Botch Family Homeschool Curriculum Reveal for 2020/2021

I’m sharing the curriculum that each of my kids ages 5, 6, and 8 will be using this coming school year. If you just want a list of curriculum with links, I have that for you at the very bottom of the post!

Ready?
Let’s get to it!

Preschool (age 4/5)

Letter Fun:
Delightful Reading, Level 1: Playing with Letters and Sounds. I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to invest in a preschool curriculum. My daughter has insisted on doing “school” every single day for the last year (even on weekends) which finally pushed me to purchase DR 1 for her. Having someone else do all the planning for me sounded really nice.

I wrote a pretty lengthy post on the resources and game ideas I used to teach her older sister letters/sounds. If you’re interested in reading more about our resources, click HERE.
If I were to create a pre-k letter curriculum, it would look SO MUCH like Delightful Reading level 1. I am very pleased with it and even use it with her older sister.

Early Writing:
We use a sand tray, modeling clay/homemade play dough, wikki stix and the preschool doodle workbook from The Good and the Beautiful.
I also have THIS workbook for the days that she still wants more table time, especially when I need to start working with her older sister and brother. Sometimes busy work WORKS when homeschooling multiple kids.

Math:
Preschool Math at Home by Kate Snow.
It’s my favorite preschool math guide. She also uses a sand tray to practice writing numbers.

Extras:
She joins us for morning basket, nature study, handicrafts/art, and read aloud time/book basket. Of course her days are mostly play. Her table time with me for letters and math usually lasts about 15 minutes and then she runs outside. We keep it all playful and fun for her.
I will be reading the Christian Liberty Nature Reader level K to her once a week.

(Below are a few pictures of our preschool curriculum. The animal alphabet cards and magnetic letters are not part of the Delightful Reading Kit.)

Kinder Year 0 (age 6)

Reading/Phonics:
All About Reading Level 1 with Delightful Reading level 1 for extra practice and fun. We start with a short lesson from AAR, then end with a fun letter activity from Delightful Reading.

Writing:
A Reason for Handwriting Level K and she loves the sand tray.
We also really like The Good and The Beautiful Level K Handwriting, but she used that last year, and I wanted to hold off on level 1.
I was just looking for a change, and am interested in seeing how she likes the new workbook.

Math:
Kindergarten Math With Confidence by Kate Snow. This curriculum released Spring of 2020, and we are so excited about it. Especially since Preschool Math at Home worked for her. She’s already started on the kinder level and we both really enjoy the lessons.

Extras:
She joins us for morning basket, nature study, handicrafts/art, and read aloud time/book basket.
I will be reading the Christian Liberty Nature Reader level K to her once a week.

(Below are a few pictures of our Kindergarten(6) curriculum.)

Year 2 (age 8)

A Gentle Feast Cycle 3, Form 1

This will be our spine curriculum for History/Natural History, Geography, Language Arts, Foreign Language, and Music.
This is our second year using AGF and it’s the very first Charlotte Mason Curriculum I’ve been able to follow without falling behind. We all learned so much last year, and I’m excited to crack open the books again with my oldest in August!

Math:
The Good and the Beautiful along with both of the Math Facts That Stick Addition and Subtraction books by Kate Snow, and other math based games.

Reading/Phonics:
All About Reading Level 3 and why we aren’t using The Good and The Beautiful for Language Arts this year.

Between the Language Arts and Morning Time Guide from A Gentle Feast, I’ve been able to cover everything from poetry to hymns, bible, memorization selections, music/artist study, narration, composition, grammar, spelling, writing/copywork, and illustration prompts. I love it because the lessons are based around the time period and books that we’re reading throughout the year. I like how the spelling tests are done in a “French Dictation” style. I also really like how AGF takes spelling words from the copywork passages, and the copywork passages all come from what we are reading.

Why we switched from TGATB to All About Reading:
This is the biggest change I’ve made this year, and the one I’m the most nervous about. We’ve used TGATB Language Arts with my son for three years and we’re both very comfortable with it.
However, A Gentle Feast Language Arts is so thorough that found myself skipping over almost ALL of the lessons from TGATB. This left us with what felt like a few phonics lessons here or there.

What we really needed this year was a curriculum that only focuses on reading. Even though my son is becoming a confident reader, I want to make sure his phonics skills are strong. I know it will be beneficial for him in the future, especially when it comes to spelling.

AAR is very different for us and we are both getting used to it, but even after one lesson I can tell that it’s a much stronger reading curriculum that TGATB. I’m interested in seeing how it goes!

(Below are a few pictures of our Year 2 curriculum. The Homeschool Planner is from Anna Vance Paper Co.)

Family Friendly Subjects

Morning Basket:
We use A Gentle Feast Morning Time Packet that includes Bible, Scripture, Hymns, Poetry Memorization, Poet Study, Artist/Composer Study, and Fables.

Family Devotional:
Our 24 Family Ways by Clay Clarkson. My husband and I read this with the kids at bedtime.

Nature Study:
We’ll read living books for Natural History during morning time and I made each of my kids a little packet full of free printables I found online. They will color the pages as I read aloud.
Texas Nature Study Guide from Chickie and Roo
Nature Study will still be our main focus for science this year. Even though I liked the nature prompts from AGF, I thought this would be the perfect time to pull out our Texas guide that I purchased last year, since we will be focusing on our home state a little more. I am REALLY excited about it!!
The kids still use Twig and Moth Nature Journals, and they also work on a simplified version of a phenology wheel.

Foreign Language:
Cherrydale Press Spanish curriculum along with song and game suggestions from A Gentle Feast and First Hundred Words in Spanish book from Usborne that we used last year.
AGF does suggest a separate foreign language curriculum in Cycle 3, but it wasn’t in our budget. I do think daily practices and consistency is key with any foreign language. We will be looping through Spanish lessons, songs, and games every week during morning time.

Books:
We also really enjoy using Five in a Row guides throughout the year. This is something that I’ve used for almost three years now and for me they are a fun addition to sprinkle in about once a month throughout the school year.
Since we school year round, it’s our main curriculum during the summer months.

Lastly, I’m considering pulling back out The Playful Pioneers Guide just for ONE of our read alouds. I like that I can pick and choose what I need from any guide and we will be doing the craft/art/baking suggestions from PP.
I know it will create so many wonderful memories for us all!

Phew!
And that’s mostly it!
I’m still trying to decide on a particular handicraft/art focus for the year, and I would like to get my oldest two in some kind of music lessons (maybe piano).

I’m looking forward to a very fun and productive year ahead with lots of learning, and time in nature!