It sounds completely BONKERS but I feel a freakish amount of joy by getting new curriculum and planning our upcoming schoolyear. I am so excited about our upcoming year. This will be our FIFTH year homeschooling! How did that happen?! It has gone by so fast in so many ways – and I can honestly say, it just gets better every year.
This upcoming year will have Jacob in fourth grade, Sarah in first, and Benjamin in his second year of preschool. Where is the time going?! Lydia is my “assistant” and in charge of morale – she is very good at her job.
So here is our lineup for 2021 – 2022!
Family Subjects
Come Follow Me
Our day always begins with “family study” and that will keep going. We will continue to read and study from the Doctrine and Covenants through December and then in January we will move into our study of the Old Testament. It has been such an incredible experience.
We use The Doctrine and Covenants and Come, Follow Me – For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 as our main sources but we also use some resources from The Red Headed Hostess. We use The Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Study Book for Kids and Youth for Jacob, and Sarah and Benjamin use The Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Activity Book for Young Children.
Science
It has been SO MUCH fun having Sarah join us for science this year and we can’t wait to dive in more next year. We are 100% using units from The Good and the Beautiful. However, I am not 100% on which ones yet. Ecosystems, Birds, and Space Science are for sure happening but I am a little unsure about the other(s).
Our tentative plan is to do:
History
Next year Sarah is going to join us! YAY! We will be using The Good and the Beautiful Year 4 Course. History is my favorite subject and I am so pumped for next year. The topics we will be learning about are:
- Ancient Rome
- Christianity in the Middle Ages
- The History of Islam
- The Reformation
- The History of the Bible
- Slavery
- The Civil War Era
- Post-World War II History
Art
We will continue to do tutorials from Let’s Make Art. These are so much fun and are easily the kids favorite!
Nature
This is a subject that has definitely ebbed and flowed over the years. But I feel like we are in a place to bring it back {final last words…right? 😉}! I am still working out the kinks with how I want to do it for our crew – AND how to make it something that is sustainable. Wish me luck! We will be using The Good and the Beautiful Nature Notebooks.
JACOB {Fourth Grade}
Language Arts
Jacob will use The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts Level 4 Course. These courses are magic and I love them. This will be a big year for Jacob with language arts because this is the first year that most of his work will be done independently – that is, without ME. I am a little bummed because I love learning along with him. But it will be such a great skill for him and will free up a little bit of my time.
This course also comes with a Spelling and Writing Workshop book which Jacob already likes looking through. AND it includes a World Biographies Reader and a Personal Reader. Jacob is PUMPED and already begging to start.
But if all that weren’t enough, there is also a big emphasis on ART. And specifically, this year Jacob will get to learn chalk pastels. I sincerely doubt I will be able to avoid joining him 😉 It’s going to be A-MAZING!
Read Alouds
Jacob and I will continue to do read alouds next year. I am fairly certain it is going to be the last year for him and I am so sad about it. So we are going to savor it BIG TIME this year!
Our FULL LIST is here – I can’t wait!
Handwriting
Handwriting will continue next year. This is such a simple subject to add in and it has done wonders! Jacob’s handwriting is beautiful. He will do The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting Level 4. Jacob began learning cursive this year and that will become his main focus next year. He has loved it so far!
Math
The last several years we have been doing our best to get caught up with math. Long story short – we really struggled to find a math curriculum we meshed with. Enter The Good and the Beautiful. We have LOVED The Good and the Beautiful math. I have had mixed feelings since they announced redoing it all but we are trusting that we have loved and been successful with all of their materials and hoping that this is no different.
It should be released this summer and Jacob will be doing Simply Good and Beautiful Math Level 4.
Typing
Jacob will be doing his final year of typing! He {and I} have really enjoyed this program. He will be doing The Good and the Beautiful Typing Level 3.
Drawing
Jacob really enjoyed the addition of drawing this last year and we will continue it next year. In language arts there is a big focus on pastels and so I asked him if he wanted to take a break from this but he answered with a firm NO without any hesitation. This boy loves his art and I love that about him.
This next year he will be working through Draw Vintage Images Level 3 and 4.
Creative Writing
This will be a NEW elective for Jacob next year. Something amazing has happened over the course of this year and that is Jacob’s love for writing. It still can overwhelm him a little but it has easily been THE BEST thing to come out of language arts this year.
I am still kind of working out my plan for this but we are going to take a really relaxed approach and see how it goes! He will be using The Good and the Beautiful Creative Writing Workbook 1.
Piano
This has been a subject that has been a little on the fence recently. Jacob’s attitude about piano has improved A LOT this last year {it was a real struggle for awhile}. With that said though, Jacob has done piano for three years now and so I feel like he has given it a solid go – so this summer we will have a bigger talk with him about what he wants to do.
IF Jacob continues, we will continue to use Faber Piano Adventures as his books. He is currently getting towards the end of Level 1 and we will just move right into Level 2A.
SARAH {First Grade}
Language Arts
Sarah will be using The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts Level 1. I have been amazed with how much Sarah has progressed this year with her reading. She has picked up on it so beautifully and she even just reads beautifully. She inflates her voice and reads aloud like she has been doing it for years! I can’t wait to watch her continue to progress.
Read Alouds
I am SO excited for Sarah’s read alouds next year. This is such a special time with Sarah and we love reading together. Click HERE for our full read aloud list for next year.
Handwriting
While we do our read aloud, Sarah practices her handwriting {and then usually ends up snuggled on my lap}. This year she will be working with The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting Level 1.
Math
Math is going swimmingly for Sarah – in fact, she could probably be challenged a little more. She amazes me with how quickly she picks things up. As I said above with Jacob, I am a little hesitant about the new math but we are trusting in it! Sarah will be using Simply Good and Beautiful Math Level 1.
Piano
This last year was Sarah’s first doing piano lessons and she has done really well. She seems to genuinely enjoy it and we will continue on. She is just about finished with Faber Piano Adventures Primer and will be moving on to Level 1.
Benjamin {Preschool}
This will be Benjamin’s second year of preschool. I really enjoy teaching this second year. It is still very relaxed but also a step up from what we have been doing this last year.
Language Arts
The MAIN resource we will be using is The Good and the Beautiful Pre-K program. I have used this with both Jacob and Sarah and LOVE it. The Good and the Beautiful is doing a lot of changes lately, and announced that they were expanding this program and it will be released the end of summer. I am really excited to get an expanded program – I just wish I could get my hands on it sooner!
We have all of the extra resources from the old program still and I am sure will implement those here and there. Once we have moved through the Pre-K program, we will do The Good and the Beautiful Primer. This is an INCREDIBLE small course that is the perfect bridge between Pre-K and Kindergarten. Again, I used it with both Jacob and Sarah and am completely confident in it.
The Peaceful Preschool
Depending on how the new Pre-K program is looking, we may include activities and resources from The Peaceful Preschool. I did this with Sarah and it was a great addition {and I already have everything for it – WIN!} so we will see how much we do.
CLICK HERE for our review of The Peaceful Preschool.
Handwriting
This will be Benjamin’s FIRST year with a handwriting book! We already have received it and he is BEYOND EXCITED! As a side note, it brings me great joy to see the kiddos truly LOVE when we get new curriculum. We all stop in our tracks and have to just devour it all!
Benjamin will be using The Good and the Beautiful Doodles & Pre-Writing for Littles. This is such a great intro to writing and just getting into things. He is thrilled and I am excited for him!
CLICK HERE for review of the Doodles & Pre-Writing for Littles.
Final Thoughts
This last year ended up being a year of survival. There was a whole lot of unexpected but I am feeling a lot better about this upcoming year! Can’t wait to prepare and see all of the GOOD that is to come!
You are amazing… sounds like a great year is in store ❤️
Oh stop 😉 But I AM excited for next year!
Hi! I have spent a lot of time reading through your reviews of TG&TB History, thank you! I have twins who will be in first grade next year. I’ve read other reviews that say this history is too overwhelming for the younger years. What age was your son when you started using TG&TB history? Did you find any of the readings or assignments to be dry or uninteresting? We used Sonlight’s new kindergarten American History program this past year and I was not a fan.
We started it when my son was in first grade {and I am planning on my daughter doing it next year when she is in first grade}. We have really enjoyed it and I don’t regret starting it young. I think a lot of it – for me – boils down to expectations. I didn’t {and still don’t} expect him to remember everything. In those young years it is more about exposure to me and developing a love for the subject. I made sure to pick age appropriate read alouds that would get their interest and help make that time period come alive. I have been really pleasantly surprised with how much he HAS retained though. It’s been great for our family and I love that it cycles back every four years. I don’t have experience with Sonlight to compare but we have really loved TGTB! Good luck with your decision! 😊