#handwritingwithouttears

To start, these are all of the Level K Read-Alouds and Readers. BookShark is a literature-based curriculum, which means no textbooks. Through fiction and nonfiction alike, the children get to experience history and science on a whole new level. You can read more about BookShark’s Methodology here.

Now, I want to take a moment to mention that veteran BookShark moms suggest starting Kindergarteners on BookShark’s Preschool Level and working your way up from there. This is because some of the history books can be a little intense for younger kids. I, however, am taking this advice on a kid by kid basis and feel BigE can handle these books.

The books I have pictured may change over the years or be updated, so be sure to check the website for the current list. 

Up next, are some of the many ways BookShark encourages hands-on learning. 

On the top left is the Level K Science consumables. The science box houses a wide array of items to be used in weekly experiments. You will need to supplement these items with a few of your own from around the house. The DVD includes videos of each of these experiments being performed, either for your own viewing to get an idea of how it should go or for showing to the kids. 

On the top right is BigE’s favorite part of our lessons. Once a week, we use the Primer DVD to watch the new lesson, then BigE gets to use the manipulatives to solve his math worksheets. 

On the bottom is another favorite. With these wooden blocks, we shape the letter of the week and practice starting each letter from the top. 

At the bottom here, we have two more items that make history and geography a little more hands-on. On top is the Timeline book. This book will be used over the entirety of BigE’s homeschool experience. Each year he will color the timeline figures as we discuss them, then stick them into the book on their respective pages. By the time we finish, this will be a very full book. 

Underneath is a foldable laminated map of both the world and the United States. As you read the books, some activities utilize the map to mark where the characters trek. By the end of the year, you can see all of the places you’ve visited through the literature. 

Now we’ll get into the part that holds it all together. The part that keeps me a sane mom who knows exactly what we’re supposed to get done each day. 

When you receive the big box full of BookShark goodness, you will find Instructor Guides and Student Worksheets for each subject. You also receive a massive 3-4 inch binder for housing it all in order by week. This binder was a bit much for me, so I picked up two 2-inch binders to separate my Instructor Guides from my Student Worksheets. I then picked up two .5-inch working binders. In these, I keep four week’s worth of work at a time, and we use those daily.

My Student Worksheets binder also contains my Math-U-See Primer worksheets broken up by week and our Handwriting Without Tears book sits on top as the pages are used in too much of a random order to be placed in their respective weeks. While my Instructor Guides binder looks a little depleted, you’ll notice that it starts with week 5. Weeks 1-4, as well as the introductory pages, all live in my .5-inch working Instructor Guide binder at the moment.

Another note here. As this curriculum will be used with all four of my kids, The Student Worksheets binder remains untouched. Instead, I make copies to be written on. 

I won’t get into the details of what each week or each day’s schedule looks like as the easiest way to see is to head on over to BookShark and download their Instructor Guide sample sheets. They are very generous and allow you to see the first three weeks of each subject.

Finally, my favorite part is how nicely our entire year fits on one bookshelf. From left to right are the map, timeline, working binders, science consumables, books, manipulatives, and BigE’s crayons and other supplies. On our work-table sits all of the books we will be enjoying that week.