Year One Homeschool Curriculum - Year 2 NZ
Our Year One homeschool curriculum is a literature rich, family friendly homeschool program inspired by Charlotte Mason.Suitable for New Zealand and International Home Educators.
About Our Year 1 Homeschool Curriculum
There is no time limit on completion of a grade. You can begin our courses at any time in the year.
My Homeschool Curriculum Year 1 is similar to Year 2 in the New Zealand education system.
Our Year 1 Full Program is a one-year full curriculum. In most circumstances this is the one we recommend.
Our Year 1 Lite Program is a half-year condensed version of our full curriculum. It is a great entry point for students who are not ready to progress to a higher grade, or for families starting mid-year who do not need a full year of curriculum.
After purchase, login details will be sent to your email address. You can then access all the course materials including planning documents. We use Moodle as our online learning platform.
* Math Kinder to Grade 2 Only
- My Homeschool Year 1 Curriculum Guide
- Global Goodies – For International Students and Extension Work
- English
- Maths
- History
- Science
- Geography
- Foreign Language
- Arts
- Health & PE
- Teaching Support
- Readiness and Assessment
Our Year 1 homeschool curriculum is similar to Year 2 in the NZ education system.
Our literature based approach includes many living books, a key concept of the Charlotte Mason method. Living books have something special about them: they flow, they capture the imagination, and they tell us the facts while they give us the story. A living book is written by a passionate author who communicates this passion to the reader in a literary language.
As Charlotte Mason penned:
“A book may be long or short, old or new, easy or hard, written by a great man or a lesser man, and yet be the living book which finds its way to the mind of a young reader.”
One of the wonderful attributes of homeschooling is the ability to individualise your curriculum to suit your family’s interests and abilities. To help you do this we have created our Global Goodie resources. Offering an international focus, these resources will continue to inspire your child in a wide variety of subjects.
Our Global Goodies are not part of our core curriculum but are available to give you an additional element of flexibility to our courses and to give international families an alternative to some of our Australia specific resources. They are also for families looking for additional Charlotte Mason inspired resources.
You can swap out similar resources or add them as extension work. These resources are not written into your Weekly Planner.
The Year One Global Goodies include:
- World History for Little Scholars: Museum Visits in Year One
- Beatrix Potter Copywork – Ball and Stick (USA and Australian spelling compatible)
- Mother Goose Copywork – Ball and Stick (USA and Australian spelling version)
- Mother Goose Copywork – Foundation Font (USA spelling version)
Please Note: Global Goodies are only available with the purchase of the Full Version of the Year One graded course.
Learning to read is a key skill students of this age are continuing to develop. While reading abilities and levels of confidence vary amongst children, all children at this age need time, practice and consistency when reaching this developmental milestone. Our Year One course includes some great resources to help teach your child to read, including how to use the Charlotte Mason method to do so. Our Common and Dolch Words resource also gives you a huge word bank to use in your homeschool: great for teaching phonics principles and whole word recognition.
Beatrix Potter and Mother Goose Classic Copywork: Copywork is a key element of the English program in My Homeschool courses and in Year One students build on the principles of forming letters correctly, moving into words and sentences from the delightful Beatrix Potter and Mother Goose rhymes. Your child’s appreciation for these sweet verses and portions from living books will overflow into their copywork program and equips your child to be able to develop this important life skill. Teach your child to hold a pencil properly, sit correctly with a strong posture and write beautifully with ease through these two copywork programs, and there is no need to buy an expensive additional handwriting program!
Please Note: While the Full Version includes both copywork resources, only Beatrix Potter Classic Copywork is included in the Lite Course.
Learning to spell words is something your child will learn throughout our courses and, indeed throughout life, so in Year One we provide some foundational principles to assist with that. Our Common and Dolch Words will furnish your child with a range of frequently used words they can begin to learn to read and spell and we also provide support to teach you how to teach your child how to spell words correctly using the Charlotte Mason method, a teaching technique you will continue to use throughout our graded courses.
Primary Language Lessons is a key resource used within our My Homeschool graded courses from Kindergarten to Year 6: This resource is used three times per week throughout the year. It includes a variety of lessons that follow a Charlotte Mason approach to learning English. Comprehension lessons are done using narration and conversation. Children are encouraged to explain what they are seeing as a pre-writing skill. Spelling, grammar and punctuation are taught by using sentences and Dolch word lists. In Year One reading begins with simple sentences and phrases, designed to build confidence in your little scholar.
This resource has been written so you can pick up and start the lesson without preparation. Lessons are short, taking a maximum of 15 minutes. Many lessons can be done orally so your child will not get bogged down in worksheets. You don’t need to buy any other books to complete this resource as all of the relevant passages are all provided. Written lessons are completed in a notebook (or exercise book) so there is no extra printing of worksheets. An answer guide is provided to help parents with quick checking.
Please Note: Our Year One Lite offers a condensed 2 term version (18 weeks) of this resource.
Picture Book Links: With living books forming the cornerstone of our approach to learning, we use a selection of picture books in our curriculum that tie in with the themes we are teaching in science, history, geography and English. Some of these are recommended purchases and essential to complete the course, while others are complementary titles to search for at your local library. Where possible, we link to our selected titles in a video format, so you can watch them being read online. This can be helpful if you can’t find a book, are homeschooling on the road, or if you are watching your budget.
First Maths Lessons – Year One is included in the Year One course as a maths program for your child. Offering 3 lessons per week, this is a full year maths course aligned to the Australian Curriculum and NSW Syllabus, inspired by the Charlotte Mason method and current good practice, it provides a range of hands-on activities so your child can practice and enjoy maths. This maths program is exclusive to My Homeschool and has been developed specifically for the homeschool setting. It will give you the confidence to teach the foundation of maths well.
Please Note: If you purchase the Lite Edition, you will receive the first two terms (18 weeks) of First Maths Lessons – Year One.
Year 1 Homeschool History
Living books are the cornerstone of My Homeschool and we know how difficult it can be to find a well-curated list that includes books you can actually find and at a reasonable price. We use a living book approach for our history studies using a selection of wonderful books to inspire and educate young children, providing you with online links, perfect for that read-aloud time with your little one. Our Kindergarten and Year 1 courses are designed to lay a foundation for your child’s historical understanding to prepare them for the chronological approach to history that is taught from Year 2 and continues through to our high school graded courses. Portions of Australian history are taught in all years through literature and poetry, within the broader context of framing World History for your little scholar.
Within our Year One course your child will examine aspects of Australian and World History, preparing them for the chronological history studies that commence from Year Two. They will also learn about the importance of objects in our Travels and Treasured Objects resource, based on beautiful Living Books that share the stories and the study of history in a meaningful way.
Australian Stories offers your child a glimpse of Australian history with heart warming and quirky living picture books read aloud in video format.
Please Note: Travels and Treasured Objects is included within both the Lite and Full course options, giving all Year One families the opportunity to study history with My Homeschool in Year One. Australian Stories is only available in our Year 1 Full course version.
Nature Walks is a practice that many associate with the Charlotte Mason method but may be unsure about how to approach, however, our Year One course explains all you need to know about how to do and enjoy Nature Walks and how you can incorporate them into your homeschool with success. We also include a range of materials to encourage Nature Study in your homeschool as this is something that is encouraged throughout your child’s education and continues through to our high school graded courses. We offer foundational materials to teach your young child about coastal environments, weeds, seasonal changes and Australian flora. There is plenty of support and tips and tricks to help get you and your child started, even if you don’t know much about nature.
Our science program focuses on Chemistry and Physics, offering you a way to teach these two themes of the Australian Curriculum in a meaningful way for your young child. They will appreciate understanding the seemingly mysteries of these two core subjects in a way that they can understand and apply using our Kitchen Chemistry and Physical World. Using both living books and some hands-on ideas that don’t require complicated supplies or processes, your child will gain a foundational understanding that will support their learning in these two areas all the way through our primary school courses and through to the end of our Year Ten course.
Please Note: Physical World is only available when you purchase the Full Version of our Year One course. Our Year One Lite course only includes our Chemistry resource, Kitchen Chemistry.
In our Year One course students not only examine their own neighbourhood and beautiful living books showcasing neighbourhoods around the world through our Local Neighbourhood resource. but they also see homes all around the world in our Places People Live.
Understanding how other people live is one aspect of Geography and one that fills a child of this age with wonder and excitement. In addition to these two Exploring Geography resources, our Year One course also features Special Places to help your child understand the significance of places to them and to many others around the world. Again, this is taught through living books and delight child and parents alike.
Please Note: Special Places and Your Local Neighbourhood are only available with the purchase of the Full Version of the Year One graded course.
Looking to start a language other than English in your homeschool? Our Year One course includes Introduction to World Languages so your Year One child can learn simple greetings, counting to ten, songs and other introductory content to foreign languages in a simple and easy way. This shows your child a range of different languages, such as French, German, Mandarin, Korean, Spanish, Russian and Bahasa Malay, to help them appreciate their differences and to start to feel confident hearing and speaking a language other than English. We also provide information, tips and recommended resources for those families looking to pursue instruction in a foreign language.
We are happy to include this resource in both our Full Version and Lite Edition so your child has a great start in learning languages.
Creative and Practical Arts are taught with other subjects including: nature journaling, literature based unit studies, picture study and music appreciation.
Art and Music Appreciation courses are provided with My Homeschool membership, so you have a choice of rotations, including some specifically developed for young learners. You can simply choose one rotation for your family to use.
Some rotations have additional books to purchase while others have everything you need provided online. Your My Homeschool membership also gives you access to our Handicrafts resource which includes a range of practical art and craft ideas with instructional videos.
Physical Education
We have included a series of fun kids exercises in our online WOW – workout world classes.
Personal Health & Development
This commonsense subject is taught through the activities of daily living and participation in local sports and community events. Healthy Conversations checklists are provided for each stage of the syllabus so you can teach respectful relationships and personal growth as you deem appropriate.
The My Homeschool team includes experienced home educators who provide mentor support and help you deal with issues as they arise. We don’t provide tutoring or specific lesson support on an individual, one-on-one basis.
We are always happy to answer questions about our curriculum and how to implement it and we encourage our members to get involved in the Community Forum.
We have a vibrant online community where you can share stories and help others, purchase books you might need and connect with other My Homeschool families in your area.
You are the teacher and you oversee lessons. We provide homeschool teacher training as well through our self-paced courses How To Homeschool 101 and for our more experienced members the Boost Your Homeschool.
We are continually adding to our collection of resources to help support you in your role as teacher to your children.
Should I skip kindergarten?
Unfortunately, kindergarten is sometimes dismissed as unnecessary, confused with preschool, melded into Year 1, or simply viewed through different education philosophies, such that the real wonder, meaning and purpose for kindergarten has been forgotten or cast aside.
Some home educators misunderstand kindergarten to only be a formal school construct and miss the opportunities that come for enjoying and exploring learning at this age.
Kindergarten is not only an important step in the life long journey of education, but a wonderful way to gently step into home education. It is not to be missed!
While learning to read and setting a good foundation in maths is important for a child of this age, there are many other aspects of a child’s development that are key and you don’t want to skip them.
For example, the inclusion of our Nature Study program will support your child’s learning in a number of subject areas. One comment we get from mums who have been doing our kindergarten curriculum for a while is that their children, in learning to observe plants and insects and birds in nature, quickly became far more observant when reading and doing maths and other subjects. All aspects of our course have been carefully designed to help your child thrive and give them a strong start in their education.
Children using the My Homeschool Kindergarten Curriculum are usually around 5 or 6 years old. It is not generally recommended for 4 year olds or as a pre-school alternative.
Here are two tools to see if your child is ready.
Kindergarten Course Skills List
Ongoing Assessment
Our Primary Full Version course is 36 weeks of study, organised over 4 terms. 8 weeks are set topics and the 9th week is an assessment and review week that often includes a project. Our Lite Edition gives you 18 weeks of study, enough for 2 terms.
Each week has its own Weekly Planner checklist which is available in an online format or as a downloadable PDF to print and store in a folder, making record keeping easy.
At the end of each term there is a downloadable report of work achieved over the term. Parents add comments and assessments of their child’s progress in each area of learning.
We know that parents want their children to thrive and that testing is popular in many school environments as a measure of progress. When you homeschool you do not need to test your children as much as they do at school, as you are assessing as you go.
We give you tips and support on how to assess your child in a way that suits homeschooling, so you can be confident that your child is progressing well in your homeschool.
There are no formal tests until Year 5.
FAQ - Course Questions
Here are a few of frequently asked questions answered.
I am a Kiwi. Can I still use your curriculum?
Yes you can! We already have New Zealanders using our program.
My Homeschool is very much a curriculum that New Zealanders can use. The Australian Curriculum and the NZ Curriculum are different in their organisation, but they are both considered to be of the same rigour.
My Homeschool offers a Charlotte Mason inspired curriculum that considers the Australian curriculum but we have a global approach and so include lots of global goodies. For example, you will find world history and geography in all the primary years.
We have a reasonable amount of NZ content in our curriculum.. We include NZ literature, NZ nature study , some NZ civics. We don’t cover a lot of specific NZ history but we do have some when it overlaps with Australia. There isn’t any Māori content. You can source that however from your library.
You’ll find there is a lot of overlap with NZ and Australia and so we certainly have a lot there for you.
On the purchase of a course you are provided with a planning template, Scope and Sequence, and Weekly Planner to help you plan out your year ahead with ease and confidence. We also include Term Reports so you can also give evidence of how you are assessing your child. This will make your homeschool application/exemption very easy as we have already done most of the work for you. We are homeschooling parents who know what all homeschoolers need!
One thing to note is that in New Zealand your Year 1 is our Kindergarten in Australia, so you will need to use the grade below what you would normally use in New Zealand. We still have the same amount of years you just finish at Year 13 and we finish at Year 12. Our My Homeschool Curriculum only goes to Year 11 New Zealand (Year 10 Australia).
Will I be able to teach this program? It sounds quite academic.
It’s natural to feel a little daunted when we think about teaching our children. We don’t want to intimidate you, we are here to support you. We won’t send you a bunch of downloads and send you on your way. We also teach you how to teach. Our guides and homeschool expertise will help you instruct your children. You can also post questions on our forum when you hit a snag. You’ll learn some new things and brush up on old things as you teach your children. It’s a very satisfying experience and many veteran homeschoolers report co-learning as one of the unexpected benefits of homeschooling.
I'd like to know what books you use. Can I see the booklists?
Our booklist are carefully curated and are only available as a part of our program.
My Homeschool uses living books in many subjects. Some are for your child to read alone, and some are to be read aloud by the parent. We also include some online and audio book options. Books allocated for reading aloud provide an opportunity for families to discuss them broadly. Parents are able to offer the scaffolding and support which will help their child navigate the literature which may be challenging for a variety of reasons.
We do use secular books and these do not always line up perfectly with a Christian world view. This also reflects Charlotte Mason’s approach. We have tried our best to make good choices in our literature and we have read what we recommend. We have rejected many books in the process of writing this curriculum. Finding a perfect book is almost impossible but our book selection is thought out and many of our books are recommended by others who follow a Charlotte Mason education.
We’ve also included culturally significant Australian literature which often highlights what was happening in the era it was written. For this reason, some of the literature may well be ‘politically incorrect’ or old fashioned by today’s standards, but at the time of writing it was not. These books offer an opportunity to teach your child about the culture of the times.
Our books were chosen with the Australian Curriculum in mind, however we understand that you may not want to read all the books we have chosen. Feel free to replace them with a title that suits your family’s needs.
We offer alternatives and extension suggestions in our My Homeschool Reading Lounge. This is our exclusive online library catalogue of book list suggestions and alternatives.
Can I just buy individual subjects and resources?
My Homeschool does provide many free homeschool resources.
Our curriculum is a structured program so we do not sell our curriculum separately.
If you are planning on using My Homeschool as your main curriculum, we suggest you consider your approach to mix and matching resources as you may experience overlap or gaps in subsequent years. For this reason, we recommend buying appropriate grades for each child so that you will have a sequential well curated curriculum.
Will this work for teaching multiple children?
Choice has been built into this curriculum to give you the flexibility you need for teaching multiple ages and adapting to the special needs and interests of your child/children. We encourage families to do read-alouds, nature study, handicrafts, art and music appreciation as a group.
Our World History subject from Year 2 to Year 6 encourages parents to read aloud the history content. When teaching a few children in this age group at once we recommend you only teach one history cycle at a time. Since World History is not part of the Australian Curriculum this will not impact your curriculum compliance.
More details on working with multiple children can be found here.
I already have a very busy life? How much time will this involve?
My Homeschool follows the Charlotte Mason practice of shorter lessons so there is time for the student to follow other interests. Approximately three to four days per week is allocated to group study and parent reading aloud in the primary years. In high school we have written a four day schedule with Day 5 free for other planned educational activities.
Your day will usually include consistent lesson time in the mornings, leaving afternoons free for natural learning and play. You can also get some of your jobs done and pursue other interests.
(Note: This is Year 2 in the New Zealand Curriculum)
My First Years Of Homeschool Were Difficult
When I was a new homeschooling mum I only understood the school teacher way of teaching. My children could read but I was a bit perplexed about what I was supposed to teach next. I was using textbooks for English and maths but wasn’t teaching much else. Lesson times were a struggle for all of us. The doubt was really starting to set in. I eventually gave in and sent my oldest two to school, my daughter was in Year 1.
I was so sad I had failed homeschooling. I really wanted to do it. I began looking for ways to make it work. That’s when two homeschooling friends introduced me to the Charlotte Mason method. I was an instant convert. After one term at school I had them home again. I stopped using all the resources I had used before and started using lots of living books, notebooks, art work and nature study. My children loved the change and so did I.
However, although I had found a meaningful and enjoyable way to educate, I had to show how my education method was tying in with the NSW syllabus. This was the difficult part.
I know in New Zealand you also have to fill in a complicated application.
Unfortunately, following the government curriculum requirements is a problem for many homeschoolers.
As regulations begins to tighten in each state, many people give up their educational philosophy and go back to worksheets, textbooks and online tick the box products, some go unregistered and hope they won’t get caught, some send their kids back to school and some just lie about what they teach in order to pass registration.
None of these are good options!
But I've found a solution. In 2007, I started publishing resources for Australian home educators and showing them how to use the Charlotte Mason method for registration. And people kindly thanked me and told me our resources and guides were ‘pots of gold’ and it had made their homeschool journey ‘so much easier’. They kept asking for more help.
And when my children had graduated from my homeschool and gone to university, I launched My Homeschool so I could continue serving the homeschooling community and help others successfully home educate their children!
Story by Michelle Morrow (Founder of My Homeschool)
We know a number of families have tried the “School at home” approach, sent their kids to school for a bit, or used copious amounts of worksheets only to find that their child has lost all interest in learning and they’ve only finished Kindergarten! One comment we hear often is how much both child and parents are enjoying learning while using our Year One program. With great books to read, a broad feast of subjects and plenty of activities to enjoy, our Year One curriculum can put the delight back into learning
Join Our Community
When you buy a course through My Homeschool you are joining a community that supports and mentors parents interested in educating their children academically and spiritually.
We give you a shortcut to help you get straight into giving your child a delightful and robust education without spending days and days researching and tweaking unsuitable content.
Our homeschool curriculum is written to comply with the Australian curriculum. And we make registration easy because we’ve already done 75% of the documentation you need for your application.
We got the 'go ahead' for our first year of homeschooling from the Assessor today and he said that he gave us a full year to start us off because he was, and I quote, "Very impressed with the level of detail" I was able to provide him with and that is thanks to My Homeschool!!
I love the weekly schedule so much; Jo - I know they will make the organisational side of my week much less of a task.
We Care About What Your Children Are Taught
We aim to give you confidence that you can educate your children with a worldview that honours Judeo-Christian principles and has strong academic outcomes. However, our resources are not predominantly Christian. We look for outstanding resources and often a secular resource is the best option.
We have a number of families who use our curriculum who are secular or from other faiths.
We do not include devotional material or specific religious instruction in our curriculum. We leave that up to parents.
We Wanted A Curriculum That Worked For Home Educators
Our curriculum writers have already done the juggle of homeschooling a few children at once.
- We knew how lovely and important it is to learn as a family so we made some lessons and read alouds possible to teach as a group.
- We reduced the time needed for formal academics by crafting our curriculum so our resources and books often teach multiple topics.
- We made each grade fit each state’s syllabus so you can get registered easily.
- We gave you a streamlined intentional curriculum so you could give your children a wholesome integrated education from kindergarten to high school.
- We made sure it was academically challenging so your children will have career options, and a pathway to university if needed.
- We put it all in one place so you weren’t hunting around looking for resources every time you wanted to begin lessons.
- We made it easy to access your lessons and planner when you were out and about or travelling just by picking up your smartphone.
We Use A Blended Learning Approach
My Homeschool lessons are provided in a blended learning format.
All our virtual homeschool uses the Moodle LMS software, a renowned online learning platform used by many schools and universities. Using this format means we give you exceptional functionality which enables you to record your progress, and access your lessons from various digital devices and locations. This format also enables us to keep our resources fresh and dynamic.
A laptop, tablet, or desktop computer is needed to use our courses. Access to a printer is also necessary.
PDFs can be downloaded and printed for offline reading but other resources can only be viewed from our learning platform.
The majority of our classes require reading from a real book or paper-based resource.
Writing exercises involve pencils and paper and many lessons are oral or conversation based.
Video lessons require access to the My Homeschool learning portal.
The Moodle App can be downloaded onto your smartphone for on the go lessons and checking progress but is not recommended as the main digital device for reading and viewing lessons.
Continued Membership Rewards
You will continue to have access to your purchased courses, and all the benefits of being a My Homeschool member, as long as you keep your membership current. This means you can use the same graded course again for subsequent children. Inactive members are deleted after 12 months.
Digital Course Content Provided On Learning Platform
Note: New Zealand grades names are different to My Homeschool Grades.
You will be charged in Australian Dollars at checkout. Login details will then be sent to your email address. You can then access all the course materials.
Lite Program| Price NZD$ 353.40
Full Program| Price NZD$ 589.01
My Homeschool has been the perfect fit for our family. It has provided the "hand-holding" I needed as a new homeschooler while still being flexible enough to be workable in everyday life.
It took the stress out of writing the application for exemption to homeschool as everything was laid out for me, and we were granted 18 months exemption.
I love that it uses a relaxed CM style, can be taught from a Christian worldview and is Australian. The weekly plans are not overly prescriptive so can easily be implemented according to the child's individual interests and pace of learning and whatever else is happening in our week.
I love the lay out of week by week checklists. We’ve really enjoyed Y1 History which I combined with my Y1 and Y4. We have liked the complementary books recommended.
My children are enjoying the CM method, less textbook and more creative and enjoyable learning. They have something they’ve personally made or journaled to show for their work instead of a dull textbook page. I have tried to incorporate the CM method in the past but this program is the helping hand I need to implement it.
We are enjoying the Primary Language Lessons. I have printed the Weekly Checklists and subjects and have them spiral bound for each year. This has been great to have it all together and I can go through and highlight the lessons before we do them.
Hi Michelle!
I just thought I would drop you a line to let you know that I have successfully registered using My Homeschool and the AP moderator had lots of nice things to say about it. You are doing a great job and it took all the registration stress away. It was so easy. Thank you so much!
It has definitely made me feel more organised (I just need to train the kids better, but I do feel it is slowly happening). I really like that I can trust that the book recommendations will be all "good" and I don't need to lose time chasing reviews etc...Overall I am finding it very adaptable, and I like the prompts for end of term reviews (that's one thing I just never got to before).