We’re about seven weeks into our school year, and I am so pleased with how my second daughter is taking to formal lessons. It’s been three years since I’ve had a first grader, and so much has changed about my approach to home education. I remember drilling my oldest daughter with entirely too much material way too soon. The poor thing was exhausted! This time around with my second daughter, we adopted a totally different approach, allowing for hours of play, outdoor time, reading aloud and organic learning. Because of this, she has been so eager and hungry to learn now that it’s time for more formal lessons at 6 years old. Here’s what our plans for her look like–

Our Weekly Obligations

There are a few things I have to keep in mind when scheduling out our homeschool lessons. The first is that my husband’s off-days are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so we actually take Wednesday’s completely off and use it as our weekend “family day.” On Tuesdays, my husband jumps in and helps with lessons and we usually finish by lunch time, giving us a half-day off for family adventures. That being said, our homeschool days are Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

On Tuesday evenings, the girls have dance class. On Thursdays, they have American Heritage Girls, which is like a Christian Girl Scouts program that teaches the Bible, prayer, outdoor kills, etiquette, community service and citizenship. On Friday’s, we have a standing Bible Study with a group of Moms and their kiddos at the local playground.

Morning Time

During breakfast, we gather as a family for our Morning Time, which I call Maranatha Mornings. This is where we introduce the day with beauty and Truth, starting with the Word of God, prayer, singing and more. I like doing this at breakfast because the kids are occupied with their food and I can cover a lot of material. We use A Gentle Feast Morning Time, and love it so much. With A Gentle Feast Morning Time, we cover Bible, Beauty Loop, and Scripture Memory. The beauty loop just means we rotate through what we call “beauty subjects”: hymns, artist study, composer study, poetry recitation, and fables/tales. A “loop” just means that we loop through these subjects each week, doing only one of them per day if that makes sense. We also have Solfa Singing Lessons using Children of the Open Air on Youtube, and Spanish using Speaking Spanish with Miss Mason and Francois. After Morning Time, we move to the couch and I read from our “family read aloud.” While reading, the kids have quiet activities to keep their hands busy, our favorites being polymer clay, kinetic sand in a large tupperware container, legos, blocks and coloring sheets. The children are told they can “move their hands, but not their mouths” while I’m reading. I usually only read a chapter- sometimes two. So with all this in mind, a day of Morning Time may look like: Bible, Artist Study, Spanish, Scripture Memory and Read Aloud. The whole thing lasts about 30 minutes or so.

Outdoor Play and Math

After this, we go play outside, giving the kids about 30 minutes to play altogether, before I pull the first child to do math with me on a picnic blanket. If the weather doesn’t warrant this, this would just look like free play inside the home, pulling one child at a time. For my 1st grader’s Math, we are using The Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic Series, Book 1. We work on Math for about 15-20 minutes per day using a timer.

Reading Lessons

Because my first grader already knows how to read, we spend reading lessons strengthening those skills. We worked our way through quite the selection of Early Readers over the summer (pictured above). We are now using Free and Treadwell’s First Reader; she reads from that two times per week. The other two days, I read aloud a chapter of her literature to her. While reading, I will stop and let her jump in and read a paragraph here and there, which gives her practice reading some more difficult vocabulary. Some of the books we’re attempting for her literature this year are:

• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
• Selections from The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
• Heidi by Joanna Spyri
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Little Pilgrim’s Progress
• The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls, Books 1 & 2

Once again, I read these aloud one on one with her, with her reading chunks here and there when I see a paragraph that is doable yet challenging for her.

Phonics & Writing

Lyon does copywork two times per week, meaning she’s copying down beautiful verses from the Bible, lines of poetry, quotes from great men and women of the past, etc. On the other two days, she does Explode the Code Level 1, completing about a lesson per week. She also writes in organic ways throughout the week, as she makes cards for people constantly, writes in her nature journal, etc.

History

For American History, we are keeping it very simple for her first year. We read 1-2 times per week from 50 Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin, and 1 time per week from Our Island Story by H.E. Marshall. We are also adding Columbus by D’Aulaire and Meet the North American Indians by Elizabeth John Payne, and perhaps a couple others if time warrants.

Nature Study

For Nature Study this year, we are using a beautiful new Nature Study guide called Nature Explorers by Sabbath Mood Homeschool. Through that guide, we are doing weekly special studies, nature journaling and object lessons. Depending on what nature topic we are studying that week, I usually read an excerpt from The Year ‘Round by C.J. Hylander, which is a beautiful book that digs into various topics. We are also reading through three of the Arabella Buckey books for our Nature Lore: By Pond and River, Wildlife in Woods and Fields and Insect Life. Since each of these books have 12 chapters each and our school year is 36 weeks, it works out perfectly to read a chapter per week.

Geography

We are using Paddle to the Sea by Holling C.Holling, which takes the reader on a journey through the Great Lakes through story. We read a chapter per week, filling out this map as we reach each new location in the story. For Physical Geography, I am using Ambling Together’s Physical Geography guide to teach landforms, oceans, etc. using Kinetic Sand and Polymer Clay. We do this on Fridays.

Drawing Lessons

We are working through Bruce McIntyre’s Drawing Textbook. Though we are moving through it slowly, we are really enjoying it.

Instrument Practice

Lyon is using Hoffman Academy, which are free, online piano lessons. We currently do about two lessons per week, but I would love to work up to five lessons per week.

Handicrafts

We are focusing heavily on Machine Sewing this year, with some hand sewing and embroidery sprinkled in. Currently, we are making a “Happy Birthday” banner that will be hung on each family’s member’s birthday, as well as a tablecloth and birthday crowns. Around Christmas, we will be making stockings and embroidering names on each of them. I am hoping to introduce felt needling as well as a winter handicraft, but we will see.

Weekly Schedule

This is the jist of what our days look like for our first grader, filled in with lots of snacks, bike riding and tree climbing breaks, and free play.

Final Thoughts

Already, this year has been so rich. I’m looking forward to creating a few posts throughout the year sharing how my first grader is faring with the “work load.” So far, I see her rising to the occasion and enjoying her work. I plan to share throughout the year as I go, giving updates on the resources we chose! So far, the subject she’s loving the most is Geography- she asks for it daily! Until next time, friends!