it's been fun, but it can be hard to get to it because it's computer based and I don't have a great set-up for a kid-use computer. I may just start doing character flashcards in our morning time...still contemplating, but will be using the website through April because that's how long the subscription I got lasts. @@sandylawrence3704

[@katiemcdowell7817]

Hearing your thought process is SO helpful! How do you fit in multiple curricula? I know you described your plan for science (3 days + 2 days), but how about with the two math curricula and FIVE language arts ones you chose? Trying to do that many different things sounds like it would take hours just for LA. 😬 How much time do you dedicate, and when (e.g. every day, twice a week, etc.) to each one?

[@SevenInAll]

It really doesn't take as long as it might sound like it does. We do Math, English and Spanish every day as 'sit-down' schoolwork at the table. Both math curriculums every day, generally--he works very quickly through MWC but I think Beast Academy practice pages will cause him to slow down a bit. :) First Language Lessons is intentionally designed to be composed of short, oral lessons--5 minutes-ish? Explode the Code is independent work he can do while I teach his little brother, and Spelling is mostly independent--both of those are just a few minutes a day to complete a page. I figure that reading practice is about 15 minutes a day and I'll shoot for 15 or so minutes of Spanish a day as well--consistent practice is what I have seen to really build progress. I don't actually time anything, I tend to just go by feel--we'll read till such-and such a page and that feels like enough. I tend to start sit-down schoolwork at around the same time every day (about 8:30) and finish around 10 (with interruptions, of course, ha!). So about 1.5 hours for the more 'work' part of school currently. That doesn't include our read-alouds or the 'fun stuff' like science experiments, art activities, videos to watch, notebooking for our read-alouds etc. All of that happens either at breakfast (read alouds) or later in the day and is more of something we cycle though (i.e. science experiment one day, painting activity another day, and so on...)

[@amandamendoza4181]

I’m a big advocate for early childhood education. This seems to be the unpopular opinion as of now. I love that you observe your children and fallow their lead on learning styles and how much they are able to learn. I’m not sure when it became popular or common to only teach our children a set amount per year or grade… Thanks fora refreshing perspective!

[@SevenInAll]

I think coming from a homeschool (and gifted) background myself gives me a good foundation for prioritizing observation of the way kids learn and providing them with a generous feast of material and opportunities to learn. I think that's one of the things my mom did excellently in homeschool when I was growing up--never 'limiting' school but allowing us to fly and dive in deep. And these early years are truly so precious as far as what kids are able to learn--especially because we're including a second language in our homeschool, I very much know how precious the early years are in building language skills.

[@mollythompson04]

My oldest is just starting Preschool, but I'm looking forward to the year we begin adding grammar into our homeschool! I'm a total grammar nerd. 😂 I thoroughly enjoy watching your videos! Thank you for sharing your plans and your thoughts behind choosing curriculum with all of us! 😊

[@SevenInAll]

Grammar has a very special place in my heart, too! :) Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoy these videos!

[@user-xe6qz1cy8k]

It would be so cool if those state flashcards got made into a US puzzle!

[@SevenInAll]

Hmmmm....I wonder....

[@soroka186]

I love these kinds of videos! Question that really bugs me 😂. You converted me to the Sunlight curriculum. I went through T and now doing P with my kid and I love it. Why didn't you continue with HBL?

[@SevenInAll]

We have done both T and P (and I'm currently using P for the 2nd time, now aimed toward my 2nd son). I love both of those! I grew up using Sonlight, as well. K-C are not really my favorite levels for the HBLs. I think they get a lot stronger from D on upwards, but I know that so many people have really enjoyed levels K-C! For us, I wanted to stick with more picture story books for now vs. the Usborne-type fact books like "Time Traveler" or the Children's Encyclopedia. I don't have anything against those books (my mom still owns them and I probably will read them to my children on the side), but I wanted more of the picture book approach at this stage.

[@soroka186]

@@SevenInAll thank you so much for your reply! That was very helpful. Now I have to think twice about what to do next year, because so far I followed what you did with your oldest son (mine is a year younger) and it worked out really well for me 😂

[@yeseniaacuna8888]

Do you think that homeschooling takes away from the future of the child some people say that usually people who are homeschooled don’t go to college or become successful people. What are your thoughts? I’m homeschooling this year for kindergarten and sometimes I think what if I’m doing the wrong thing. I don’t know if you thought that in the beginning. What are your thoughts?

[@SevenInAll]

Hi! My belief is that there is no inherent reason that homeschool would offer a child an inferior education or fewer opportunities. Of course, it sometimes happens that parents choose to homeschool a child in such a way that they offer an inferior education or few opportunities--but I strongly encourage parents NOT to do so. A primary reason why I homeschool is because I believe that homeschool, for my kids, offers them BOTH the best education they realistically have access to, as well as the best childhood experience. My children are very young, so I don't know what careers or experiences await in their future, but we have not yet seen any reason why homeschool would not work in order to prepare them for the futures they choose. I am a homeschooled graduate myself, who went on to college and had a delightful experience there. While I didn't choose a career path that most would call "successful" (i.e. making a lot of money), I am skilled at everything I want to do and have the privilege of living a joyful, meaningful life--and that's exactly what I want to offer my kids. I have several videos that are relevant to this question that you might be interested in: Can Homeschoolers go to College?: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnStfpyrrLyCr5osi=gA1st5dmkrUookVf Interviewing my sister about being a homeschooled college student: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZq5gpqKZdlqoqcsi=-rtx1p04F5CpEyk0 If homeschool enough?: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnjJpJaOet2Wmsksi=kp5NGQ892LhavVdx I hope some of that is helpful! I encourage homeschool parents not to just blindly "trust the process," but to educate themselves, learn how to assess progress and learning, and find out just how awesome a good education can be. Look at the child in front of you--what progress and skill development do you see in them? What conversations are you getting to have with them each day? How do they choose to spend their time? How do they interact with others? What makes them unique and in what ways are they maturing? Look at the child in front of you before simply trusting the opinions of others that homeschool works. :) It absolutely does work, but not for every single family.

[@ravenbird3014]

My son loves science too and I didn't choose Sonlight for next year because he was more interested in Noeo. Right now I am supplementing with Crunch lab kits, Eureka kits, and I picked up Beast Academy Science 3A.

[@SevenInAll]

I think if we lived in the US, some of those science project kids like Crunch lab would have definitely been on the Christmas wish list! They look so fun! :)

[@elaineknoche]

What are your thought on writing with ease with first language lessons ?

[@SevenInAll]

Having used Writing with Ease with other students, I didn't opt to use it with my son because I found the workbook version to be a bit frustrating for me personally to use. You are reading short passages out of longer stories and then doing narration/copywork based on those passages. I found it frustrating because those longer stories were not stories/books we were actually currently reading, so I was often doing a lot of explaining the larger context of the story--doable because they are classic books that I have read, but to me, it makes more sense to apply the same sort of approach to books we are actually reading. So that's what I have been doing with my son's readers and our "reading notebook" --my approach isn't exactly like Writing With Ease, but I've been choosing a sentence from whatever he has read that day, having him copy it, and then pointing out something interesting about that sentence--whether that's pointing out quotation marks, capital letters, having him find the nouns or find the verb (I usually relate it to topics being covered in First Language Lessons).

[@elaineknoche]

@@SevenInAll does first language lessons tell you how to do that and basically covers all that is covered in writing with structure. That makes sense that would be frustrating. I may just start with first language lessons and see if that is enough for us. We both need more explicit Instruction so I’m researching my options for that has he gets older. What do you think 3rd grade might look like for your son? Lol if you are thinking that far ahead. My son is a struggling learning. Thank you!!!

[@SevenInAll]

@@elaineknoche No, FLL does not tell you explicitly how to do that, but I'm just independently taking some of the same ideas and giving him copywork and discussion of the sentences. I don't have a set plan for 3rd grade, haha, but if I did decide to use a writing curriculum by that time, Writing & Rhetoric by Classical Academic Press is at the top of my list.

[@kita3256]

Have you heard of Miquon Math? My teen’s math tutor recommended it for homeschool curriculum.

[@SevenInAll]

Yes, Miquon Math has been around in the homeschool world for a very long time, but I don't have personal experience with it.

[@StephanieMT]

i have a child who can read frog and toad books and misses a couple words occassionally, i know he needs to practice fluency but i have no idea what phonics skills he needs still and what readers to move him onto because he just started reading on his own.

[@SevenInAll]

If he's reading aloud to you, I would take note of what words he's missing or can't sound out, and look at what phonograms are in the word, or if it's a multi-syllable word. I'd write that word down and teach the letter pattern or the way the syllables are broken apart in that word. To another commenter, I used the example of the word "dinosaur." So, if he couldn't read that word on his own, I'd write it down and break it apart and teach it: di-no-saur. We have two open syllables (so they have long vowels because they are open syllables) and then the last syllable has the /au/ phonogram follow by an r.

[@KarenBaugh-h3f]

is your sister selling a pdf for the cards?

[@SevenInAll]

Yes! Here's the link to the PDF: www.wheredyoulearnthat.com/shop/p/50-states-geography-flashcards

[@amandab.6815]

Your hair looks great BTW!

[@SevenInAll]

Oh, thank you! :) Curly hair is a little unpredictable...and I expect it to be especially so in these postpartum months. lol! Oh hair....

[@kimberlywiegert2159]

This was great to hear! I always look forward to your videos :) You mentioned a timeline. Do you actually do a timeline with your kids already for history, and if so how do you do it?

[@SevenInAll]

I don't do one yet because we I opted not to do history for kindergarten, but my plan is really simple -- basically mimicking the way we did our Sonlight timeline book when I was a kid. When we learn about, say, Columbus, I'll get a picture if possible and stick it to the timeline page and write the name and the years of that person's life or maybe the year that person did something interesting in history. Some things we add will not be people, but wars or other events.

[@sarahmogus9464]

There isn’t a homeschool mom who isn’t “nerdy” in their own way lol

[@SevenInAll]

hahaha, right? That's likely part of the reason we chose this life. ;)

[@melissacurled]

HOW do you fit all of that in with three little ones? How much time do you devote to schooling each day?

[@SevenInAll]

I am not one to try to limit school time to a very short period of time, and my very curious son also has a long attention span due to that curiosity - right now, morning time (during breakfast) is probably about 30 minutes of reading for me, to both boys, at around 7 or 7:30. Sit down schoolwork (i.e. math, LA, Spanish) is 1-1.5 hours for my oldest (depending on distractions/interruptions from little brother and baby, and we usually start at 8:30, finish 9:30-10. My preschooler also does his schoolwork during this time, but his only takes a short part of that time, usually while my oldest is doing things he can do more independently), and then we have another school session just before lunch (30 minutes-1 hour, so roughly 11-12, just depending on what we're doing that day) which is when I do more reading aloud, and we'll do a science experiment or craft activity or watch a video with whatever topic we're learning about. Reading aloud time may get a little bit longer in 1st grade because of the chapter books and longer books. Baby is in all the midst of that morning, sometimes in my arms while I read or while big brother reads (and my oldest loves it when baby is "listening" to him read, ha!)

[@KatieMAmador]

Is the gentle and classical press curriculum comparable to Sonlight HBL?

[@SevenInAll]

Sonlight A is the level that would be most comparable to Sequence 1 from GCP. I actually have a comparison video showing both here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJXZi52sppWAjMksi=sVzSjrSLXhZBWxtz

[@karengriffis2733]

You got me at "VERY NERDY VIDEO" 😏

[@SevenInAll]

hahaha, yes!!!

[@RockSimmer-gal4God]

Math should challenge!!! It’s hard to know how to push kids sometimes!!! Homeschool should be a feast!!! I choose sequence one as I needed to push my 5 yr old at the time but wanted to make included my older kids and I had read the teachers guide and it clicked!!! My older kids can now do catechisms and bible memory and I use other resources for them to go with it!!! My older kids struggle with memory statements and are now doing it!!! We use picture books and other books to include my older kids!!! My older kids love the notebook!!! They don’t do the dailies tho!!! It’s teaching my older kids leadership skills!!! I want my older kids to hear the fables as I know it wo be awesome for them as well as my now 6 yr old!!!

[@SevenInAll]

That's awesome that you've found a way to make Sequence 1 work so well in your family!

[@beckybrown4281]

Yeeeesssss!

[@SevenInAll]

I'm on a computer, otherwise I'd put all the "party" emojis here. :P

[@beckybrown4281]

Ahahahaha! 💥🔥🎊🎉 loved hearing all your thoughts!!