2020-2021 Curriculum!

I am SO excited for all the curricula I bought for this coming school year! I found most of it through the Great Homeschool Convention, which I was going to attend, but it abruptly shut down due to COVID-19. I was disappointed, but I went on the website and combed through every website of every vendor to find materials. I really wanted to be able to look at the materials in person--websites for homeschooling stuff don't always provide enough information--but I did the best I could, and I'm really excited about everything I got!

RightStart Math Level A

This was by far the most expensive curriculum I bought, coming in at a whopping $300 for the books and supplies. I dithered over buying it, but it looked so perfect that I finally took the plunge. (And if I continue with RightStart after this year, I can continue to use the supplies, and only pay about $90 for each year's books.) I was looking for a math curriculum that was comprehensive, open & go, and most importantly, fun. The last thing I want is to put Rhonda off of math because the curriculum is boring. RightStart incorporates tons of games--they say that games are a much better way to practice math facts than flashcards or worksheets. And I agree! It has a lot of manipulatives (one of the reasons it's so expensive). And it is a completely comprehensive curriculum that requires no extra planning from the parent. No other curriculum I saw seemed as wonderful as this one. And since my other curricula were much cheaper, I ultimately decided I could afford to spend more on this one. And if I'm going to be spending a lot of money on one thing, it certainly ought to be math!

Jot It Down! from Bravewriter

This is one I've actually been hearing about for quite a while, so I didn't find it at the homeschool convention. This is a writing curriculum, but it's actually more of a "lifestyle" that includes a lot of activities that encourage creativity. There are projects for each month. I think Rhonda will really love the projects. They call this curriculum "open & grow" because you can re-use it with the same child. It's a non-writing approach to writing. (The child dictates and the parent does the writing.) So I could potentially re-use this with Rhonda. The curriculum cost $49, but it's in PDF format, so I may also end up paying to print it.

Berean Builders Science in the Beginning

Another find from the homeschool convention. This one is interesting because it's a lot more religious than I was really looking for in a science curriculum. The format of the book follows the seven days of creation. But despite how very Christian it is, it actually looks like a really great science curriculum. I was looking for something that would introduce Rhonda to a lot of different science topics in a fun way--and, importantly, something not too expensive, since I don't consider science an essential subject at this age. (The main reason I looked for a science curriculum at all is that Rhonda is so fascinated by it.) A lot of the science curriculum I've seen for young kids is nature study--aka, go outside and find some stuff and look at it. There's nothing wrong with that, but Rhonda is really interested in a lot of other science topics, too--so I wanted more.

This curriculum really fit the bill. Every lesson has an experiment that goes with it (and most of the experiments use common household items). The lessons are short enough to read to Rhonda without losing her interest, and the book seems to be written in a way that will be easy for her to understand. Since it follows the seven days of creation, it will introduce her to the science of light, air, water, plants, animals, planets, the human body, and more. And it was the right price: $40! She is already so excited to start.

ARTistic Pursuits Art for Children, vol. 1

I wasn't really looking for an art curriculum, but this one looked so fun, I decided to get it. There are 18 formal lessons in the book. I figure we can plan on doing two lessons a month, and then one non-lesson art session the other weeks in the month. This book introduces really basic concepts in art and explains it in a very simple way that a 5-year-old could understand. It will also be a really fun opportunity for Rhonda to use different mediums that she hasn't tried before (watercolor pencil, oil pastels). I'm actually really looking forward to it too, and hoping that I can get in on the fun! (I'm not particularly good at art, but I do really enjoy it.) At first I was slightly concerned that she might not be ready to follow an art lesson, but we started doing short drawing videos from Art Hub for Kids on YouTube, and she loved them! I was actually really impressed with how far her art skills have come in just the last few months. And I was so proud of her for being able to follow the video without getting frustrated. If there was something she was having a hard time drawing, she just cheerfully moved on. I think that is such a great skill to learn, so I think art will be great for that.

The book cost  $40, with an option to buy all the art supplies with the book for $108 total. I thought that seemed a little steep, but I found a website, Miller Pads & Paper, that sells art supplies for a really good price! I found almost everything we needed on that website for only $38. So all told, with shipping and one extra thing I had to buy on Amazon, I paid about $90 for the complete curriculum.

I debated over starting history this year. The classical model for learning history breaks it into four parts, to be learned over four years: ancient history, Middle Ages/Renaissance, Renaissance/early modern, and modern. Then you start over and do them twice more throughout the child's educational years. This makes sense to me, and it seems to be a model that almost every homeschool curriculum follows in one way or another. Even our art and science curricula follow it in the next volumes.

Ultimately, I decided not to start with history in kindergarten. I think it will be easier and makes more sense to wait until first grade. Then all her other curricula will coincide with the history curriculum. And I really don't think history is necessary in kindergarten.

We will continue with dance next year...hopefully. The dance studio is having a very difficult time right now. We are continuing to pay tuition (they're doing classes online), but not everyone is. I'm just hoping they'll be able to make it through.

For literature study, I'm going to take charge. I feel fully comfortable finding books on my own, and now that Rhonda is getting pretty comfortable with chapter books, I'm excited to do lots of fun read-alouds! We will continue to read picture books as well.