One of the most asked questions I get is “What curriculum do you use?” And it’s always so hard for me to answer because there is no one program that I follow. I use different materials per subject! And in this article, I lay it all down for you, per subject.
And as you will find out in a few seconds, photo above is NOT an accurate representation of all the books we are using this year. If I had to put everything, it would definitely not fit in the photo! Haha.
A Few Notes Before We Begin:
About Luke
- These are what I use for Luke who is currently in Kindergarten.
- He is 5 years old, but will be 6 by the end of the school year.
About the School Cycle
- Our homeschool provider’s official start of the school year is July but I started early with Luke this year (at January) because I felt that he was ready.
- Because of that, we have finished a lot of his Level K materials and have decided to move on with Grade 1 materials. One of the many benefits of homeschooling is being able to move on the next level when your child is ready, instead of having to wait for the rest of the class.
About the Materials
- I follow the Classical Education and Charlotte Mason Method so the materials are mostly a mix (and a feast!) inspired by both.
- I often get asked if my materials are “Dep-Ed approved” and my answer in a word is “No.”
- My longer explanation: The materials I use have been carefully chosen and are at par (or may even exceed) Dep-Ed requirements. Also, I am enrolled with a provider with an open curriculum set-up, which means there are no required books. We just have to submit requirements and grades (for older years) so there is no need for any particular “Dep-Ed approved” books or curriculum.
- Also, curriculum cannot be accredited. Only institutions can be accredited (like your provider)
And on to the list!
—
Bible & Character
- BIBLE:
- The Bible: We have started reading direct from our Bible for Psalms, Proverbs, memory verses and other passages
- Jesus Storybook Bible: For Bible stories (Review here)
- THEOLOGY:
- The Ology: For understanding theological concepts. (Review here)
- Big Truths for Little Kids: For catechism. Used as a devotional. (Review here)
- SUPPLEMENT:
- Children’s Book of Virtues: For stories and poems with lessons on character.
Language Arts
- READING & LANGUAGE:
- All About Reading 1: For Reading and Phonics (Review here)
- Language Lessons for a Living Education 1: Supplement (Review here)
- First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind Level 1: For Grammar. Also, we did only halfway. We will continue the rest of this material in Year 1.
- LITERATURE:
- POETRY:
- FREE READING:
- Winnie the Pooh
- Little Bear Books: For his own independent reading
- Frog and Toad Books: For his own independent reading
- Brambley Hedge
- Alice in Wonderland: Personally, I would recommend Alice in Wonderland for an older child. I only read it to Luke because he keeps insisting.
- Other beginner readers such as, Ready-to-Read, Step-Up-to-Reading (Review here)
*I want to put Beatrix Potter but Luke doesn’t like them and says they are scary (hehe)
- COPYWORK:
Math
- SUPPLEMENT:
- Various Math drills: Kumon Math Books, worksheets printed online or I made myself
Science
- MAIN:
- Discovering God’s World Abeka 1: Traditional style, personally won’t recommend
- God’s Design: Life for Beginners (Review here)
- SPECIAL TOPICS:
- NASA Unit Studies: Curriculum programs and STEM activities from NASA’s Website. Luke is currently obsessed with NASA.
History
- SUPPLEMENT:
- Mystery of History 1: Supplement (Review here)
- Usborne Book of World History: Supplement
Geography
Filipino
- LANGUAGE:
- Filipino Storybooks: I ask him to narrate in 1-2 sentences after to practice speaking in Filipino
- Buksan Flashcards
- PRE-COLONIAL HISTORY:
- FOLK TALES:
- The Warrior Dance and Other Classic Philippine Sky Tales
- The Termite Queen and Other Classic Philippine Earth Tales
- INTRODUCTION TO SPANISH COLONIZATION*:
* For this year’s history, I plan to focus on stories and life of the pre-colonial era. That means a lot of myths, legends and folk tales. However, we have done most of the material already midway so I have decided to already introduce the Spanish Colonial Period in the Philippines.
Chinese
- MAIN:
- Easy Steps to Chinese for Kids 2a & 2b
- Online Mandarin Lessons: With a private tutor 3x a week
- SUPPLEMENT:
- Chineasy Flashcards and Book: For practice writing
- Wise Kids Printables Flashcards: For character recognition and mastery
Art & Music
- ART HISTORY:
- Vincent’s Starry Night and Other Stories: A Children’s History of Art
- ART HISTORY SUPPLEMENTS:
- Katie Art Books by James Mayhew (Review here)
- Laurence Anholt’s Artists Series (Review here)
- Other books we may have on our chosen artist
- COMPOSER STUDIES:
—
- For lessons and activity ideas, please feel free to check out this page: Homeschool Lessons.
- For curriculum reviews, click this link: Curriculum Reviews
- For more recommendations, visit my Amazon Storefront.
—
RELATED POSTS:
- List of Free Living Books for Kids
- Homeschool Room: 2020
- Blending Classical Method + Charlotte Mason
- How We Homeschool: 5 Years Old
- How I Make My Homeschool Lesson Plan
6 Comments
joyce bagos
March 29, 2021 at 4:57 pmHi Sheena, would you have a review of “First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind, Level 1”?
Sheena Sy Gonzales
April 7, 2021 at 9:38 pmI’ll try to write one soon, but in a nutshell, we love it!
Kat Bolivar
May 7, 2021 at 2:23 pmHello Sheena! Thank you for sharing your K curriculum. Very helpful. With all these books, were you still able to observe the short lessons prescribed by CM?
Sheena Sy Gonzales
May 17, 2021 at 2:34 pmHi Kat, yes definitely! Keep in mind that these books were used throughout the year. Hehe so we only did usually 1 chapter on one sitting, and depends on the subject, we don’t do it daily. So we were able to use all these but spread out through out the year. Welcome!
Joy
May 29, 2021 at 6:38 pmThank you Sheena for this thorough K Curriculum review! It’s so helpful for us! Thank you! I noticed that most books are imported. Do you prefer purchasing the pdf files and have them printed or original physical books are better?
Sheena Sy Gonzales
June 14, 2021 at 2:52 pmIdeally, I would recommend getting them all from the US and having them shipped, especially if there are other materials and manipulatives. But if the cost is too far, I would also be ok with buying digitally and having them printed locally.