This post contains a lot of information, but I get asked from time to time what we use for homeschooling, especially this year since there are many first-time homeschoolers. This year, I have Sophie doing fifth grade, Everett doing second grade, and Calvin doing first grade. Here is where I lay out as much as I can of the resources we are using this year for school.

Let me start by saying we are mostly a Charlotte Mason homeschooling family. Ms. Mason was an English teacher in the late 1800’s who had a different way of teaching from what was the mainstream thought of the time. She believed in focusing on God, nature, and good literature. This involves a lot of good living books, lots of outdoor time, and learning the Bible. She believed in the power of narration and that children do not need to be talked to in a way that is dumbed down. I have a lot of respect for her ideas and while we don’t implement them all or even the ones we do 100%, I follow her logic on how to gently lead my children in learning.

(By the way, she wrote six detailed books that you can read for free on Ambleside Online’s website if you’re interested HERE. They also have free plans you can follow for first grade all the way through to graduation from high school.)

Our main curriculum guide is from A Gentle Feast. I LOVE the book selections and plans laid out in this curriculum! This is our second year using AGF and I plan to continue to use her guides. What we follow in it is:

• History – US only for Everett and Calvin; US, British, and Ancient history for Sophie
• Geography
• Science
• Nature Study
• Natural History
• Hymns
• Folksongs
• Scripture passages for memorization
• Recitation poems
• Artist picture studies
• Composer studies
• Fables and tales
• Sol-fa lessons (elementary sing-songs and song games)
• Poet study
• Language Arts for Sophie
• Phonics lessons by AGF called 100 Gentle Lessons in Sight and Sound for Calvin and Everett
• Literature
• Handwriting by AGF for Everett and Calvin (I don’t recommend AGF cursive, actually. The manuscript is good, though.)
• Read-Alouds
• Citizenship for Sophie

For math, I really like Saxon. I’ve been told that I must be a math person in order to love it, but that’s true so maybe. I just love most of the lessons and the way they review things and lay them out for learning. I like to purchase all of my materials I need for Saxon from Rainbow Resource. They seem to have the best prices on it.

For Bible lessons, we use Rod & Staff. Let me say that their workbooks are NOT Charlotte Mason friendly. They are very heavy into book work and I am not. For the younger ones, we only do part of the workbook and usually orally just to make sure the boys comprehend the lesson. Up to grade 4 is a Bible reader so they help with learning to read and comprehend what you’re reading as well as teach Bible history. Starting at grade 5 is more like a Bible study and very comprehensive from what I’ve seen. If you are curious, they are put out by a Mennonite group and use KJV for Bible references. You can purchase their supplies online at Milestone Books. They do have more than Rod & Staff in their shop.

For Spanish, I found a few months ago something I really am enjoying. It’s called Calico Spanish. It has lessons planned and started at the very basic beginning so it has been great. I may have lived in Texas most of my life, but I know very little Spanish, so this is good for us! They have a special homeschooling pricing page so make sure to select if for pricing if you are homeschooling. Use that 2 week free trial they offer as well if you’re thinking of it! It is definitely aimed more for the elementary age so if you’re homeschooling teens, they may find it too cheesy and animated.

The only group we meet up with outside of our house is our wonderful Wild + Free group once a week. We go on nature hikes, walking trails, water play, or just meet in a nature area for some exploring and playtime outside. There are times we take field trips together as well, such as to Log Cabin Village in Fort Worth (an outdoor museum set up like a small village around the 1900s) or to visit a farm. You can look into any W + F groups in your area at the website HERE. If they are like our group, they are not always taking on new members except for a few time a year, but check into it!

Besides those things, we also learn new handicrafts. I used to schedule them out and be pretty strict on sticking to one during a term, but I haven’t lately because they are naturally choosing their own things to make and wanting to continue to grow in those. If they are looking for something new, we get together and see what interests them and explore that. This naturally happens here at our home, maybe because I am naturally a craft-leaning person and Sophie loves doing crafts so she gravitates to them as well. As the oldest, the boys tend to follow some of her interests.

I know this was a lot of info, but hopefully it’ll help answer some questions on what we are using here for this school year. Let me know if there are any questions or something I missed!