The curriculum at the Academy

I keep getting asked what curriculum I am using. I guess this is super important to do in homeschool? Well, I'm not a fan. I actually searched and searched and have yet to find a curriculum that manages to fit our family. So, I opted out. Sure, it's a lot of work, but it's worth it! I do use a lot of cheap and free materials that have been very helpful. some online resources include:
www.abcteach.com
www.starfall.com
www.progressivephonics.com

And of course I take advantage of her interest in many cartoon characters (no matter how little TV you allow, there seems to always be a fond admiration-at least that I have noticed). I will use printables from PBSkids.org and the nick jr. website.

Of all of the materials that I use, the one I am loving most right now is a book called Learn at Home, Grade 1.
This book is just fantastic; it is full of ideas and worksheets and even has weekly lesson plans. I don't think they are enough to rely completely on, but it is a great jumping off point.

But I can not say this enough: USE THE LIBRARY! The library really does have so much to offer. It has saved us so much money and it has really helped my daughter fall in love with reading and research. I would say that the vast majority of our lessons include reading. Sure, we spend a small amount of time at a desk doing bookwork, but it is more important to me to be able to teach my children to learn. If they know how to learn, then they afford themselves endless opportunities.

Most importantly, Nevaeh is not yet 6 years old. Do you remember being 6? My husband hardly remembers his childhood, but I remember it to a frightening extent! I remember how I learned the most: playing dress-up, playing board games, playing with puppets, playing with paint, playing with play doh, playing by myself, and so on. Key word: playing. She's a kid. I really want to give her the space to be a kid. Yes, discipline and order are very important to me. Because of this, I set up structured play time. And we have house rules that she must follow. But it is so important to give her the space for her imagination to take her away. When I do this, I often find her pretending to be a waitress, and she practices writing while she takes my order at a restaurant. Doing this, she learns the role of serving and learns how to spell "hamburger" or "spaghetti." Or she decides that she wants to write someone a letter and draw them a picture. While playing outside, she gets side-tracked by the mail man and starts asking him questions about his job:
Nevaeh-"Hi! My name's Nevaeh. Who are you?"
Mail man- "I'm the Mail man."
Nevaeh- "What are you doing?"
Mail man: "Bringing your parents a package." 
Nevaeh- "Why?"
Mail man- "That's my job. I deliver the mail and deliver packages."
Nevaeh- "Oh! I like you car."
Mail man- "Thank you, that is a special truck that I use to deliver the mail."

...and the conversation continued while Nevaeh learned all about the mail man, his job, and his family.

Did you know that part of kindergarten and first grade social studies is learning about professions? There is a whole lesson on firefighters, policemen, doctors, mail men, etc... And look, Nevaeh had a chance to learn all about the mail man and his job first hand! It is amazing how much day to day life lends toward the curriculum. I try to take advantage of these moments as much as possible. We are constantly making mental notes to remember a certain experience to talk about later if we do not have the opportunity to discuss it when it happens.

So you can now understand why I cannot always give a quick answer when I am asked what curriculum I use. Will I ever use a curriculum? I don't know, maybe. But right now, I really don't see the need for one. I really do enjoy putting together class materials and planning out our days (even if I plan to do nothing).