New Math & ELA Plans - 1st Grade
There are not many things more devastating to a homeschool mom's heart than spending hours... okay, let's be real, WEEKS researching curriculum, watching reviews and flip-through videos, and going over scopes and sequences, only to find out that the curriculum is nothing like you thought it would be.
That is exactly how our 2026–2027 school year started for my first grader... and my TK'er (but more about that in another post).
After weeks of researching, I did something I had NEVER done before. I purchased an entire first-grade curriculum bundle from Harbor & Sprout, which included Math, ELA, Literature, and Handwriting. I was so excited! Everything in the samples looked good, the reviews were good, so it should be good...
SPOILER: It was NOT good. It was a terrible fit for my first grader. I'm not saying it's a bad curriculum. I know it works well for other families. It just wasn't good for US.
In homeschooling, you learn to roll with the punches. You pivot here and there, sometimes in the middle of a school year. And sometimes, just two weeks into the school year.
We were now without a curriculum, so we had to do something while I got this debacle sorted out. We went back to The Good and the Beautiful Math and Language Arts for first grade.
I wasn't particularly fond of it when we used it for preschool and kindergarten. It's beautiful and well thought out, but it just didn't work for my daughter's learning style. This third time around wasn't as bad, but when my daughter started struggling with a few concepts, I did some more rabbit hole digging through reviews. I found that other homeschool moms were running into similar issues and having to supplement to fill in the gaps.
I honestly just don't have time for that. The time it would take me to find and put together supplements could be poured into another subject. So, back down the rabbit hole I went!
I'm happy to say that I've found a few resources that I think are going to be a much better fit for her. And they are NOTHING like our last two choices, which is a plus considering neither worked for her learning style.
This time, I went through the samples AND had her try a few lessons before making any decisions. They were a great fit!
Side note: I did NOT have her try the samples from the Harbor & Sprout bundle before purchasing it. I will not make that mistake again!
Our New Curriculum Choices
Math: Singapore Dimensions Math 1A & 1B
Language Arts: Logic of English (LOE) Foundations C & D
LOE covers phonics, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and handwriting.
We're going to finish the book we already have and then see if it's still needed alongside LOE.
All About Spelling, Level 1
I still have this, so we're going to use it loosely on Fridays unless we find that LOE covers everything we need, which I think it probably will.
Evan-Moor Grammar & Punctuation
LOE does include some grammar, but it's a minor focus in the program. I wanted something with a little more focused grammar practice, so we're adding Evan-Moor.
The main reason I pieced together this curriculum setup was to find something that fits my daughter's learning style and my teaching style. She doesn't do well with long, story-based problems or lessons that take forever to get to the point. She's a "get to the point, let's do this" kind of learner, and both of these new curriculum choices seem to be a great fit for that. She also doesn't do well with a lot of fluff in a curriculum. The unnecessary extras distract her and wear her out, and by the end of the lesson, she's not retaining the important stuff. We're both really excited about these changes, and I'm hoping to have some good news to share in a couple of weeks!
