Welcome, parents! This guide is designed to help you understand the philosophy behind our first-grade curriculum, how we manage teaching multiple children at once, and what you can expect your child to learn—and master—by the end of the year. Whether you are new to homeschooling or a seasoned veteran, this guide will set you up for success.

Curriculum Philosophy

If you have used our Kindergarten curriculum, you may have noticed that towards the end, we began to use classic curriculum from the 19th century (McGuffey’s Readers, for example). In first grade, we are going full into these classic curricula, and here are the reasons why.

The Case for 19th-Century Public Domain Classics: Academic and Cost-Effectiveness Advantages

Parents often ask why our curriculum leans on books written more than a century ago. The answer is simple: these texts deliver academic rigor and cost savings that modern programs frequently cannot match. Here is a summary of the advantages.

Academic Advantages

1. High Expectations, Not “Dumbed Down” Content

Nineteenth-century schoolbooks were written for children who were expected to think carefully, read attentively, and work diligently. They were not “watered down to politically correct pabulum,” as the editors of An Old-Fashioned Education put it. These texts assume children can handle rich vocabulary, complex sentences, and serious ideas—and most children rise to that expectation.

2. Moral and Character Formation

Old textbooks were written at a time when God and the Bible were assumed parts of daily life. McGuffey’s Readers, for instance, are famous for weaving in lessons on honesty, perseverance, kindness, respect for elders, and forgiveness. Children do not just learn to decode words; they absorb character through the stories they read. This aligns perfectly with a Christian homeschool philosophy that sees education as formation of the whole person, not just acquisition of skills.

3. Phonics-Based Reading Instruction

McGuffey’s Readers use a systematic, phonics-first approach to reading instruction. Children learn letter sounds, blends, and word families in a logical progression before tackling full texts. This stands in stark contrast to the “whole language” or “balanced literacy” methods that have produced generations of struggling readers. The phonics foundation produces strong, confident decoders who can handle unfamiliar words.

4. Mental Math Mastery

Ray’s Arithmetic, first published in 1877 and still highly regarded, teaches math conversationally and orally. Students work through word problems with the parent or their older sibling, building strong mental math skills through repeated oral drill rather than relying on calculators or written algorithms they do not understand. As one homeschool review notes, “Kids who use Ray’s typically have stronger mental math skills than peers using purely written programs.”

5. Word Problems and Practical Application

Ray’s Arithmetic is heavy on contextual word problems rather than abstract drills. Children learn to apply arithmetic to real-life situations—buying goods, measuring land, dividing shares. This produces mathematical thinking, not just calculation.

6. Gradual, Confidence-Building Progression

Nineteenth-century textbooks move slowly and deliberately. Concepts are introduced one at a time, with ample practice before moving forward. As the review of Ray’s Arithmetic notes, “Kids rarely feel lost. The pace is gentle by modern standards, which suits younger learners or anyone recovering from math anxiety.”

7. Timeless Content

Basic arithmetic facts and good literature do not go out of date. Unlike modern curricula that chase educational fads, the classics focus on what is permanently true and useful. A child who completes Ray’s Arithmetic has a solid mathematical foundation that serves them for life, regardless of changes in educational fashion.

8. Built for Earnest Study

These books were written when education was taken seriously as a moral and intellectual endeavor. They do not rely on gimmicks, cartoons, or entertainment to capture attention. They teach children that learning is its own reward—a valuable lesson in an age of constant digital distraction.

Cost-Effectiveness Advantages

1. Nearly Free

Because these books were published before 1923 (mostly before 1900), they are in the public domain. This means:

Free of copyright, the pages reproduced in our curriculum can be printed and copied as much as you need without buying anything additional. Just download and print.
No books; our curriculum reproduces these texts and provides out-of-print texts and historical documents included with membership. No additional books to buy.
No new editions: Most copyrighted modern homeschool materials “upgrade” their curricula fairly often, which makes them unusable for the younger siblings coming up after them because the workbooks, which do need to be replaced, no longer work with the new edition texts. I have experienced this myself, and I only have two kids. For larger families, it forces you to buy curriculum that you thought you could reuse, but can’t. Our included worksheets will never be “upgraded” into obsolescence because the texts they are based on will never get a new edition; the publishers and authors are long gone.

The total cost for the curriculum can be no more than your monthly/annual membership for the whole family, not per student. Supply costs will vary.

2. Print-What-You-Need Flexibility

Public domain texts can be printed in part or in whole. Parents can print only the pages they need for a given week. As An Old-Fashioned Education points out, “I can take the best parts from 3 or 4 different texts and make my own composite that is custom-created for the needs of my children.” Our system maximizes this potential.

3. One Purchase, Multiple Children

These original textbooks were intended to be used by parents who were homeschooling in the 19th century and by one-room schoolhouses, with multiple aged and grouped students. Because the books are intended to be worked through slowly and often reused, one set serves multiple children across several grade levels. As the Ray’s Arithmetic review notes, “Siblings can work at different levels from the same core set.” The investment is spread across years and children, making the effective cost pennies per student. This is why we priced our curriculum on a per-family basis, rather than a per-student tuition model, as it perfectly emulates the old methods of this classic curriculum.

4. Complete Classic Curriculum for $200 per family per year.

Families can assemble a complete classic curriculum for $200 per family per year using public domain texts, library books, and a few paid staples. Our program fits into a household budget as shown below:

Item	Cost
Membership	$20/month or $200/year (two months free over monthly)
Library books (read-alouds and great books)	Free at the public library
Electives	Curriculum included (supplies, $5-10)
Crafts and Activities	varies
Catechism and Manners	Included
Ray’s Arithmetic (public domain)	Included
McGuffey’s Readers (public domain)	Included
Worksheets for all courses	Included
History and science texts	Included
Printing, supplies	$25/month (printer one-time cost of about $250)
Total*	$65/month in membership and supplies

* Varies based on choices for crafts, activities, and electives. We work hard to make suggested supplies common household items that are not expensive and that you might have on hand anyway. Manipulatives for math, for example, can be anything already in your pantry or cupboards at home, like dried beans or rice.

5. No “Curriculum Rot” Pressure

Modern curricula often push parents to buy new editions every year. Public domain classics have no marketing department. They are stable, reliable, and will not be “updated” into obsolescence. Your investment is permanent.

6. Eliminates the Costliest Components

No teacher’s manuals required. Ray’s Arithmetic, for example, “requires no teacher manual at all. Parents can teach directly from the original student book.” However, our system includes parent guides for every lesson that coincide with the classic texts.
No answer keys to buy in most cases, since parents work through the problems conversationally with the child.
No expensive boxed sets. The curriculum is the books themselves, digitized and included.

7. Savings on Community Programs

As the HomeschoolPicks analysis notes, families who skip expensive community programs like Classical Conversations (which can cost $1,500+ per child per year) and instead use public domain curricula save thousands annually—while achieving similar or better academic outcomes.

Summary Comparison

Factor	19th-Century Classics	Modern Boxed Curricula
Cost per year	$200 per family (cost-efficient)	$500–$750+ per student (cost-prohibitive for larger families)
Academic rigor	High—demands real thinking	Variable—often entertainment-based
Phonics instruction	Systematic, strong	Often weak or whole-language
Moral content	Strong Bible-based character teaching	Often neutral, secular, or ideological – Although there are exceptions.
Mental math	Excellent (oral drill)	Often reliant on calculators
Reusability	One set serves all children	Annual updates, new editions
Teacher manuals	Rarely needed, but included	Often essential at high cost
Durability	Outlasts educational fads	Tied to current trends

A final word on classic texts

The 19th-century classroom produced generations of children who could read, write, calculate, and reason with a fluency that many modern graduates lack—and it did so with far fewer resources. By returning to these proven texts, you gain academic excellence at a fraction of the cost, all while building character and preserving family time and budget for what truly matters.

The classics are not just old books. They are proven tools that have stood the test of time precisely because they work.

The One-Room Schoolhouse Model

Our curriculum is built on the one-room schoolhouse model, a time-tested approach where children of different ages and grade levels learn together in the same space. This is not just a practical solution for families with multiple children—it is a powerful educational philosophy. Since you have at least one child in first grade, this applies now, as either your first grader is old enough to be a monitor for his preschool-aged siblings, or he/she has an older sibling that can monitor him/her. To read our full article on the subject of the one-room schoolhouse, click on this link: The One Room Schoolhouse.

How It Works

Group Instruction: Core subjects like history, science, art, and Bible are taught to all children together, with activities tiered by ability. Everyone listens to the same story, but older children get deeper questions and assignments, while younger ones focus on basic comprehension.
Individualized Skill Work: Subjects that build sequentially—like reading, writing, and math—are taught one-on-one or in small groups. While you work with one child, the others engage in independent practice, hands-on learning centers, or supervised peer tutoring.
Peer Learning: Older children reinforce their own knowledge by helping younger siblings, and younger children benefit from seeing advanced work modeled. This builds leadership, patience, and responsibility.
Time for extras: Because this is such a time-efficient model, there is no running around with your hair on fire, and plenty of time in the week to get everything done, along with having time for extra things like elective activities.

So a typical day might look like the rhythm below, and each day of each week would look similar, with the exception of the group lesson subject matter.

Typical Day 1

Prepare and Breakfast: Groom, pray, and eat
- Teaching children how to groom themselves as is appropriate.
Group lesson: Humanities: Integrated subject. (Course includes Catechism, Manners, History, Classic Stories, etc.) With discussion, group projects, crafts, activities, and media.
- Teach for the oldest in the group; the younger ones will pick up what they can by observation, listening, and their basic comprehension assignments.
Break: about 15 mins
Skill time: English. Individual study of English skills at grade/ability level.
- Each day with different skills: phonics, spelling, reading, grammar.
Break: free time or snack time
Centers: Monitor centers their attention on a younger student who needs help with something or has a question.
Break: about 15 mins
Skill Time: Maths. Individual Study of Math skills at grade/ability level
1. Each day with different skills.
Older student Skills: Younger students are given free time so that older students work on their English and Math skills at grade/ability level with parental help as needed.
- Each day with different skills: phonics, spelling, reading, grammar, operations, oral mental math, etc.
Lunch: prayer and lunch.
Closing: One last review if there are any final questions or issues. Monitors help younger students, and parents help older students.

This rhythm continues into creating a whole week.

Typical Week 1

Monday: Same as above.
Tuesday: Same as above, except the Group Lesson subject is an elective.
Wednesday: Same as above, except the Group Lesson subject is Science.
Thursday: Group projects day. Typically, History or Science projects, crafts, etc., are done as a group. Either each student works individually on a similar project idea at their own level, or all students work together on one project, each contributing to the project. (Each lesson will have details.)
Friday: Set aside for field trips, outdoor group activities, review of the week’s work, questions, cooking classes, swimming lessons, sports, and all sorts of activities.

This rhythm continues throughout the school year. The wonderful thing about it is that it has all the advantages of maximizing the parents’ time by using an older sibling to monitor the younger, but it is very flexible, and you can change this rhythm and tweak it to fit your family’s needs while still covering the educational needs of every child in your family.

Benefits for Your Family

Benefit	Why It Matters
Time efficiency	One lesson serves multiple ages, reducing total teaching hours.
Family bonding	Academic time becomes shared experience, not isolated work.
Natural differentiation	Children work at their own pace within a shared topic.
Life skills	Kids learn to take turns, help others, and work independently.

Practical Tips

Establish a daily rhythm, not a rigid schedule. A predictable flow (e.g., opening time → group lesson → skill time → centers → closing) helps children transition.
Use a “must do / may do” board so children know their required tasks and what they can choose when finished.
Keep younger children occupied with purposeful, play-based activities (sensory bins, puzzles, and coloring pages that match the lesson theme).
Accept imperfection. Some days the baby cries, the toddler dumps the blocks, and the lesson takes twice as long. That is real life, and it is still education.

Is Your Child Ready for First Grade?

Every child develops at their own pace, but here are key indicators that your child is ready to transition from kindergarten to first grade.

Academic Readiness

Language & Literacy:
- Recognizes most uppercase and lowercase letters
- Knows the common sounds of most consonants and short vowels
- Can blend simple CVC words (e.g., cat, sun)
- Holds a pencil with a functional grip and writes first name
- Enjoys being read to and can retell a simple story
Math:
- Counts to 20 and recognizes numbers 0–10
- Understands one-to-one correspondence (touching one object per number)
- Can sort objects by size, shape, or color
- Recognizes basic shapes (circle, square, triangle)
Fine Motor:
- Uses scissors with control
- Strings beads or manipulates small objects
- Can copy simple shapes and letters

Social & Emotional Readiness

Can follow 2–3 step directions
Works independently for 10–15 minutes
Takes turns and shares with others
Handles frustration without extreme meltdowns (most of the time!)
Asks for help when needed

A Note of Grace

If your child is missing a few of these skills, don’t panic. First grade curriculum is designed to reinforce and build on these foundations. Some children are “ready” in October rather than September. You know your child best, and with a homeschool setting, you have the flexibility to start when it is truly right for them.

What Your Child Will Learn in First Grade

Here is a subject-by-subject overview of what we will cover this year.

Phonics & Reading

This is the heart of first grade. We build on the letter sounds your child learned in kindergarten, growing from simple CVC words to more complex patterns.

Short vowels (E, I, O, U) mastered thoroughly—not just memorized, but applied
Blends and digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh)
Silent E (e.g., cap → cape)
Common sight words (e.g., the, said, was, of)
Decoding strategies for unfamiliar words
Reading fluency—reading smoothly with expression
Comprehension: retelling, predicting, and answering who/what/where/when questions

Writing & Handwriting

Proper letter formation (uppercase and lowercase)
Sentence basics: capital letters, spaces, and end punctuation
Writing simple sentences from dictation
Beginning composition: writing 2–3 sentences on a topic
Spelling of common phonetically-regular words and sight words

Mathematics

Number sense to 100: counting, writing, and comparing
Addition and subtraction facts to 10 (then 20)
Place value: tens and ones
Word problems with pictures and manipulatives
Measurement: length, weight, and simple time (to the hour and half-hour)
Money: identifying coins and their values
Geometry: 2D and 3D shapes, fractions (halves and quarters)
Data: reading simple graphs

History & Geography

Family and community history (maps, timelines, how families change)
Holidays and cultural traditions
Basic map skills: locating their home, state, and country
Famous Americans and American symbols (flag, eagle, Liberty Bell)
Introduction to world geography through stories

Science

Life science: plants and animals, their habitats, and life cycles
Earth science: weather, seasons, and natural resources
Physical science: properties of matter, pushes and pulls, sound and light
Scientific method basics: observe, ask questions, predict, test, conclude
Nature journaling and hands-on observation

Bible

Key Old Testament stories (Creation, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David)
The life of Jesus (birth, miracles, parables, death, resurrection)
Memory verses (one per week, chosen for child-friendly language)
Character application: How do these stories shape how we treat others?

What Your Child Should Know by the End of First Grade

These are the minimum standards your child should meet to be ready for second grade.

Reading & Language Arts

Reads grade-level texts fluently (about 50–60 words per minute)
Decodes unfamiliar words using phonics, not guessing
Reads and understands 100+ high-frequency sight words
Comprehends what they read: can retell a story in order with main events and characters
Accurately spells previously-studied words in daily writing
Writes complete sentences with correct capitalization and end punctuation
Composes a short paragraph (3–4 sentences) about a familiar topic
Uses proper handwriting that is legible

Math

Adds and subtracts within 20 fluently
Understands place value in two-digit numbers
Counts, reads, and writes numbers to 100
Solves simple word problems using addition and subtraction
Tells time to the hour and half-hour
Identifies and names all U.S. coins and knows their values
Recognizes halves and quarters of shapes
Measures length using nonstandard and standard units

Science & Social Studies

Describes the life cycle of a plant and an animal
Identifies seasons and weather patterns in their region
Distinguishes living from nonliving things
Explains the difference between wants and needs
Locates their state and country on a map
Identifies basic map symbols (legend, compass rose)
Recounts at least one Bible story per major unit in their own words
Recites at least 20 memory verses from the year

Practical Tips for Parents

Read aloud daily—even when they can read themselves. This builds vocabulary, comprehension, and a love of stories.
Make math real. Count coins at the store, measure ingredients while baking, and tell time throughout the day.
Keep hands busy. Remember, this curriculum is designed to be kinetic—tactile activities, crafts, and movement are not fluff; they are how young children learn best.
Celebrate progress, not perfection. A child who tries hard and grows is succeeding, even if they don’t hit every benchmark on the scheduled day.
Talk to your children about what they learn. Asking “What was your favorite part today?” reinforces learning far better than drilling flashcards.

A Final Word

You are not just teaching your child to read and count. You are cultivating curiosity, discipline, and character. Some days will be messy. Some lessons will flop. But the one-room schoolhouse model—with its emphasis on family, shared learning, and grace—will carry you through.

You’ve got this. And we’re with you every step of the way.

First Grade Curriculum Parent Guide