As of this writing, my kids are Preschool and about-to-be-Kindergarten ages. While I had never, EVER, EVER, planned to be a homeschooler (a separate post), I suddenly found myself doing an extensive amount of research on homeschooling methodologies, curriculums, planning, and schedules.
The homeschooling curriculum that spoke to me the most was BookShark. I had been an avid reader as a child, and I think some of my most important lessons were learned through books I read. But I have a whole list of things I want to teach my kids, and my own opinion about books I want to read to them, so BookShark just wasn’t for me at this point, which meant it wasn’t for my kids.
I was drawn to the Charlotte Mason method, which introduced me to the concept of “living books.” I liked a lot of the ideas in the method, but I wanted more structure, accountability, and instruction with my kid’s learning. Still, it started me researching living books and the concept of living books, and I really liked what I read.
But I was still struggling. I needed a way to incorporate the lessons I wanted to teach my kids with the Common Core Standards they’d be required to learn to stay at their academic grade-level in our state.
For a while I tried alternating teaching days between “school-type” subjects and “real life” subjects. But it was a lot of work and, frankly, it wasn’t working. They would either be learning the “real life” lessons, or the “school-type” lessons. Not both.
I went back to looking up homeschooling curriculums. The idea of unschooling kind of appealed to me–the idea that I could just teach my kids whatever they were interested in–but I worried about them falling behind academically. I again started looking at box curriculums, but I still didn’t feel good about not having time to teach them the life lessons I wanted them to learn.
One day, I was working on some book activities to do with my kids, and I thought, “You know, my kid could read these words. I could have him use this matching list as reading practice.” (If you’re curious, it was my Shy Robin and the First Day of School lesson.)
That was when it hit me.
I didn’t have to choose.
I could teach my kids what they need to know academically, but still teach them the lessons I want them to know and things that interest them! All I had to do was find topics that interest them (for a while it was bugs, then Egyptian mummies, and then the human body), or topics/themes I wanted to teach them (like kindness, leadership, perseverance, etc.), and build activities that included ones fulfilling the Common Core Standards! It was like I could have my cake and eat it, too! And I really love cake!
My first step was to look at the Common Core Standards again. We live in California, so I used the California Common Core Standards. (If you do this, you’ll want to look up your state’s CCS requirements.) I made a giant Excel sheet and copy/pasted every standard from the .pdf to my spreadsheet. Then I started writing my own “I can” statements based on them. (I first stumbled across “I Can” statements when looking up homeschooling methodologies, and thought it was a really clever way to restate the Common Core Standards in more “friendly,” easy-to-understand sentences.) Then, because I was new to all of this, I compared my list to some of the “I Can” statements I found online. (This is one of the ones I used to compare mine against.)
From there, I graded my kid on how well I thought he could do each of the standards. (Yep, I made him a report card!) There were some we hadn’t even touched on, like, “What do the author and illustrator do in a book?” So for the next book we read, I made sure to talk about what the author and illustrator each do in a book. And for each lesson I made after that, I focused on making sure we were hitting one or more of the CCS he needed to complete or work on.
The most recent lesson I worked on was around shapes. One of the CCS is knowing the difference between 2D and 3D shapes and being able to compare measurable objects. I haven’t talked to my kids at all about 3D shapes, so using the book A Trapezoid is Not a Dinosaur, I created a lesson plan and some activities that talked about 2D shapes, 3D shapes, and also included some comparison activities for the shapes. The book also has a nice message about exclusion and inclusion, so during our read aloud, I made sure we talked about that a lot.
It was that simple.
It was that simple.
I could find a book I wanted to read to my kids, build some activities around it using the CCS as a baseline, and also include activities and discussions around the lessons I wanted them to learn.
It was such an easy solution!
At first I was just writing out brief lesson plans and throwing activities together, but as I started thinking about other people potentially finding them useful, I started putting more time into making everything look pretty and standardized and using real clip-art, not just whatever picture I found doing an image search. I started trying to make sure everything on my worksheets were all lined up and not half an inch off in either direction, which neither I nor my kids cared about, but I was sure someone else would.
(Honestly, that is the hardest part about the whole thing: putting in the effort to make everything look nice!)
I also recently started incorporating videos into my lessons. My kids love videos, and I thought, “Why not use some of the ones that have lessons I really like to teach them, too?” And that’s how the Bluey – Shadowlands lesson plan was born. It was definitely a hit with my kids and by the end of it, my 3-year-old could recognize most of the analog clock times.
I love coming up with activities around books. I love finding fun new ways to teach my kids the things they need to learn and I want them to learn. I love that we’re done with lessons in less than 2 hours (maximum) and then we get to play the rest of the day.
My next goal is to come up with a book curriculum that teaches life lessons, but also fulfills all the 1st grade Common Core Standards. I have to do it for my kid, anyway, so I figured, why not share it out there and see if it helps anyone else?
(If you’re paying attention, you just caught that I’m working on a 1st grade curriculum for my Kindergarten-aged kid. When my husband and I first decided to try homeschooling, he came up with the brilliant idea to have the kids stay one grade level above where they would place in school, so if we ever decide to put them into school, they can focus on acclimating to the social aspects and new environment, and not have to worry about their academics. My husband is kind of a genius.)
Trust me, if I can do it, you can, too. As long as you’re fulfilling the Common Core Standards and your state’s homeschool requirements, it doesn’t matter how you do it.
Okay, so now for the nitty gritty details! How does it work?
First, I find a book or show that I has a lesson I want to teach my kids. Let’s go with my book, Red Bunny and Blue Bunny (Don’t) Build a Treehouse (A Goal-Setting Lesson on Starting with Why).
I have a One Note template that I created for every book I want to build a lesson plan on. (Download a .pdf of the template here–you can copy/paste it into whatever text-editor you want.) My One Note template contains the following headings followed by blank spaces:
- Lesson
- Book title
- Book link
- Learning Objectives
- Summary
- Vocabulary
- Key Concepts
- Think Alouds and Engagement Questions
- Before Reading
- During Reading
- After Reading
- Activities
- Videos/Books
After filling in the book’s title, Amazon link, and book Summary from Amazon, I move on to the Learning Objectives. This is where I write in what I want my kids to learn from the book. For Red Bunny and Blue Bunny (Don’t) Build a Treehouse, I (obviously) wanted them to understand that when they set a goal, they need to know why they’re setting that goal and really identify what the problem is that they’re trying to solve. I wanted them to think creatively about solutions, and not just settle on one and decide to work toward that instead of trying to come up with the best solution that really solves their problem.
Next, I look at my kid’s report cards to see what areas they need to practice that are in line with the book’s theme. So even though my kids needed to work on math and shapes, that didn’t really fit in with Red Bunny and Blue Bunny (Don’t) Build a Treehouse, so I focused on the Common Core Standards that did fit in with the book and they needed to work on or practice.
For Red Bunny and Blue Bunny (Don’t) Build a Treehouse, I chose the following CCS (written as “I Can” statements):
- I can ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- I can retell what I read, using key details.
- I can tell you about characters, settings and the main parts of the story.
- I can ask and answer questions about words I don’t know in the text.
- I can name the author, illustrator and tell you what each one does to help tell the story.
- I can describe the relationship between the pictures and the story.
- I can compare and contrast what happens to the characters in the story.
After selecting the CCS, the activities just kind of come naturally, because then you’re focused on trying to use the story to build activities that practice those skills. So I jot down Activities that will fulfill the CCS I’ve chosen. My kids really like worksheets (go figure?), so I try to think of some worksheet activities. I like activities that bring the story to life, so I try to create activities that engage their motor skills. In the case of Red Bunny and Blue Bunny (Don’t) Build a Treehouse, I made the following activities that were designed to fulfill the “I Can” statements or my own goals:
- Story Order
- I can retell what I read, using key details.
- What’s Happening Here?
- I can describe the relationship between the pictures and the story.
- I can retell what I read, using key details.
- Compare and Contrast (Before and After)
- I can compare and contrast what happens to the characters in the story.
- I can retell what I read, using key details.
- I can tell you about characters, settings and the main parts of the story.
- Compare and Contrast (Similar and Different)
- I can compare and contrast what happens to the characters in the story.
- I can retell what I read, using key details.
- I can tell you about characters, settings and the main parts of the story.
- Red Bunny and Blue Bunny (Don’t) Build a Treehouse Reading Comprehension
- I can ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- I can retell what I read, using key details.
- I can tell you about characters, settings and the main parts of the story.
- My Goal
- Fulfills my learning objectives for them around practicing goal setting and learning why they want a goal.
- Red Bunny and Blue Bunny Daily Math Practice (v1) or (v2)
- I can solve addition and subtraction word problems.
- I can add and subtract within 10 by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.
- Red Bunny and Blue Bunny Spot the Difference
- My kids need to work on their attention to detail, so I wanted to throw this in here for fun.
- Design Your Own Treehouse
- Another “just for fun” activity to get their creativity going.
- Build Your Own Treehouse
- A fun activity to help them work on their problem-solving, creativity, fine motor skills, and engineering skills.
- Red Bunny and Blue Bunny Treehouse Word Search
- A fun activity to practice some of their reading and attention to detail.
- Through the Forest
- A fun activity because my kid loves mazes, and I love the logic and focus required to complete a maze.
After the Activities are created, I try to group them together in the overall skill/theme of the activities. I only do this for the lesson plans I put on TPT so I can break the activities up and include instructions. For Red Bunny and Blue Bunny (Don’t) Build a Treehouse, I went with the following themes:
- Recall and Comprehension
- Bring It To Life
- Fun Stuff
Once the activities are done and/or grouped by theme, I go back through and write down any Vocabulary words they’ll need to know to do the activities. Then I go back through the book and write down any vocabulary words I think they need to know or I want to highlight for them. I look up the proper definition for each word, then try to rephrase it in a way my kids can understand without changing the meaning.
Then I go back through the book and start writing the Before Reading questions. I didn’t used to do this, but I found my kids were more engaged if I started out asking questions about something to get their attention. I believe teachers call this “activating prior knowledge.” I write questions to ask them about the general theme of the book to start their brains thinking about the topic, then transition into a hook about the book. For Red Bunny and Blue Bunny (Don’t) Build a Treehouse, I went with the following questions:
- Has anyone ever set a goal or New Year’s Resolution for themselves before? What was your goal?
- A: Maybe to toss a ball in the air and catch it before it hits the ground, or to finish coloring a picture for your mom or dad before they got home from work? Maybe you wanted to score a goal in soccer or kick your leg above your head?
- Has anyone ever played in a treehouse before? Was it fun?
- (If no one has or if someone doesn’t know what a treehouse is) A treehouse is a small house in a tree. You usually get to it by climbing up a ladder or a rope. In a treehouse, you can see really high in the air. You can see into tree branches and over some plants.
Then I went with this hook to transition to the reading that summarizes the book but also ties back to the questions I just asked:
“Well today, we’re going to read about two little bunnies named Red Bunny and Blue Bunny who decide they want to build a treehouse and learn that sometimes there are easier ways to achieve a goal.”
The During Reading questions are the easiest ones for me to write. I definitely ask too many questions and I’m working on paring down. But I go through the book page-by-page, looking at the pictures and the text and asking any questions I think will either engage the kids, keep their attention, or highlight an idea I want them to be thinking about. I also use these questions to fulfill any CCS I didn’t create an activity for. (E.g., who are the author and illustrator?)
Then I write the After Reading questions. I try to ask questions that make them think back on what they just read, think about how they can use the knowledge they just gained, or make sure they understood what we read.
Next, I write down the Key Concepts I want them to have learned through the lesson. (Sometimes I write the key concepts first, then check to make sure I’ve got questions and activities that fulfill the key concepts or go back in and add some key concepts I’ve thought of while creating the questions and activities.) These are the main takeaways I want them to understand from the lesson. Usually these aren’t related to CCS in any way. I tend to focus on the moral and life lessons I want them to have picked up on in the story.
The last piece I fill in is Videos/Books. I don’t always do this. But this is where I list other books about the same topic or videos that I think will reinforce the concept or present it in a different way.
And that’s it! If I’m just doing this for my kids, I’m done. (If I’m going to put it up in my TPT store, I start formatting things to look nice.)
The first few times, chances are you’ll make activities that don’t resonate with your kids. (It took me forever to realize my highly-active kids actually like worksheets.) But as you do it, you’ll see what works best for them.
I hope this breakdown was helpful and inspired you to give it a shot. It’s really not as hard as it seems!
Happy learning!
Image credit
Download Ai Generated, Mother, Son. Royalty-Free Stock Illustration Image – Pixabay
KC Aubin 