Overview by Grade at Birch Grove School (September 2020)

The following is a list of what methods and curriculum I have found to be the perfect fit for MY family, my teaching style, my children's needs, my schedule, etc. at this time in my life. It might not be the perfect fit in a year or two and just because it's perfect for me and mine doesn't mean it will be the "magic bullet" for you and yours also, so if you decide to try out what I use, please approach it prayerfully and then whatever you've chosen to do, give it a good fair trial before giving up, and then don't be afraid to change what is not working until you find something that does. May God bless you in your homeschool journey! 

Age 1-2 years: 
Readiness; Work on the child understanding and obeying "no" and "stop" and "come here" - this isn't about domination, it's about safety! "Stop" making like you're about to stick that in the outlet, "No" you may not jump into the swimming pool without an adult, "Come here" away from the road-end of the driveway. Even the most watchful and diligent parents know it only takes ONE time, it only takes a toddler ONE second, and something horrible could happen to change your lives forever. Basic obedience can be the difference between life and death; it's about love and safety for your child, not about your personal knee-jerk offense to parental authority. 
*Drills (oral); First name, age, please and thank you, parts of the body, basic plants and animals and foods (grass, flower, tree, dog, cat, fish, milk, peas, cracker, etc.), and terms to communicate pain, discomfort, hunger, tiredness, fear, and bathroom needs. 

Age 2-3 years: 
Readiness; Learn to play with several quiet-time-only activities in one designated area without a fuss for 10-30 minutes. (Advanced; 30 minutes up to 1 hour. But 10 minutes is really quite a bit for a tot, you may have to work up to even that much, which is okay. They are little and not made to be still for long. :) ) 

*Drills (oral); Full name, age, please and thank you, basic shapes and colors, more plants and animals and foods. Count up to 3 or 5... their age, how many pieces their sandwich is cut into, how many eyes/ears/feet/etc. they have, the fingers on one hand. (Advanced; Count to 10 or more.) 

Age 3-4 years: 
Reading; Learn to recognize and name some letters of the alphabet. (Advanced; As much as all letters upper and lower case.) 
Writing; Starting to try to color in the lines. (Advanced; ReadyWriter.) 
Math; Count to 10 or 15. (Advanced; Count to 20 or more.) 
*Drills (oral); Continue basic and advanced shapes, colors, counting, alphabet, age, manners. Also, parents' names, city of residence, safety basics. 

*Note: These oral drills for the toddlers/preschoolers should be able to be done in the course of living life. No need for a designated space or time, simply take the teaching moments as they pop up. Count the snack, what color is the leaf, the dog's ball is a circle, where do we live, etc. 

Grade Preschool age 4, 5 or 6: 
Reading; Begin Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Plan to complete at least 20 lessons within 2 years/before beginning Kindergarten. Do not push/rush. (How I do it.) Do not stop for more than 2 weeks! Go through the summer, just keep going until it's time to begin K. 
Writing; Continue to practice coloring in the lines. Learn to write shortened given name. Begin "About Three" series. There are 4 books, 32 pages each = 128 pages total. Goal: 2 pages per schoolday finishes in 26 weeks, so no rush (a typical school year is 36 weeks). Can move on to R&S ABCDEF next. Do not pass book F before completing MFW K. 
Math; Count to 50. 
Drills (oral); Work on shapes, colors, counting, alphabet, days of week, months of year, safety (stranger danger, stop drop & roll, look both ways and hold an adult's hand before crossing, etc.) and manners. 
**Off-Days; ReadyWriter/ coloring in the lines. 

**Off-Days are when you don't want kiddo to get out of the routine during a break. Holiday break, or when mama's not feeling well, or if you're schooling year round but taking every 7th week off or something. 

Grades Pre through 2 or 3 - Phonics & Reading: 

>>>Once your child begins phonics instruction, they should never have more than 2 weeks of break from phonics/reading until they are a decently fluent reader (sometime between grade 1 and 3). I would argue that even then and even until they are adults they should never go that long without reading anything if you want them to be proficient and competent readers! In the case of a new phonics learner, they will lose ground if left to break for a whole summer, often so much that you need to start over again and teach them phonics all over again! If you wish to follow my methods, do not allow your child to break from phonics lessons for more than 2 weeks at any given time until they are able to read short chapter books in their heads and then demonstrate that they understood what they read by answering a short oral quiz. Follow this list in sequence through summers and school seasons with no more than 2 weeks break at once, and if at any point they demonstrate chapter book mastery BEFORE the end of this list, then skip to the last step.<<< 

1. Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Get at least to lesson 20, preferably closer to lesson 40, and then stop and move to step 2 as soon as you believe your child is ready for Kindergarten. During the time when you are having your child do TYCTRin100EZL, also have them practice writing first a shortened version of their first name (i.e. Sam, Ben, Kat) and after a few months, help them learn to write their full given name (Samuel, Benjamin, Katherine). 

2. My Father's World Kindergarten. Do not keep doing TYCTRin100EZL after moving on to MFW K. While completing MFW K, have your child also begin learning to write their surname with their given name on their papers.

3. Christian Light "Learning To Read." Do not give the child more than a week or two between them, and do not do them both at the same time. When you complete MFW K, immediately begin Christian Light "Learning To Read." You will need the 4 primers, the Light Unit Set (101-110), and probably both Teacher's Guides. You may want the Extra Practice Sheets if your child was still struggling to read CVC words at the end of MFW K or if your child has trouble telling you what letter begins simple words such at sock or bat when they hear the word. If you can say 'what letter does fan begin with' and the child can write down the letter f with no coaching, you probably won't need the extra practice sheets. The flashcards and such I have never owned or used so it's up to you if you think they are needed. I just hung the letter cards (the big ones with pictures) from MFW K on the wall and will leave them there until I have no kids under grade 2. (Oh what a sad day, to have no more littles!) 

4. 2 pages a day of Abeka's "Handbook For Reading" until you complete it. I don't buy any of the workbooks or anything, I just have that one little booklet "Handbook for Reading." If you do 2 pages a day it shouldn't take long to finish this. In fact if the early pages are too easy you might skip ahead, and if the child doesn't want to skip but it's too easy you can have them read 4 or so pages a day until it begins to get challenging and then slow down. During this short time, ALSO have them pick up where they left off before K with the R&S ABCDEF and GHIJKL. You can go all the way through book L now if your child is enjoying it. I find the GHIJKL books to be a cute addition for 1st-grade-ish tagalongs when the older kids are in the Exploring Countries & Cultures cycle year, because they are animals and biomes themed. These books are what passes for Preschool/Kindergarten in the Amish world where Kindergarten isn't a thing and kids begin formal learning in Grade 1 and end it in Grade 10. Meaning they are called preschool but their level goes from about a mid to advanced Pre-4 through the end of Kindergarten or beginning of 1st grade. Honestly it (the grade level) doesn't matter- if your kid is liking them and it's helping them practice and improve on their numbers and letters and thinking skills, it's a keeper, IMHO! 

5. Christian Light "Reading 1" comes next! The goal is to have this done by the end of summer right before they start 2nd or 3rd grade but if kiddo is done early it's fine, go to the final step. 

6. Daily reading. Have your child read TO YOU for 10 minutes every weekday from an appropriate level reader or chapter books. Continue this 10 minute a day reading, having them read it to you so that you can correct pronunciation and help when they get stuck, until your child is has attained BOTH of the following: the ability to silent-read and understand short chapter books, AND has finished the 2nd grade. At this point, trade in the reading lessons for the "Book Basket" concept as suggested by My Father's World. 

Grade Kindergarten (age 5, 6, or 7): 
Reading/Writing/ELA; MFW K and then Christian Light "Learning To Read" - see Phonics/Reading section in italics above. 
Math; MFW K includes. Then begin CalcuLadder drills, repeat levels until mastered.
Science; MFW K includes. 
Drills; Counting to 100, place value, add and subtract up to 10, days, months, safety, manners. 
Off-Days; Educational screen time no more than 30 min., CalcuLadder, Pentime 1:1. 

Grade 1 (age 6, 7, or 8): 
Reading; Abeka "Handbook for Reading" and optionally finish R&S ABCDEFGHIJKL - see Phonics/Reading section in italics above Kindergarten. 
Writing; Learn to write full name (given, middle(s), and surname), Pentime 1.2
ELA; The Well Trained Mind "First Language Lessons, Level 1" 
Math; Optional Semester One - basic CalcuLadder drills, repeat levels until mastered before moving on, also work on understanding place value very well. Semester Two or as soon as they understand place value well - Singapore 1A. (If they are ready for it, I have them start 1B soon after completing 1A and get as far as they can on it by 2nd grade.) 
Science; Nature observation, Usborne Things Outdoors, Usborne Science With Water, Usborne Science With Plants, The Complete Book of Animals 
Drills; Parents' full names, address, phone number. Cement place value concepts. Skip-count by 10's and 5's up to 100, by 2's up to 20. 
Off-Days; Educational screen time no more than 30 min., CalcuLadder, Pentime 1.2 

Grade 2 (age 7, 8, or 9): 
Bible: Whatever we are are doing as a family at Morning Assembly, + bedtime devotions with Daddy. 
Social Studies/History/Geography: My Father's World cycle-year package (MFWCYP) - whichever one we're on that year. 
Reading/Literature: Christian Light "Reading 1" - see Phonics/Reading section in italics above Kindergarten. Then daily 10-min. reading until start 3rd grade. Have been using Easy Peasy Reading 1 for primary reading material ideas lately - it's a little advanced so no worries if it's too hard, just choose something else. If it's too easy just go to the "Reading 2" instead. 
ELA: Language Lessons For Today grade 2 
Spelling: Spelling By Sound & Structure grade 2 (Spelling instruction should not begin until they have at least a decent basic mastery of reading CVC and CVCV words.)
Writing: Pentime 2 (transition to cursive), copywork for MFWCYP. 
Math: Finish Singapore 1B, and then 2A and 2B - get as far as you can on 2B by 3rd grade. 
Science: Nature observation, Kitchen fun. 
Computer (30m): TimezAttack +/-  or other math game and/or Seterra if they're able to. 
Drills: Parents' full names, address, phone number review. Skip counting 10, 5, 2, 3, and 4. 
Off-Days: Computer, CalcuLadder, Pentime. 

Grade 3 (age 8, 9, or 10): 
Bible: Whatever we are are doing as a family at Morning Assembly, + bedtime devotions with Daddy. 
Social Studies/History/Geography: MFWCYP - whichever one we're on that year. 
Reading/Literature: Have the child spend a certain amount of time each schoolday reading what interests them, as per the My Father's World "book basket" concept. Lately I've been using Easy Peasy Reading 2 for primary reading material ideas. It's a little advanced so if it's too hard, try Reading 1, and if it's too easy try Reading 3.  
ELA: Language Lessons For Today grade 3 
Spelling: Spelling by Sound & Structure grade 3
Writing: Copywork for MFWCYP, Pentime 3.  
Math: Finish Singapore 2B and complete 3A & 3B. 
Science: Nature observation & Kitchen fun. 
Computer: Math game, Spanish, Typing, Seterra, Spelling practice. 
Drills: Skip counting 10, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. 
Off-Days: Computer, CalcuLadder, Pentime. 

Grade 4 (age 9, 10, or 11): 
Bible: Whatever we are are doing as a family at Morning Assembly, + bedtime devotions with Daddy. 
Social Studies/History/Geography: MFWCYP - whichever one we're on that year. 
Reading/Literature: Easy Peasy Reading 3, MFW book basket concept. 
ELA: Language Lessons For Today grade 4 
Spelling: Spelling by Sound & Structure grade 4
Writing: Copywork for MFWCYP, Writing Skills For Today level A, Pentime 4. 
Math: Teaching Textbooks, Switched on Schoolhouse, or Lifepac (depending on which kid and what they need) 
Science: Nature observation & kitchen fun. 
Computer: Math game, Spanish, Typing, Seterra, Spelling practice. 
Drills: Skip counting 10, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. 
Off-Days: Computer, CalcuLadder, Pentime. 

Grade 5 (age 10, 11, or 12): 
Bible: Whatever we are are doing as a family at Morning Assembly, + bedtime devotions with Daddy. 
Social Studies/History/Geography: MFWCYP - whichever one we're on that year. 
Reading/Literature: Easy Peasy Reading 4, MFW book basket concept. 
ELA: Language Lessons For Today grade 5
Spelling: Spelling by Sound & Structure grade 5
Writing: Copywork for MFWCYP, Writing Skills For Today level B, Pentime 5. 
Math: Teaching Textbooks, Switched on Schoolhouse, or Lifepac (depending on which kid and what they need) 
Science: Nature observation & Kitchen fun. 
Computer: Math game, Spanish, Typing, Seterra, Spelling practice. 
Drills: Skip counting 10, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. 
Off-Days: Computer, CalcuLadder, Pentime. 

Grade 6 (age 11, 12, or 13): 
Bible: Whatever we are are doing as a family at Morning Assembly, + bedtime devotions with Daddy. 
Social Studies/History/Geography: MFWCYP - whichever one we're on that year. 
Reading/Literature: Easy Peasy Reading 5, MFW book basket concept. 
ELA: Language Lessons For Today grade 6
Spelling: Spelling by Sound & Structure grade 6
Writing: Copywork for MFWCYP, Writing Skills For Today level C, Pentime 6. 
Math: Teaching Textbooks, Switched on Schoolhouse, or Lifepac (depending on which kid and what they need) 
Science: Nature observation & Kitchen fun. 
Computer: Math game, Spanish, Typing, Seterra, Spelling practice. 
Spanish: Easy Peasy 
Off-Days: Computer, CalcuLadder, Pentime. 

Grade 7 (age 12, 13, or 14): 
Bible: Whatever we are are doing as a family at Morning Assembly, + bedtime devotions with Daddy. 
Social Studies/History/Geography: MFWCYP - whichever one we're on that year. 
Reading/Literature: Easy Peasy Reading 6, MFW book basket concept, 2+ of the literature suggestions from MFW (and I write my own guides for them), and a book report journal. 
ELA: Easy Grammar Plus or Applications of Grammar book 1
Spelling: Spelling by Sound & Structure grade 7
Writing: Copywork for MFWCYP, Writing With Skill level 1 first half, Pentime 7. 
Math: Teaching Textbooks, Switched on Schoolhouse, or Lifepac (depending on which kid and what they need) 
Science: Apologia General Science (UPDATE 7/14/21)
Computer: Spanish, Typing, Seterra, Spelling practice. 
Spanish: Easy Peasy 
Off-Days: Computer, Pentime. 

Grade 8 (age 13, 14, or 15): 
Bible: Whatever we are are doing as a family at Morning Assembly, + bedtime devotions with Daddy. 
Social Studies/History/Geography: MFWCYP - whichever one we're on that year. 
Reading/Literature: Easy Peasy Reading 7, MFW book basket concept, 2+ of the literature suggestions from MFW (and I write my own guides for them), and a book report journal. 
ELA: Easy Grammar Ultimate grade 8
Spelling: Spelling by Sound & Structure grade 8
Writing: Copywork for MFWCYP, Writing With Skill level 1 second half, Pentime 8. 
Math: Teaching Textbooks, Switched on Schoolhouse, or Lifepac (depending on which kid and what they need) 
Science: Apologia Physical Science (UPDATE 7/14/21) 
Computer: Spanish, Typing, Seterra, Spelling practice. 
Spanish: Easy Peasy Spanish I 
Off-Days: Computer, Pentime. 

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This is a general overview of how I do it. In practice, it varies somewhat from kiddo to kiddo. Some are ready early and some are not. Some can't handle certain aspects of certain curriculum or it's not good for their learning style and I have to find something that suits them better. I will be doing more detailed versions of just what I'm doing per grade for THIS schoolyear. Soon. Very soon. :) 

My eldest is in 8th grade so I have not done homeschool high school as a teacher yet. :) I plan to give My Father's World a shot for their high school packages (UPDATE 7/11/21), and stick with Apologia for science (UPDATE 7/14/21), and the math that's working for each kid at the time. Stay tuned for how it ACTUALLY winds up going down in real life though- as we know, the best laid plans are often not as fab in practice as in imagination and things may need to be changed. 

How I Use "Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons" (TYCTRin100EZL)

 At some point before beginning Kindergarten, I have gone through at least the first 20 lessons of Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons with each of my kids. Well, with my second, I didn't get that far. I got maybe 10 lessons in with him and then we moved to K. Halfway through K he was having a terrible time getting the hang of blending! I tried all sorts of things and what ultimately worked was when I decided to take a month off everything else and go back to TYCTRin100EZL. Bingo! After that he was blending like a champ and I made sure with subsequent kiddos to get to at least lesson 20 before moving on. 

When you first get ahold of the book, you're going to see it has a HUGE intro section. I skimmed it and got the gist of it, did a week-ish with kiddo, then went back and went over it again. I really think this was the way to go because the first time it didn't have a lot of meaning, having not tried and seen the lessons in action. After trying it for a week, I knew exactly what they were talking about and it was easier to process. 

The age range on when I've used this book has been from 3 years old at earliest to almost 8 years old at latest. It's good to use with a child before they've been taught any of the letter sounds, though teaching them the letter names before beginning this book has not, in my experience, hindered the lessons any. What you want to look for when deciding if your child is ready is simple: are they noticing letters. Do they care that letters make sounds which make up words. Do they ask you when they will be taught to read, or beg for reading lessons, or pretend to read their picture books to you? That's when they are ready. 

Ready to READ at least. Writing comes later. Why? Because the bones in the hand of a child under the age of 7 are just not fully developed. They need to spend this time playing with sand and mud and play-doh and coloring in their scribbley baby way. They need activities which develop hand strength without demanding a level of perfection of them. So when I use TYCTRin100EZL with a child under the age of 7, I don't make them do the writing activities in the book. We skip that part. UNLESS the young child is asking to do it, in which case I encourage them to do 1 line and not be too hard on themselves if it doesn't look like my example.  

When beginning TYCTRin100EZL, I predictably do lesson 1 on the first day. It should take about 3-5 minutes. If they don't ask to do it the next day, I skip a day, aiming for a M-W-F schedule. If they remember and remind me then I go for it. We repeat the first lesson the second day. If the child understands the lesson and answers correctly with confidence, then that's the last time we will do that lesson. However if the child is still not confident or has trouble with any part of the lesson, we will repeat lesson 1 again. And again. And again, no more than 1 time each day. Once the child has mastered lesson 1, we will move to lesson 2, and will repeat it daily until the child has mastered it. And so on, with each lesson, the child will do it 3 times a week (unless they request more), with no writing (unless they request it) for under-7, and repeat the same lesson until it is mastered before moving on. 

Goals: 
-Mastery. 
-Attention-span-appropriate: do not push for lessons that go on for more than 1 minute per year of age, unless your child is handling it with enthusiasm. (And even then keep it short: less is more!) 
-Keeping the light of learning-love in the child's eyes! Do not burn them out or push them into it before they're ready, even if they're not ready until they're 8* years old! 

Continue until the child has passed lesson 20 and is ready to begin Kindergarten. In my home, completing the first 20+ lessons of TYCTRin100EZL is a prerequisite to beginning Kindergarten. With some, I have begun it years before beginning K, and with some I have begun it a month before beginning K. The important thing is that the child wants it and enjoys it. This shows they are ready for it. Do not attempt to make your under-7* year old child into a forced-genius by making them do schoolwork when they do not want to do it, are not interested, feel burdened by it, struggle, or it takes hours. More than 30 minutes of structured learning is not developmentally appropriate for a child under 5. One of the perks of homeschooling is that education can be tailored to your child rather than trying to cram your child into a generic educational outline. 

*I do realize that required/compulsory school age in some states is under the age of 7 or 8. I'm not advising you to break the law. I do believe the laws in some places are not developmentally appropriate. IOW, don't take something being law to mean it's automatically developmentally appropriate just because the law says so. Like I wouldn't let my kids watch a lot of PG13 movies: just because the law deems them appropriate for 13 year olds doesn't mean that all of them actually are appropriate nor are any one of them appropriate for every 13 year old. Just because your child is "supposed to" begin school at a certain age doesn't mean your child won't do better starting earlier or later. You will have to carefully peruse the local laws and see what you can adjust in the interest of both following the law and making your curriculum choices as suited to your child's readiness as possible.