Form 1B
(1st Grade)
Welcome to Form 1B!
Form 1B is the equivalent of 1st grade. If we stay true to Charlotte Mason’s methods, this is the first formal academic year.
The following course consists of one school year, designed to be spread out over three terms. Many Charlotte Mason homeschoolers complete a 36-week academic year. This typically includes 10 or 11 weeks of lessons plus an exam week for each term with three terms per year.
In this form, most lessons are 10 to 20 minutes each.
Please note, some books are spread out over multiple years.
Remember, you do not need to do everything included here for a complete feast. Especially if you are new to homeschooling, completing the readings under Faith; Literature, Fairy Tales & Fables; and Mathematics will give your child a solid foundation. Begin there and add additional readings and activities as you can.
Faith
Protestant
God's Big Picture Bible Storybook: 140 Connecting Bible Stories of God's Faithful Promises by N.T. Wright
The Ology by Marty Machowski
Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History by Richard M. Hannula
Teach Me the Faith: A Scripture Memory Catechism
Our Hymns, Our Heritage: A Hosanna Hymnal
Catholic
New Catholic Picture Bible by Catholic Book Publishing Corp.
Our Holy Faith, Vol. 1: Good Shepherd from TAN Books
Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia for Children
Saints Around the World by Meg Hunter-Kilmer
Great Adventure Kids Bible Card Game Set from Ascension Press
Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church
Literature, Fairy Tales & Fables
Literature
The Complete Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem
The House on Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
The Fairy Caravan by Beatrix Potter
Fairy Tales & Fables
Little Red Riding Hood and other Fairy Tales from Charles Perrault by Neil Philip
Tales from Grimm by Wanda Gag
Around the World in 80 Tales by Saviour Pirotta
Poetry
Now We are Six by A. A. Milne
Reading Instruction
Option 1:
Choose the McGuffey reader that fits your child’s reading level.
Original McGuffey readers can be found on Project Gutenberg.
Rainbow Resources provides excellent grade level equivalents that can serve as a good starting place if you are new the the readers. Original and revised editions are available there too.
Option 2:
The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise and Sara Buffington
Picture Books
Little Bear
Owl at Home
Frog and Toad are Friends
Corduroy
Make Way for Ducklings
Stone Soup
The Little House
Miss Rumphius
Little Bear’s Visit
Blueberries for Sal
Sammy the Seal
A Visitor for Bear
Frederick
An Extraordinary Egg
Hubert’s Hair-Raising Adv.
Cinderella by Marcia Brown
Johnny Appleseed by Reeve
The Emperor’s New Clothes
Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent
Maybelle the Cable Car
Pickle Chiffon Pie
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
The Biggest Bear
Swimmy
Tops and Bottoms
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
The Empty Pot
Hilda the Hen Who Wouldn’t Give Up
Old Rosie the Horse Nobody Understood
World History
The Middle Ages (Cycle 2)
Spines
Story of the World, Volume 2: The Middle Ages
DK Eyewitness Medieval Life
Chapter Books
The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla
Viking Adventure by Clyde Robert Bulla
Eagle Drums by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson
Son of Charlemagne by Barbara Willard
Castle Diary: The Journey of Tobias Burgess by Richard Platt
Fine Print: A Story about Johann Gutenberg by Johann Johansen Burch
Picture Books
Sundiata: Lion King of Mali by David Wisniewski
Chinese History Stories Volume 2: Stories from the Imperial Era
The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Rober Browning
A Medieval Feast by Aliki
Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson
Chanticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer and Barbara Cooney
Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China by Deborah Noyes
The Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare by Diane Stanley
The Lost Colony of Roanoke by Jean Fritz
American History
Biographies
Lief Erikson by Ingri D’Aulaire
Benjamin Franklin by Ingri D’Aulaire
Buffalo Bill by Ingri D’Aulaire
Science & Nature Study
Science
Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
Animals at Night by Katy Flint
What’s the Difference? Animals by DK
Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
Nature All Around: Birds by Pamela Hickman
Nature Lore
Eyes and No Eyes: Volume I with All Original Illustrations by Arabella Buckley
This volume contains the first three books in the series.
Wild Life in the Woods and Fields
By Pond and River
Plant Life in Field and Garden
The other three are assigned to be read in Form 1A (2nd Grade).
Mathematics
The Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic Series: Book 1 from Simply Charlotte Mason
Foreign Language
French
Begin working through Speaking French with Miss Mason and François from Cherrydale Press
Physical Education
Swedish Drill Revisited