My Favorite Homeschool Resource
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We’ve been homeschooling for 9 years now. That’s a long time. We’ve used a lot of different resources during those 9 years. To choose only one of those resources as a favorite is not an easy task.
You all probably know what our current favorite is. If we had to go strictly by longevity, our favorite would be a toss up between Easy Grammar and Horizons math, both of which we have truly enjoyed.
However, if I could only pick one single homeschool resource as my favorite and it had to be an actual designed-for-homeschooling resource (as opposed to, say, the Bible or a library card), I would probably have to choose…{insert drum roll}…
First Language Lessons Level 1 & 2.
First Language Lessons Level 1 & 2 was originally written as a single guide to be used over the course of two years. It’s now available as two separate levels (Level 1 and Level 2). I haven’t used the two separate volumes, but I covered the original two level book with Josh and Megan in one year.
We used it sometime around Josh’s 2nd/3rd grade year and Megan’s K/1st grade year. I left out the written parts and just covered everything orally with them. We loved it!
I felt like it gave the kids a great, solid foundation in basic grammar in a low-key, relaxed way that has served them well to this day. They can still tell you that a noun “names a person, place, thing or idea” and that a verb “does an action or shows a state of being.” They still remember definitions for all the other parts of speech that we covered that year, as well.
Jolanthe, at Homeschool Creations has created a set of free printable for First Language Lessons so that you can print out all the poems for ease of use when memorizing them.
First Language Lessons Levels 1 & 2 set the perfect stage for moving into our beloved Easy Grammar in the second grade.
If you want to see all my picks for various grade levels check out my top picks by grade level:
If you had to choose just one favorite homeschool resource what would it be?
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
We loved this curriculum when we did it. I made up a lapbook at:
https://reneek-littlehomeschoolontheprairie.blogspot.com/2010/04/first-language-lessons-lapbookmini.html
I can't wait to do First Language lessons next year with my son!
Kris, thanks for this…I've been curious about this curriculum…..and you have shed some light on it for me.
I don't have a blog so a comment here will have to do. Not sure I could pick just one favourite resource but one of my favourites would be Story of the World. After my youngest had finished with the first volume, and because money was tight, I added it to the pile of resources to be sold. One of my older sons who was 10 or 11 at the time, got very upset and told me I had to keep it because he planned to use it to homeschool his kids one day. High praise indeed – especially from a child not known for his love of schoolwork.
That *is* a high compliment. We used and enjoyed Story of the World for many years, as well.
I have to agree 100%…. this has been a constant for us over the past couple of years. I just love how MANY skills it hits and how the lessons are short, sweet, and effective. I am so thankful for the memorization – this little book packs a punch!
We have "officially" homeschooled for 3 years, and I'm a big fan of the Wise-Bauer curriculum. Our 3 kids all enjoy the First Language Lessons, too. It was given to us by other homeschoolers who had outgrown it, and because of it, we now do Story of the World, Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, Writing with Ease and use the suggestions given for other subjects in The Well-Trained Mind. I would have to agree with others, that the Story of the World is by far the most requested. I got requests for it during our early spring break, and the kids listen to it in the car at their request, too. Talk about feeding a love of learning!
I'm enjoying your blog!
Thanks, Melita!
We had checked this out, but never beyond just reading about it in the catalog. Maybe we should have looked into it a little more closely!