Favorite Curriculums, Books and More for Homeschooling Kindergarten

The great thing about homeschooling is that you can tailor it to each individual child and parent’s teaching styles. So what may work for someone else may not work for you and that is ok! I’ll give some of the resources that we found most useful during our first year of homeschooling to see if it can help any fellow homeschooling parents out.

Reading

For reading I chose to get a curriculum because I wanted to take some of the guesswork out of teaching my children until I got more in to the groove of things at least. We chose All About Reading for learning to read. We started with All About Reading Pre-reading and pretty quickly made our way through most of it and decided to just move on since she seemed like she had a good grasp on everything. We moved on to All About Reading Level 1 which has been more her pace – challenging but not too challenging- just right for our oldest daughter.

I have liked how it is an open up and go type of curriculum but there is also plenty of wiggle room encouraged with different game ideas and already printed activities. Some of the games she likes more than others so we play those ones more often with her new words she is learning. She has liked reading the stories with each story tailored to what they have learned so far and what new words and letter sounds they are learning in that particular lesson. Plus it also has colorful pencil sketched pictures that keep her interested visually as well.

They also have All About Spelling which I have not personally checked out yet but the reading curriculum has worked well for us so I will need to give their spelling program a look as well at some point. So far for spelling it has been led by my daughter. She likes to illustrate pages for little books she puts together and then asks me how to write out the different words for her books which I help her sound out and spell.

Science

For science I have borrowed big books of science experiments from the library with all kinds of random fun engaging science experiments. I recently found a book at a homeschool curriculum sale called 730 Easy Science Experiments with everyday materials for only 2 dollars! I love buying things second hand. This book has been amazing with just open and go easy science experiments and I can mark it up and not worry about having to return it to the library. I also try to encourage them to watch shows like Sci Girls or Emily’s Wonder Lab for example to get them interested in different science related things that we can do at home if feasible. We also have a few museums here in Ohio: McKinley Museum, Museum of Natural History,  and Great Lakes Science Center, as well as Cosi are within driving distance to us for more hands on science fun. We also made multiple trips (and memberships) to Zoo’s in Ohio, which I feel like would fall under science. My little zoo booklet came in handy for a few of these trips to increase the learning.

Geography

For geography we have a globe in our school room (used to be a dining room) that we go to often when we are reading about somewhere. So lets say we are reading a book that takes place in Madagascar, we pause our book a quick moment and go over to the globe to see where it is. Sometimes I will pick up books from the library about different places around the world to get a more in depth look at different cultures, climates, etc. I also made a geography printable to help with the 50 states in the USA and helping reinforcing continents and oceans.

History

For history I love the Xavier Riddle shows and books on PBS kids. We have also really enjoyed The Magic Tree House books, and American Girl books. There are some horrible things in our history and these books do touch on these things, but in a way that a kid can handle it without just skipping over it…even if I still cry about it while reading. I appreciate how the stories are engaging and while the American Girl books for example are historic fiction they also have a non fiction section at the end of the books that gives more info about what it was like living during this time period. I feel like I never really liked history in school because it was all memorizing facts but when I read these books about actual people’s lives (or even the fictitious characters ) I feel much more connected really want to keep reading more.

Besides reading and shows there are plenty of museums as well that bring history to life!

Math

For math we got a curriculum – well two to be precise. Being new to homeschooling I wanted something more structured for math and reading. I wanted something I could open up and get started right away without having to read up and research everything ahead of time. We used Math U See to start but ended up switching to the Good and Beautiful math curriculum which ended up working better for my daughter.

I will have to say that Math U See really did seem like a good solid curriculum and I was really hoping my daughter would be in to it, but she was not and I am glad we tried something else that did work for her. Math U see includes the teacher manual, the student workbook, a DVD, and math manipulatives. The DVD is meant for the parent to watch but I think it is helpful to just have everyone watch it together. The manipulatives are a nice touch and it really does seem like a good sound curriculum, but it is more cut and dry black and white worksheets that my daughter was just kind of blah about. I am still hanging onto everything though in hopes that my younger daughter will vibe good with this one.

When we got the Good and Beautiful curriculum my oldest was all oohing and aweing over the illustrations and cute little manipulatives and was so much more willing to do the work! It was amazing how a few cute pictures of animals and pretty backgrounds can motivate some children, but I am glad it worked! While I feel it is a good curriculum, I feel like Math U See is better academically. It is also worth noting that the Good and the Beautiful curriculum is Christian faith based and they do weave some biblical stories into some of their lessons. I only noticed a few lessons like this and it is easy enough to skip over if you choose to leave that part out.

I also made quite a few printable activities for extra reinforcement of subject matter being taught that my daughter needed a little more practice understanding.

Health

I get books about our bodies at our local library and we just read about what this organ does, what the digestive system is – whatever I get that time. Our library also has a felt body you can check out and put the organs and everything together. We just normally talk about what food is good for our bodies and what is not and other normal health related conversations you get when being with your kids all day.

Physical Education

This one is pretty easy – especially with my youngest who is always on the move. We play games together, practice yoga, do plenty of dance time and even took dance classes with instructors. If your kid is into sports like basketball and such then this one is also easy if you are able to sign them up at a local YMCA or through a small business in the area (like with karate for example).

Fine Arts

This one has been fun. While I have not taken my oldest to the local art museum we do have a little art gallery we have been to a few times. We have went to a few performances, whether it be via the local high school or a ballet, or a performance put on by the local community theater. My oldest is constantly drawing, painting, or sculpting so she has art down.

First Aid, Safety, and Fire Prevention

This is a required subject in Ohio. We have nurses and firefighters/ paramedics in our family so this has all been covered randomly throughout the year. Most local fire departments welcome tours – just give them a call to find out.

Wrap Up

I feel like that was getting kind of lengthy but also feel like I could go on about so much more for each subject! I just stuck to what is required in Ohio and what we did or used. There are so many things that our children learn every day though. Whether is be life skills like how an ATM works to gardening there is always more that can be learned and I love how homeschooling not only brings us all closer together but also leaves more time in the day for all the other little extra things that I feel they would not be learning in a classroom.

Don’t forget to check out my shop for printables that I made to supplement our curriculums this year!

Have fun learning!

*I have left some affiliate links in the post today. All opinions are my own and it costs nothing extra to you if you follow my handy links. It just helps fund my efforts.

Want More?

Helpful Resources for Beginning Homeschoolers – Resources that I have found very helpful getting started on our homeschool journey.

Is Homeschooling a Good Idea?

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