In Minnesota, you are required to teach these subjects:
- reading
- writing
- literature
- fine arts
- math
- science
- history
- geography
- economics
- government
- citizenship
- health
- physical education
(If you're in another state you may or may not be required to teach certain subjects, and if you are, your list may be different. To check out your state's law, visit HSLDA.)
Does that list seem overwhelming? I think it does, and I've been doing this for a couple years. But some things to keep in mind: all of these subjects don't need a separate curriculum, and you don't need to teach EACH subject EACH year. When you group some subjects together, and consider rotating through some each year, the list doesn't seem so long.
Here is what I have chosen for our kids, why I chose it, and how it fulfills the required subjects that I listed above. I'll start with math since I've had some people ask for my recommendations on this particular subject since I was a math teacher before having kids. (For kids in kindergarten or younger, you can scroll past most of this to the bottom where I talk about ABC Jesus Loves Me.)
Math Mammoth (Light Blue Series)
Subjects covered: Math
Math was probably the subject I spent the most time debating on. I had it narrowed down to Singapore Math and Math Mammoth. Both programs are very similar, but in the end, it came down to pricing. I could get Math Mammoth grades 1-7 in digital format to print as needed for $175. (You can also buy individual grade levels for less.) At the time we had three kids (we now have five and are expecting the sixth in November), so that would have been 21 workbooks for $175 (or a little over $8 a piece). With Math Mammoth, I could print out each grade level for each kid. I can also go back and reprint pages when I think a child needs review.
Cathy Duffy Reviews compares Singapore and Math Mammoth quite nicely, "Both explain concepts thoroughly, generally using visual illustrations to present new concepts. Also, both programs employ a number of different ways to explain new concepts so they can reach different learning styles."
While I think most kids can succeed with Math Mammoth, I know some kids may be only kinesthetic learners, and have trouble processing the visuals in Math Mammoth or Singapore. If you think this might be your child, Math-U-See is a great option and one that I considered in the beginning. It uses a lot a manipulatives that the kids can touch, feel, and move. The down side is that then you will have to spend more on these and find a space to store the ones you're not using. But, if it's going to work for your child, then it's worth it!
Purchasing Math Mammoth (Light Blue Series): Grades K-8 for $175. You can also buy grades 1-3 for $75 or grades 4-7 for $100 (Make sure you scroll down to the Light Blue Series, not the Blue Series.)
Subjects covered: Writing
When my oldest first started trying to write letters, I pulled out that trusty old 3-lined set of papers. You know the one, where there's a solid top and bottom line and a dashed middle line. It was confusing for her to figure out which letters touched which lines. Someone recommended Handwriting Without Tears to me (not because she was crying over it, mind you), because it taught handwriting using two lines instead of three. It was a game-changer for her. If you child hasn't started a handwriting program, or is struggling the same way my daughter was, then I'd highly recommend this program. If your child is doing just fine with the program that your school has been using, you may want to consider continuing with it. If your school doesn't have a handwriting program, I'd consider starting one, and making sure that your child learns cursive. (You can find lots of research on why it's still good to teach, even in the digital age, but that's not the point of this post. I'll let you look into that yourself, if you're so inclined.) I have not used their Building Writers program, because I cover writing (sentence & paragraph development, etc.) in other subjects. I have only used the handwriting workbooks.
Purchasing: I have always bought them directly from Learning Without Tears for $11.50 per workbook.
Spelling Workout and Plaid Phonics
Subjects covered: Reading, Writing
These are two workbooks, spelling and phonics, that somewhat line up with each other and reinforce the phonics topics being taught in the spelling words being studied. I like that they work together, so the kids are being exposed to a concept from both the spelling side and the reading side at the same time. (For example, while they're learning to read long O words, they're also learning how to spell them.) The downside for me is that the pages aren't lined up with each other. We've decided to work through Spelling Workout in order, and I've lined up the corresponding pages in Plaid Phonics (so they're skipping around in their phonics workbook a little bit.) The upside for you is that I'm willing to share my hard work, so if you're using a grade level I've already used with my kids, I'll share it with you! Their workbooks aren't numbered by grade, but rather lettered by grade (so level A is 1st grade, B is 2nd, and so on). I have also made spelling test pages using the 2-line system that Handwriting Without Tears uses that I can share with you as well.
Purchasing: You can find them on Amazon, which is where I had bought them in past years, but this year, my husband discovered that they're cheaper at The Curriculum Store, so that's where I'd recommend buying them. I have not ever bought the teacher's manuals or anything, just the workbooks. For the lower levels, chances are pretty good that you'll be fine without them, but it's totally your comfort level.
Subjects covered: Science, Writing, Fine Arts
Science was a tricky one for me in selecting. I wanted something that I could teach at multiple levels, so I could group my kids together. I didn't want to have to do 3, 4, or 5 science experiments each week. With Elemental Science, I will be having my 1st, 2nd, and 4th grader all working together this coming year. Since the reading levels are different, I do have different levels of reading for them. I also expect more from my 4th grader's notebooking than I will from my 1st grader's notebooking. My 4th grader will be writing several sentences about whatever topic we're reading about that day. My 1st grader will be writing one sentence that he found most interesting on the same topic. We have covered Biology, Earth Science and Astronomy, and Chemistry for the Grammar Stage books and will be doing Physics for the Grammar Stage this year. Then we will cycle through the four areas of study again, but my oldest will be using the Logic Stage and working separately from her younger siblings.
Purchasing: I think the only way to buy it is directly from Elemental Science, but I could be wrong. If you will be using this with more than one student, I would recommend considering the ebook package, since you can print multiple copies of the student workbook and keep it in a 3-ring binder. I like having the Teacher's Guide in a book format, so I have been buying the Printed Combo. But, I've emailed them, and they've been able to sell me the Student Workbook in ebook form for $10. The books that the students read from I've purchased second hand from Amazon (which I mentioned in my last post).
Subjects covered: Reading, Writing, Literature, Fine Arts (art), History, Geography, Citizenship, Government (in volume 4)
I hated history in school (other than map day... that was fun!), so I wanted an engaging curriculum. I also wanted it to make sense. To me, it makes sense to start at the beginning and work to the end, so I wanted a curriculum that started at the beginning of time (or as early as we have some records) until modern time. Connecting With History (CWH) has four volumes that starts with the early world through 63 B.C. in Volume 1, and ends with the 15th-19th centuries in Volume 4. As with science, I didn't want to have to be teaching five different histories, so I needed something that could do multiple levels together. Each level of CWH covers kindergarten through 12th grade. My kids are all learning the same topics at the same time, but from different books at different levels. While my youngest will reading easy reader books about Abraham Lincoln and others this year, my oldest will be reading several chapter books about many of the events that occurred during the same time period. We study, label, and colors maps of the eras and areas that we're reading about. And at the end of each unit, we do art projects, write about the people, places, and events they read about, and often times they do a presentation for grandma and grandpa on what they learned. I also love that it's a Catholic history program, so they are also learning about saints that lived during those times (like St. Joan of Arc, and how she led the fight to win France back from England). The down side is cost. History is by far the most I spend on curriculum. The reason being, your kids aren't reading boring textbooks, they're reading historical non-fiction books. Lots of them. But, they're interesting. They're learning stories, not memorizing dates. But, since they're studying it all in order, they might not have the exact date that the Great Wall of China was built memorized, but they know what other worldly events it fell between, and what was going on in the world when it was built.
Purchasing: Like science, you have to buy the curriculum directly from RC History. She does offer all the books that go along with the curriculum on her website, but you can find many of them for less second hand on Amazon, or even from your local library.
Drawing With Children by Mona Brookes
Subjects covered: Fine Arts
This book someone just gave me, and after looking though it, I realized that I'm pretty sure my middle school art teacher used something very similar if she didn't use this exact book. I remember some of the drawing exercises and instructions and pictures. I wasn't really looking for a separate art curriculum, but we are working through this together. I try to get to it once a week, but it doesn't always happen. If you're really interested in wanting a separate art curriculum, we are enjoying this one so far, but if there are art projects built into your other subjects, I wouldn't go out of my way unless it's a passion of yours.
Purchasing: I would just get it from Amazon or a second hand book store.
You may have noticed that we don't have a curriculum that covers some of the subjects. We didn't have a formal art curriculum for the longest time until I was given the book I mentioned above. We did (and still do) art projects all time though, sometimes together and orchestrated by me, sometimes they just grab their art supplies and go to town! We also don't have a health or physical education curriculum. But, we're teaching our kids good health habits by how we live our lives. We're eating fruits and veggies at lunch. Some times I'm asking them what veggies they want and we're talking about what are veggies and what are fruits or meats or carbs. We brush & floss teeth and go to the dentist regularly (okay, so we're overdue for a visit right now, but we haven't wanted to take all the kids to the dentist office during this pandemic!) For physical education, we're going for walks all summer long. We're playing catch in the back yard and teaching them how to hit a ball. They're exploring movement while playing on the play set in the backyard. We've had them in swimming lessons (again though, we're not doing this during the pandemic). For economics, our kids are earning allowances for chores and we're teaching them to save, spend, and tithe the money they earn.
PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN
Now for kids that aren't yet 7 years old, these aren't all required. I tend to start at age 5, if they're able to read, with just Spelling Workout, Plaid Phonics, and Math Mammoth. The younger kids often will sit with us when we're doing read-alouds or art projects for history or they'll watch our science experiments, but I'm not expecting any written work or anything from them. It's all just for them to have exposure, and because they like participating in these fun activities.
If you're looking for a preschool or kindergarten curriculum, I have used ABC Jesus Loves Me with all my kids to some extent. When I first started using her curriculum, she had Years 2-5, but has since added Year 1, which I have not used. I have used different parts of Year 2 with all of my kids. But, my favorite is Year 3 when they start to learn letter sounds. I make sure to use this part of it with each of my kids at age 3 to encourage them to start reading. Two of my kids taught themselves to read (at ages 3 & 4) after going though this. My third child wasn't as motivated about books, so we worked with him on learning to read. My fourth is currently anxious to learn to read. I haven't used much of Years 4 & 5 with any of my kids, since I take those years to focus on learning to read.
Purchasing: This curriculum is free for family use, but you can purchase it so you don't have to print it yourself. I believe it then comes with some extras that used to be available for free.
LEARNING TO READ
McGuffey Primer through All in One Homeschool
All in One Homeschool is a complete PreK-12 online curriculum that is totally free. While I did consider using it in the beginning (who could pass up a completely free curriculum?!), I didn't want my kids to spend all their school time in front of a computer. But, I do like using the McGuffey Primer they have online for when the kids first start to learn to read. Each day they're learning a few new words to read, and she often has a game from Starfall (another app/website I would recommend) to go along with what sounds they're learning. Some days it's a different learning game from another website. The games can be a great motivator for kids that aren't really excited about learning to read.
Purchasing: While I have always used the online version for free, you can order it from Amazon.
Here are quick links to the other posts in this series.
Part 1: Reporting to Your School District and Assessments
Part 2: Reimbursement and Tax Exempt Status
