Tag: homeschool curriculum

2024-2025 Curriculum Reveal

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn homeschooling6 Comments

If you have ever homeschooled, or know someone who does, then you probably know just how much time, effort, research, conversations, and comparisons go into picking the curriculum your child uses. Our position is unique – we do not need to choose something that will be effective for an entire school district of children all with different needs. We need only choose based on our own child and their educational journey. However, despite having a much, much smaller student body, it is just as important and just as time consuming.

After weighing Wyatt’s needs, where he is academically, and how he best learns, I FINALLY made my choices and started purchasing them, always with the slightest trepidation and anxiety about making the wrong choice. And then I remind myself, when I start doubting myself, that if it doesn’t work, then we find something that does. Wyatt’s education is probably our biggest expense outside of our actual bills, and it is something we sometimes make sacrifices for. But it is 100% worth it.

The homeschool world has so many options. Secular, non-secular, nature based, wildschooling, unschooling, roadschooling. We sort of take a little bit of everything over here, and have a very eclectic approach.

Let’s start with Language Arts!

This year I am going with Blossom and Root Year 3. I am super excited! There is just so much diversity and depth included in the year 3 curriculum, and when I spoke with other parents in the Blossom and Root Facebook group, so many told us that their children loved both years 3 and 4 and not to skip them. I had told them that this year Wyatt and I did our own thing and I didn’t know if I should just skip year 3 and they emphatically said no way, it is too good. So, I am listening!

And speaking of Blossom and Root, we are also using them for one trimester of science as well. We usually use them the whole year, but this year I am mixing science up a bit! We are doing four different units of study. Our focuses this year are the Prehistoric World from Blossom and Root, Extreme Weather by Books and Willows, The Human Body by The Waldock Way, and STEM by The Waldock Way, with a renewable energy study from Books and Willows. I love The Waldock Way studies, and so does Wyatt. This is the first year we are using them for science and I am looking forward to it. We have used them in the past for history/social studies so we are mixing it up a bit this year!

Math is the most challenging subject for Wyatt, and we tend to go very slowly and really spend time on it to make sure he understands a concept before moving on. One of the perks of homeschooling! I don’t care what “grade level” he should be at, he doesn’t need to keep up with anyone, it is all about Wyatt learning and understanding at his pace. We have found he responds very well to the math teaching style presented in The Good and the Beautiful, and then if we need to supplement for a concept it is is easy for me to just make stuff myself for additional material.

History this year is also a mix of topics and creators. I wanted to focus on two topics, Government and Michigan history. I know that in Michigan, fourth grade spends a lot of time on these two areas in public schools, so I wanted to make sure we cover them. I found some great looking materials on Teachers Pay Teachers and Living Books Curriculum.

As for art and music, we are going to stick with my own studies. I have so much fun making them for Wyatt and he seems to really enjoy them. Although, I would love to hear suggestions for artists to study. We have covered so many and so many different styles as well. We haven’t done Warhol or Pollock, and they are on my list. Who else do you think I should I add? I would also like to add more women artists, we have only covered a few. I would love to hear your suggestions!

And finally, a present for me, to keep myself all organized. With all the different hats I wear, and now adding in Cub Scouts, I need to be organized, and I am a person who needs it written down. I am not into digital planners. So, I use a Passion Planner right now for my overall life – meetings, appointments, etc, and I treated myself to a Clever Fox Teacher Planner for next year. It is so cute! The one that I bought last year was really nice but was more than I needed. This one looks to be about the speed I need. It is undated which I like because we school all year, with breaks here and there so I can make the dates work for when we are actually actively in school. It has stickers, monthly and weekly pages, extra blank pages for notes, and an events area where I will plan field trips. It does have a bit more than I need, but the one I purchased last year had way more pages than I needed, and it was designed for homeschool. So although this is designed for a traditional teacher, it still will be more practical for my particular needs.

And of course I got it in the dark green, because it is my favorite and matches my Passion Planner. Lol.

We will be ending for the month of June very soon now and I am looking forward to the next school year already! We will be starting these particular curricula in the fall, and finishing up this school year over the course of 6 weeks in the summer. I would not change what we do for the world.

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP9 Comments

Hello everyone! Another early morning over here…. Wyatt sure is an early bird. I mean, I am a morning person, but he is a different story altogether. Billy and I try to prolong getting up as long as we can but eventually we have to get up because Wyatt is up and at ’em in full force. Thank goodness for coffee!!!

Wyatt and I were obviously over the moon to get out and do something last week after weeks of being stuck at home. I mean, really, this summer has been a weird one, between the weather, the air quality, Wyatt’s allergies, and his bite/cellulitis/antibiotic issues. So getting out to the library was like a dream come true and we took full advantage of our time out, and got a little silly on the porch taking photos. Wyatt is such a ham, and loves his picture taken. I am not as thrilled but, for my kiddo, of course I will. We picked up a ton of books and even saw our tiny art on display!

Billy’s isopod is in the front row, while the paintings by Wyatt and I ended up in the back row…hmm. I love his sun and moon painting! My snail is pretty sad, but we had a really good time painting these together a few Saturdays ago. There are some really cool paintings actually, and I plan on going back and taking some more photos. I thought this idea was so cute.

I’ve been happily busy working on our school year plans! And extremely thankful for my electric hole punch, and that my husband works at an industrial printer who prints all the curriculum for me every year. My little bit is a drop in the bucket of what they print every week but it is always so nice of them to make time in their day for it. I very contentedly punched holes and organized and put it all in binders the other day. Then I was able to flip through and make plans for field trips and different studies and readings to go along with what he is going to be learning this year. (I posted a bit back what we are using this year if you are interested) We are still going to be filling in with Traveling the States from The Waldock Way as well, as we didn’t quite finish them all yet! We will actually begin the year with Ohio, our neighbor to the south, move into Pennsylvania, and then New York, as we read Paddle-to-the-Sea.

Speaking of Ohio, we took a road trip to a wildlife refuge over the weekend that was so much fun. I am going to do a whole post on it since I took a billion photos and videos, and feel like I have a lot to share about the day.

And now, just some random photos from the week – Wyatt is back on the bike, we have apples (and some are turning red!), Miso likes to random pose for me, the cucumbers and nasturtiums are going wild, the canopy is still up, and my neighbor cat wants some pets.

We have cooler temps and good air quality right now, and it feels like fall and it is marvelous around here. I wish you all a great day!

Homeschool Curriculum Picks for 2023-2024

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn homeschooling14 Comments

Every homeschool mom starts researching like a madwoman starting in the late winter, deciding just which curriculum they are going to use the next school year. It is hard not to get distracted too, and just buy something new to finish the year with as well, to be perfectly honest! All the shiny new curriculums, full of new topics or projects or ways of teaching and learning. Some people have curriculum they love and stick with every year, some have curriculum they use for every subject, some follow different schools of homeschool styles, like Charlotte Mason or Waldorf or unschooling or roadschooling and there are people like me, who maybe do a little of everything. Our homeschool is a bit more eclectic, much like the people in the home, so I guess that makes sense!

Anyway, after MUCH deliberation, I finally decided on and have purchased all of our curriculum for next year! (well, with the exception of our extra language arts – I will get to that in a minute)

Math: The Good and The Beautiful

The Good and the Beautiful is an open and go type curriculum, that doesn’t require any extra planning on my end, which I love, because that is one subject I don’t really want to do that for. Wyatt struggles in math, and halfway through first grade I chucked the curriculum we had been using and started completely over from the beginning, with the Kindergarten level of The Good and The Beautiful math and he seems to be understanding it a lot better. The lessons are easily digestible for him, and math is no longer such a chore for us to get through. He is technically “behind” since we started over, but Wyatt is Wyatt and we don’t worry about constraints like that too much. We learn where he is, which is what he needs! He will get there, and I always say Wyatt does things in his own time.

Reading Mechanics, Grammar, Etc: The Good and The Beautiful

This is another one we actually started over with, like math, for the same reasons. The only difference is that Wyatt loves words and reading so it wasn’t like his attitude toward math. I just felt that The Good and the Beautiful had such a great, simple delivery system that made learning easier. The Good and The Beautiful is a non-secular, religious curriculum so there is mention of non-denominational faith in both subjects. Oh! I forgot to mention, The Good and the Beautiful also offers FREE curriculum as downloads! I think it is wonderful that there is such a fantastic resource available to anyone who wants it, since homeschool curriculum can really add up!

History: History Quest

I am so excited about my pick for History this year! We are going to use History Quest from Pandia Press, which is a secular history curriculum. I did a ton of research for history this year, it is a favorite of Wyatt’s and mine, to be honest. I love how this one is laid out, with reading and discovery and projects, as well as built in “hygge” weeks where we just read one of the suggested books that week, nothing else. It seems very inclusive and sensitive which was something else that I was looking for. I have been spending time this past week working on lesson plans and I am excited by what we will be doing. Our second week of school, Wyatt will be researching a local Native American tribe, first by searching the native lands database to find what lands we are on then following up with the research and project. This curriculum is very comprehensive, and I can actually see us slowing it down, spending more time on certain times and topics, and extending this curriculum into next year. We are actually still working on our Traveling the States curriculum from The Waldock Way, which Wyatt absolutely LOVED this year. We will be adding in the states we haven’t covered yet here and there throughout the year until we finish up.

Science: Blossom and Root Year Three

I have always loved Blossom and Root for science! I feel it is their strength, their science and nature curriculum, and we have enjoyed it every year! Sometimes we need to break it up a bit with some rabbit trails into different areas, but for the most part it is awesome. They have so many options and approaches for every learner, and every “wonder” (unit) has options for the basket book families, the minimalists, the visual learners. Then from Wonder we move on to Explore, which is the hands-on part, with labs and projects and demonstrations, and again there are multiple ways to approach exploration for each unit. There are ideas for the arts and crafts crowd (usually our choice!), the table top learners, the outdoor explorers. I usually opt for the arts and crafts version but sometimes we mix it up, or do all three, the same as I do for the Wonder part of the week. It is very comprehensive, so sometimes I skip over some of the information (like when we learned about vascular and non-vascular plants last year! I mainly skimmed it) but that is what I like about it. You can pick and choose. It is a secular based science curriculum and I think it is very affordable for all that you get with it!

Music: Legends of the Staff of Musique

So this is the first time that I have ever purchased a music curriculum, and we haven’t started this yet so I can’t really review it. However, it looks very approachable for us, and is designed for homeschool parents who are not musically inclined. Like me, that is me. This description sold me on it: “No instrument purchase necessary!  High/Low, Fast/Slow, Loud/Soft… using only your voices, you and your child can explore the foundation of music literacy together in a wonderfully holistic way.” I am also looking into music therapy for Wyatt as an additional tie-in, since he loved music therapy camp this year!

Art:

Here is where I start going it alone! We had such a good time last year in art, learning about so many different artists and styles of art and architecture and so so much, that we are going to continue along the same lines this year. We are also going to have art on the weekends so that Billy can join in! We loved when we had art with Billy!

Last year, I designed Wyatt’s language arts myself, choosing all the books, the copywork, the comprehension questions and discussions, and accompanying projects – and we loved it. We are doing it again this year, but instead of all picture books like last year, we are doing all read together/read alouds. Some of the books I will design my own book study, for other books I will purchase unit studies online. I have two lined up already – Children of the Longhouse by Jospeh Brucach (which actually aligns perfectly with hygge week in History Quest!), and Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling. We will begin the school year with these two and then see where the year takes us although I do have some ideas already.

Phew! That was a lot just to type out! I am so excited about our upcoming year, and am busily putting all of this together and planning weeks and field trips and projects! I think it will be a great year!

Homeschooling: Our Curriculum

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn homeschooling7 Comments

Here we are again, homeschooling! First grade this year! Last year we had so much fun learning together, that I am really excited to be homeschooling again. We are still working on our routine and rhythm, but I feel confident at least about our curriculum. It was an easy decision, as I went with the same curriculum we used last year for the most part. I like the basic scope of the curriculum, and its focus. It is also budget friendly compared to other curriculum out there.

If you are new here, Wyatt has been homeschooled since Kindergarten. He has cerebral palsy which creates the need for some creativity and accommodations with the lessons, which I feel is really well suited to homeschooling. I can keep working on things that we need to spend more time on and move on when we are comfortable, and go quickly through lessons that he picks up easily. I can tailor to his strengths at home, rather than try to make him fit into a system that may not work for him right now. I also found a Blossom and Root First Grade Cohort Group on Facebook! This group will move up together each year. It has been so helpful already!

For Language Arts, Science, Nature, and Integrated Art and Math, we are using Blossom and Root. Blossom and Root is all about wonder, discovery, creativity, books.. all things I value very highly and want for Wyatt in his learning. This year I had a choice of two different language arts programs through Blossom and Root, and it was a tough decision! The first choice was based on more nature based stories that were a little more old fashioned, and then more modern picture books as the second option. I went back and forth a few times before finally deciding on the more modern version. The scope is based on values and morals, like appreciating what you have, working together, and other character building traits for the first half of the year, while the second half focuses in on fairy tales and folk tales from different countries, introducing new cultures and geography into the lessons.

The Science curriculum covers so much about Earth and Earth science this year! I am super excited to dive into it. There are also extra “Book Seeds” that cover different topical events as well, such as climate change. The past two weeks we have spent discussing the rotation of the Earth, and how it effects seasons and daytime and nighttime, and we are moving on soon to layers of the Earth. The Nature part of the curriculum is more about observing and interacting with our natural world. Things like building insect sanctuaries, painting the weather, making nature necklaces, etc and then keeping a nature journal.

The Integrated Math and and Art … is more art I guess than math, so we supplement math with a more traditional curriculum but still do the lessons from Blossom and Root, more as art with some math involved. We are learning about Kandinsky right now, which is a lesson for me too, since I never learned about Kandinsky in school.

For history, we are using Passport to Adventures from Waldock Way this year. I didn’t see the need for a super intense history program this year, and I felt like this would introduce history in a fun way to Wyatt, which was important to me. I feel like kids get off on the wrong foot with history sometimes, thinking it is boring and I wanted to try to cultivate a sense of excitement about it. This curriculum is completely based on the Magic Tree House books, and we have started off slowly, doing only a few of the activities a week to start. So far so good!

For math, we are using Math Lessons for a Living Education. I feel like this is well paced for Wyatt, and he enjoys the stories and hands on activities that are a part of these math lessons. I also like that this keeps up to pace with the public school as well, just in case we decide sending him back to school would be more beneficial, although that is not where we are right now. For now, everything is going well with homeschooling.

I have to be honest though. These first two weeks felt a little off to me. Like we had lost our zest and magic. And I realized I was trying too hard to be “school” and leaving out what made us, us. I plan to shake things up next week, and add in those extras that made our school special.

Stay tuned to see where our year takes us!