A First Grade Hodgepodge
An eclectic mix of books, beauty, and backyard science for the upcoming school year
Years before we started our own homeschool journey, I attended a panel discussion on homeschooling. It was a fantastic conversation, with parents sharing their diverse homeschooling experiences—from classical education to Montessori-inspired homeschools to Charlotte Mason philosophies.
Toward the end of the event, one mom described herself as a “hodgepodge” homeschooler, and I was intrigued. I assumed my type-A personality would settle into a clearly defined homeschool approach, but the more I planned our first year of kindergarten with Maeve last year, the more eclectic and hodgepodge it became.
We wrapped up our kindergarten year together a few weeks ago, and with a baby on the way and an upcoming surgery for William, I’m planning first grade a little early.
Curriculum isn’t the most important part of education. I think true education is about teaching our children how to love the right things in the right way. But it is so fun to put together a homeschool year full of beautiful, good curriculum that helps me teach Maeve how to order her loves. Every package of homeschool materials that arrives in the mail feels like Christmas.
Maybe you’re thinking about homeschooling your own kids, or you’re years into homeschooling. Perhaps you’re curious about what a first grade homeschool education could look like. Or maybe you were homeschooled yourself and this is a chance to reminisce about your own education experience. Regardless of where you find yourself, I wanted to share a peek into what I have planned for first grade this upcoming year!
Or course, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all first grade plan. Some of what I’ve chosen for Maeve and I to work through this upcoming year might not suit your individual first grader or your family at all. Honestly, there are probably things on this list that I’ll tweak (or outright abandon) midyear if they turn out to be a poor fit.
Here’s a peek at what we have in store for Maeve’s first-grade year:
Religion
This upcoming year is full of Scripture, saints, and the sacraments!
We read through The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones multiple times last year and loved it (although I did do some off the cuff editing while reading stories, especially the Passion narratives). Word on Fire has shared that their new Spark children’s Bible will come out sometime in 2025, and I’m eagerly waiting for the launch. Until then, we’ll keep reading Scripture and using Into the Deep Level One to help guide conversations.
Last year, we met many, many dear saint friends through Meg Hunter Kilmer’s Saints Around the World. We’ll continue to read that book together, and I’m also adding in Catholic Sprout’s The Saints and the Call to Friendship with Christ to meet even more heavenly friends.
I love including Ruah Woods Institute’s Theology of the Body curriculum throughout the year, too. Starting as young as kindergarten and rooted in quality literature, their lessons are beautiful, simple, and age-appropriate. This upcoming year, topics covered include creation as a gift, what a vocation is, and how our bodies, families, and vocations are a gift from God.
I love Saint Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and love how this resource breaks down concepts for kids. But even if you haven’t ever read Theology of the Body, you could open the teacher manual and dive right in. You can check out their first grade curriculum here, and explore their other grade levels on their website.
In addition to these resources at home, we also enrolled Maeve in Catechisis of the Good Shepherd, which I think will be a lovely compliment to the work we’re doing together at home. Plus we’re preparing for first confession and communion in the spring, so we’ll be reading Tommy and Katie McGrady’s new book on forgiveness, re-reading Emily Stimpson Chapman and Scott Hahn’s beautiful picture book on confession, and working through the classic Baltimore Catechism.
Reading, writing, and literature
We’re returning to All About Reading this year and I’m excited for Level One with Maeve! I’m also going to use The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting to work on penmanship.
Around the house, we’re always reading. I keep multiple bookshelves stocked with good reads (often from Sarah Mackenzie’s book lists and favorites from our local children’s literature museum).
In addition to some dedicated read-aloud time each day, we also read together as a family before tucking the kids in bed. Right now we’re in the middle of The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald, and after that wraps up, we’ll start back into the Narnia series, picking up with The Silver Chair. We also have a Yoto player and a growing collection of stories that Maeve listens to during daily quiet time.
I want to tie learning to read, family reading time, and handwriting all together by helping Maeve start a commonplace book this year—and I’m excited to start one alongside her, too!
We still meet monthly with friends for poetry club and both Maeve and I have a goal of memorizing a poem a month to recite. This upcoming month, she’s mastered The End by A.A. Milne. There’s quite a bit of Robert Louis Stevenson and Beatrix Potter in store for poetry clubs in the months ahead, and I’m looking forward to using The Harp and the Laurel Wreath to guide poetry selections, too.
Math
This was Maeve’s favorite kindergarten subject, which I’m grateful for. I never particularly enjoyed math, but the engineer genes that Joseph passed on are hard at work in our kids. We’ll return to The Good and the Beautiful, which makes math not only enjoyable to learn, but to teach as well.
Science
For science at this age, I’ve been following the lead of my kid’s questions and learning about what they’re interested in. Last year that meant learning a lot about different types of bugs and birds that visit our yard. It’s also meant some fun exploration of plants as we grow our front yard garden.
This year, I’m getting slightly more structured with the Fields and Flowers course from The Good and the Beautiful. With a combination of beautiful pictures, stories, and hands-on activities, we’ll be learning more about bees, butterflies, flowers, and trees.
I also have plans for some nature walks around our neighborhood and some trips to the local arboretum for hikes and bird watching.
Art
There’s a lot of creating and crafting that goes on around our dining room table, which I’m sure will continue this upcoming year. I’m bringing in a little more structure to art appreciation for Maeve in first grade, too.
I’m excited to look at art with the Come Look With Me series by Gladys S. Blizzard, as well as uncover beautiful artwork with the Child Size Masterpieces that my dad used to teach me when I was little!
We have a fantastic art museum here in Kansas City that I’m hoping to frequent on some field trips, too!
When I first started homeschooling Maeve, I had a long list of things I wanted to explore with her in kindergarten. I sent that (very) long list over to my mom—a veteran educator with nearly thirty years of homeschool experience. She wisely advised me to cut my list in half. I did—and spent the past year focused on connection, good books, and time outside.
In the end, education is not about checking a bunch of boxes or acing tests. For our family, it’s been about curling up with a giant pile of library books, listening to robins sing as we walk through the neighborhood, and watching Maeve’s eyes light up when she realized the patterns when counting to one hundred.
I chose this year’s curriculum with a deep desire to help Maeve marvel at the world—and wonder at the depth and beauty of her own soul. My hope is that this sense of wonder leads her deeper and deeper into a relationship with the God who created it all.
So yes, the curriculum is a bit of a hodgepodge—but it’s stitched together with intentionality, love, curiosity, and a lifelong love of learning (both for myself and for my kids). With soon-to-be four kids + a crazy dog running around, there’s a healthy bit of chaos in the mix, too—and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
We love All About Reading!
Appreciate this post a lot, thank you! Going to start homeschooling my first grader in the fall, so this was helpful to read one approach.