What Your First Grader Needs to Know (Revised and Updated): Fundamentals of a Good First-Grade Education (The Core Knowledge Series)

'What your first grader needs to know' is by far the best book that I have purchased for homeschooling. I believe it's a must have for every homeschooling family wondering if they are covering what they should. Along with non-homeschooling families curious if their child is where he or he should be at in the school system. It goes over everything your child needs to know in the first grade, breaking it up into sections by subject. It not only explains to you what your child should know, but gives you pointers on how you can help your child learn and achieve the first grade goals. I have nearly every book in this series, for each grade level, and use them all. And for a lot of the concepts, you can really use them at any level, such as the stories and poems. Each subject is broken up into sections/chapters, which I mark with sticky notes sticking out of the top. And even though as time moves on, they are getting older, the first editions are just as wonderful as the second. Like I stated, you can use any of them at any level. You do not have to use this first grade book for a first grader, use it for any child who could benefit from it. So if you feel your child is at a different level, all you do is adjust. I use these books as a basis. I can adapt any lesson plan to this book. When reading the poems and short stories, or the history section ( or really any section) it opens up a whole world for more research and reading. The stories get my kids interested in a topic, and they want to know more, so, we find more. A trip to the library, an Internet search, or a kindle download (usually free). Our kids enjoy them as much as I do. I have used them for many years now. I started with the kindergarten series when our now 17 year old was 5, and homeschooled until 6th grade (and again her freshman year). She is now a National Honor Society member, dual-enrolled, straight A student in the publc school system.) and considering finishing up her high school career at home,) And again with our now 8 year-old, and beginning some of the reading with our toddler, but will repeat it as he grows. But they're never to little to be read to! Sections on reading, literature, poems... Math, science, social studies and music. My favorite are the literature, poems and history. I use them the most. Only wish those sections were bigger. Many thanks to the author of this great book for putting everything I need to know to teach my child, under one cover.

I’m a first time homeschooler with zero background in teaching. I have been at a loss of what and how to teach my child, and this has put my mind at ease. It also has everything in it that you would need (full poems/stories, history lessons, etc.) with additional suggestions for further teaching or reading. It’s so much cheaper than a regular curriculum, but it really has almost everything you need. It gave me ideas for projects and field trips to supplement, and you wouldn’t get those in a regular curriculum anyway. Save your money and buy this book. It’s a first grade book, but my 4 year old already finished our kindergarten curriculum and is begging for more. His attention span is much shorter than a normal first grader, so I like that it has shorter sections that I can pretty easily use as daily 15 minute lessons. I feel confident that when we finish this book, he will be completely prepared for second grade. And of course, we will be buying the next book in this series.

I love this book! I have my degree in Elementary Education and spent 3 years teaching - 2 of those in Kindergarten. I have seen how many times even the best intentions do not allow the time for covering EVERYTHING you would love to expose the children with when they are in your classroom. When my own child started Kindergarten "What Your Kindergartner Need to Know" was recommended to me by a friend. I would spend the nights reading to her out of this book. It was a great chance for me to introduce concepts to her that she either had a basic knowledge or no knowledge. She looked forward to our evening readings together and learned a great deal from this book. We used it solely as a "night read" and did not do the experiments it showed. However, we would look at the experiments and talk about them. They looked very age appropriate and fun. We have just begun "What Your First Grader Needs to Know" and all 3 of my children love it (ages 6, 4, and 3). This is an excellent way to add onto any child's education!

Because of Covid, I home schooled my granddaughter and this book has been a go-to-tool from the beginning until now. It will definitely get your little one fit for first grade and beyond. I absolutely loved the learning sequence and being able to see some of the things I learned as a youth in the book. So here it goes....I'll recommend this book to any parent that's homeschooling their child or children. I'd also recommend this book to a parent who has extra time and wants to teach their child a little more than what's being offered at school. It's really foundational learning and I'm enjoying it as much as my grandchild is.

This book has been a huge help for me as a new homeschooling mom. It gives straightforward advice on organizing our homeschooling journey, from making schedules to choosing what we learn. The book's clear tips helped me feel less worried and more confident in how we do things every day. It also gives good ideas on how to keep us interested and make learning fun at home. Overall, this is a must-have that has made our homeschooling experience enjoyable and successful. Highly recommended for new homeschooling parents looking to start off on the right foot.

Quality book. Well-written. Excellent resource.

I homeschool my daughter and I read the front where it said common core and decided I'd return it(people give common core a bad rap, and i admit i dont have much understanding of what it is). But I decided to look through the book and see what was in it. They are right when they day don't judge a book by its cover cause upon reviewing the chapters and subjects this was a great addition to my homeschool curriculum. The world history, literature, art and music subjects are laid out in a way that I would have never been able to do or even convey to my child in a way that made it fun and exciting. She really lo ok s forward to this book each day of school!

This is an outstanding story book that's fun to read and excellent at educating young children. We read something from this book almost every evening. Both my seven-year old and four-year old love something from this book. This book gives a good selection of classic children's stories, fun poems, singable songs, wise fables, and other works that are fun to read. It also gives great introductions to American history, world history, science, art and much more. What you see in this book is what your child should be learning at an ideal school. Since no school is perfect and can cover everything, use this book as a great way of ensuring that your chilren receive an outstanding education. This book tells you what you need to teach your first grader, and it's good reading. Next year we will buy the volumes for second grade and kindergarten. It's interesting that one review made a claim that this book is a little too liberal. The fact is that the editor has been closely associated with forger Education Secretary William Bennett, a social conservative. In fact, the information in this book is neither liberal nor conservative. It's just excellent and enjoyable education for you kids, based on solid empirical research...