It’s that time again! As summer winds down, I find myself re-reading Sarah MacKenzie’s Teaching from Rest, which has quickly become a must-read for homeschooling moms. I first read it as we began our homeschooling journey. Now, with the lens of a few years’ experience under my belt, I am stuck by how true her wisdom all rings, and by the surprising joy of homeschooling.
As a former teacher and perpetual type-A perfectionist, I can get very caught up in the schedule, the to-do list, and completing the curriculum (which we have never done—at least in single year). In reading Sarah’s words, I realize that the best moments of homeschooling have all been the joyful, cozy, and spontaneous ones: sipping cocoa as we read about snowflakes on a snowy morning, diving deep on unexpected topics that capture the kids’ imagination as we follow a rabbit trail, hearing the kids beg me for just one more chapter of our read aloud, and snuggling on the couch reading science and seasonal picture books.
So, for this year, our theme is slow, cozy, curiosity and connection. Rather than a drill sergeant who ensures that every item of the checklist is completed to perfection, my role is to create conditions for us to explore in wonder and form lasting memories. Whether we finish every lesson is beside the point (did you ever get to the end of the textbook when you were in school, anyway?). Did we love learning? Did we love each other? Did we love the Lord? Those are the priorities in our home, and this year, I aim to make certain that our homeschool days are a resounding “yes.”
With no further ado, here are our curriculum picks for the 2025-2026 academic year:
Preschool
There are few changes from last year, except that my youngest is a bit more docile (but still prone to color all over the walls). To keep my little one occupied during school hours, I have gathered an arsenal in the form of busy bins. (For my best tips on homeschooling with littles, check out this post.)
I am curious to see if she wants to spend more time “doing work” at the table with us now that her older brother is in Kinder, so I also added a coloring book and some of the G&B PreK finger-tracing and wipe-clean books to her box in case she does want to be at the table with us.
Kindergarten
My most feral child is surprisingly eager to learn his letters and very precise with handwriting.
We are using The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts K, and The Good and the Beautiful Math K. This was the first curriculum I ever used, and after trying many others, I just keep coming back. We love the format, the simplicity, and the many built-in ways the author makes it fun and engaging for the kids. It is a winner, and like that old commercial says, kid-tested, mother approved.
First Grade
My other son is about halfway through the G&B First Grade Math and Language Books and we will buy the Second Grade levels when he is ready. I also bought him a Picture Bible and the Hey Jack series to encourage his independent reading.
My daughter loved the Princess in Black, Billie B Brown, and Junie B Jones series at this age before moving on to The Cupcake Diaries, which she devoured voraciously!) I do love investing in these sets because they can move easily to the next one (the library can’t be relied upon to have the next one on hand) and with 4 kids, will be used again by the younger ones when they get to that age. Are they the greatest books in English Literature? No. Do they help foster a love of reading and increase fluency? Absolutely. More than enough for me!
Fourth Grade
Language Arts
Our fourth grader reads voraciously of her own accord, so I don’t assign any reading other than what we read aloud together. We have fallen in love with The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts, and we will continue with that as long as they have her grade level available.
Math
We tried Math with Confidence and Teaching Textbooks, and they just weren’t for us. We circled back to G&B halfway through the year, and her dad did those lessons with her. For some reason, Mom is an easy punching bag for venting math frustrations, and with Dad it was smooth sailing. It was difficult to stay consistent with this arrangement given his work schedule, though. I am hoping that, since the Fourth Grade Level advances to video lessons, that she will be successful independently this year with only occasional help from me to clarify problem areas. Pray for us!
Typing and Handwriting
We are using The Good and the Beautiful. I honestly love their handwriting and so do my kiddos. They don’t always do the extra little connect the dots, drawing and coloring, but sometimes they are drawn to them and it brightens the day and takes the fight out of homeschooling (which I will say G&B does shine in that arena in general). She will finish early and move on whenever she is ready, and we both like it that way.
I never actually took a formal typing class. I learned in the wilds of MSN Instant Messenger. We use Night Zookeeper and that seems to be fostering typing skills without feeling like a drag. If you have a suggestion (that isn’t an online chat or forum) let me know!
Family Subjects
For more on how our days together “flow,” you can check out this post on our homeschool rhythm!
Hymns
We will continue using a selection from this hymnbook. I absolutely adore the historical blurbs. We usually take one verse a week, and by the end of the month we are familiar with the chorus and melody, which is my goal for my kiddos at this age.
Read Alouds
We read historical novels last year, which was fascinating, but with this year’s theme, I just want to indulge in the stories I loved most as a kid. We will read Holes, The Indian in the Cupboard, Flowers for Algernon, The Phantom Tollbooth, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and whatever else I can scrounge up. We might also pull from some of the American History novels I didn’t get to last year.
I have already purchased Little Christmas Carol to do Sarah MacKenzie’s Christmas School during Advent which I missed last year because it sold out. We also did all of the Herdman series last year which was pure hilarious fun, and a good cadence for the fall with The Best School Year Ever, The Best Halloween Ever, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
Bible
We have loved using Bible resources over the past few years. The Jesus Storybook Bible is still my favorite, and the kids enjoyed the Read Aloud Bible (even if I have some theological qualms with minor bits of content).
My kids continue to love listening to Bible Stories and completing a coloring page, so we will keep doing that with Ascension’s Great Adventure Story Bible and select pages from this coloring book. I considered adding Seton’s Bible Curriculum and Tan’s Story of the Bible. For now, at these ages, simple is better.
Am I “doing enough” so that they can answer every Bible trivia question with perfect precision? Probably not. (I did add this Catholic Trivia game, though, as my 9-year-old is all about trivia games these days.) Is it “enough” that they learn Bible stories and fall in love with Scripture? Which is ultimately the goal? One day, I do want them to achieve the biblical literacy that was a special gift of my Protestant upbringing. For now, familiarity with the stories and the questions and curiosity they spark are, indeed, enough.
Science
I am continuing our K-3 living books curriculum that I created using the Let’s Read and Find Out Series (let me know if you are interested in receiving our lineup!). This continues to be our absolute favorite way to dive into science. I am adding the worksheets from this resource this year to submit for reimbursement purposes, and we are also using the Slow Down Nature Curriculum with our St. Francis Nature Co-op based on the book Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature. Very Excited to dive in!
My oldest also chose genetics as her area of special interest this year, so I pulled this off the shelf (I just love everything about the Dover coloring books!) and requested a stack from the library. We will see how involved she really wants to get!
History
We are diving back into my all-time favorite history curriculum, The Story of the World. We are entering at Volume 2 this year and will cycle back through. I honestly feel like this is a treat for me, and the teacher’s manual is my favorite I have ever used, including when I was in the classroom. There are so many pictures books and activities suggested that everyone can find something that works for their family. I also have added in many of the Jim Weiss audiobooks for our car rides (not the audio of the text, which we like to read at home, but extra tall tales, myths, and historical biographies). You can purchase these at Well-Trained Mind or via the Apple Books app (which is the cheaper option).
Supplements and Electives
Both our older kids take karate and piano classes. I love being able to outsource these as my skills, interests, and talents really all lie within the narrow range of academic subjects. Lucky for me as homeschooling mom, and lucky for instructors of the “fun” things I can pay them to teach my kids. We are also loving this online art option Art with Lauren. The kids follow along and I get 45 minutes for a cup of tea and a good novel!
We are also adding in that nature co-op I mentioned, as well as an additional day where they can take classes like sewing, cooking, chess club, etc. And of course, Sunday School! I am very excited, but also wondering if I have bitten off more than we can chew. Our cup overflows with goodness, praise the Lord!
What are your curriculum picks this year??