Generations First Grade Curriculum

A Review of Generations First Grade Homeschool Curriculum

What is Generations Homeschool Curriculum?

Generations first grade curriculum is a Christian homeschool curriculum that focuses on faith-based education, and is a ministry of Kevin Swanson. The main focus is to have the Bible be woven into all subjects and educate students to be Bible literate. It feels like a very traditional approach to homeschool, with a textbook for each area of learning. We were gifted this curriculum in exchange for our honest review.

A Peek Inside Math 1: God’s Gift of Numbers

When looking at Generations curriculum first grade math, there are very many pros. It is bright colored, and comes with an easy to understand lesson schedule. It has very colorful photos and the Bible is mentioned throughout. There is a mix of learning math facts with fun activities and ideas for hands on activities with math manipulatives that are included. There are just a few cons that I should mention, including how “wordy” the math book is. There is lots of text that is used to connect the Bible to math. Some families may enjoy this, but others may want to just get straight to the actual math lesson.

Science: God Made Everything

Generations curriculum first grade science, called God Made Everything, is a science textbook, that also includes an activity book. It is divided into 9 units of four chapters. It is recommended that a family do one chapter per week for 36 weeks, and includes activities for a 3 day schedule. The textbook has beautiful color photos that all relate to the Bible.

The activity book includes three different activities for each chapter/week. These are very fun activities, and includes a supply list. The activities are a mix of play based science activities mixed with engaging worksheet activities. Most of this curriculum feels very fun, but it does feel very textbook heavy, and might be overwhelming to some families.

Generations Curriculum Phonics

Generations first grade curriculum in Phonics comes in two volumes. Volume 1 starts with intro to ABCs and sound recognition. It is recommended to do one lesson every day. This may feel repetitive to some first graders who are already confident with letters/sounds, or it may go to quickly if your child has not had much exposure to letters and sounds yet. This would be a good fit for a first grader who knows his letters/sounds, but needs a refresher.

In Volume 2, students are now considered “readers”, and has timed reading activities, sound recognition, and a Bible verse to read, as well as handwriting practice. The pro to the phonics curriculum is that there are nice, bright photos, and the use of the Bible frequently being mentioned. The cons are that it may feel like too much of a textbook, or may go too quickly for some students.

Reading: Gods Big Story

Gods Big Story is Generations curriculum first grade reading program. It is basically a Bible reader that starts in the second semester. It also includes memory verses to read, using NKJV. It goes through Creation to Paul in Prison. I love this reader. It looks well done and has beautiful pictures.

There is also an activity book that comes with the readers that includes a daily schedule. It includes new vocabulary to learn, reading comprehension, with grammar and handwriting. The con of this activity book is that parts of it may feel repetitive to the phonics activity book.

First Grade History: The Story of Jesus’ People

The Story of Jesus’ People is the history textbook for Generations first grade. It tells stories of the church from first century to present day. It also includes an activity book, where it is recommended to do one chapter a week, or can be flexible if you want to do two times a week. The activity book includes fun activities related to the history story, matching, coloring pages, etc.

This history program though can feel very much like a textbook, and may feel difficult for young children to piece together this kind of history timeline vs starting with what they already know more of.

Additional Notes on Generations Curriculum for First Grade

The curriculum also includes some christian readers, and missionary stories. Math manipulatives and math flash cards can also be included.

Who Would This Curriculum Be Good For?

This would be a great curriculum for a Christian family that is wanting a more traditional, rigorous approach to their Christian education. For families that really want to focus on the Bible and church history, and have it woven through each subject, then this is the curriculum.

Will We Use Generations Curriculum for First Grade? Why or Why Not?

After reviewing, we decided not to use this curriculum for a few different reasons. The biggest reason is how textbook heavy it felt for first grade, and potentially more rigorous than I am looking for. For Kindergarten, our family used a similar program that is also Christian focused, called My Fathers World. We are actually not using that either. Our family is wanting to take more of a literature approach, so in the end that was the main reason we ended up not choosing Generations homeschool curriculum. I also had some difficulty following their history timeline, but that may just be my personal preference.