Harbor and Sprout
DIGITAL Level One Language Arts
This program is available at introductory pricing for a limited time! No code needed.
Nature-Based Level One Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum
Level One Language Arts is a comprehensive language arts course for learners ages 6-8, covering first grade material. This curriculum includes 180 days of instruction and covers the following concepts:
- Review of vowels, consonants, simple sentences, sentence structure, and syllables & rhyme
- Initial and final consonant blends
- Consonant digraphs
- Vowel digraphs
- Inflectional endings
- Contractions
- Non-traditional long vowel sounds
- Conjunctions
- Nouns, verbs, and adjectives
- Irregular plurals
- Noun-verb agreement
- Capitalization
- Spacing and punctuation
- Alphabetization
- Lists and captions
- Writing descriptive and narrative sentences
- Journaling
- Cards and letters
- Acrostic poems
- Pattern books
- Writing how-tos and instructions
- Book responses
- Report writing
... and more.
For a full breakdown of the scope and sequence of this program, please click here to review the Scope and Sequence. Don't forget to add the Level One Literature Book for literature study and reading comprehension!
This is a digital product. Your Level One Language Arts course will be delivered digitally as a PDF download. This course is also available here in print format, delivered as a hard copy to your door.
With your purchase, you will also receive a digital PDF download of supplemental materials to use alongside your lessons. These materials are optional, helpful tools and are not required to complete lessons. Items like letter flashcards can be replaced with movable letters of your choice.
Page count: 617
For more information about this program, please download the free sample and read the detailed overview of our Language Arts program in the toggles below. If you are not sure if your child is ready for Level One, please take the Level One Readiness Assessment.
If you'd like to try the first half before purchasing the second half, you have the option to purchase in two separate parts. Please select part 1 from the dropdown. You can purchase part 2 when you are ready. Part 1 includes lessons 1-87 and the supplement pack. Part 2 includes lessons 87-180. Please note that part 1 and part 2 are not separate programs but rather a natural split in the middle of one continuous book for convenience. Both parts are needed to fully complete the program.
Harbor and Sprout’s comprehensive Langage Arts & Reading curriculum was carefully designed by professionals who understand curriculum in theory and in practical application. We engage an exploratory, active approach for learners and their families, combining play and creativity with academic rigor. Nature is infused in lessons, activities, and beautiful, intentional graphic design. Learners are met where they are with approachable yet robust lessons that are pacing-adjustable for necessary review and extensions for reinforcement and different approaches for many learning styles. In tandem, our Language Arts & Reading curriculum cover phonics, reading, writing, grammar, handwriting (print and cursive), vocabulary, and spelling in a comprehensive and intuitive format.
Our Language Arts curriculum incorporates the Science of Reading and teaches foundational skills for language and reading mechanics. Our program borrows from some of the most effective components of several educational methods including Montessori, Charlotte Mason, and Orton-Gillingham. Tenets of our curriculum hone in on the essentials of comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, phonics, and phonemic awareness. These foundational skills then grow with the curriculum and with your child.
Key points considered when developing the Harbor and Sprout Langage Arts curriculum include the following:
Intentional Introduction to Literacy
- Letters are introduced from sound to symbol, aiding in phonics instruction. Students are first taught to associate the letter symbol with a sound, and later taught the name of each letter symbol.
- Letters and their sounds are introduced in an intuitive order rather than alphabetical order.
- Focus on foundational vocabulary to help equip learners with the language they need to progress in all areas of development.
- As the curriculum continues through the levels, language and literacy concepts will continue to be introduced systematically with intention.
Writing Styles
- From inventive spelling in Little Sprouts to practical, academic, and creative writing all throughout the curriculum levels, your child will develop an aptitude for putting their thoughts on paper.
Fostering a Love of Reading
- Our reading books explore what makes a genre a genre and how to understand genres in light of their components. This, in turn, helps students gain an appreciation for reading.
- Reading passages are carefully selected from excellent literature and included in the book. Narration prompts are incorporated to help learners develop an aptitude for reading comprehension while experiencing many different kinds of literature- some of which may be more challenging and will open them up for discussion and development of confidence.
- Our extensive reading lists have a wide range of high quality and diverse titles.
Rate of Learning
- We recognize that children learn at different rates. Our curriculum accommodates for those differences. It is written in such a way that the transition from the parent reading lessons to the child to the child helping to read lessons is seamless and natural. We use assessments to understand your child’s current aptitude while providing support, extensions, and reinforcement activities as needed. Our goal is to provide learners with a strong literacy foundation while helping them to progress at a pace that is comfortable and appropriate.
- In the youngest levels, the focus will be on print concepts, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and listening comprehension. This will aid in buiding a solid foundation to transition smoothly from "learning to read" to "reading to learn".
Meets Your Child Where They Are
- Our curriculum is extremely neurodiversity friendly in its predictability, flexibility, and design.
- We have assigned levels rather than grades to each book so as to eliminate anxiety around being “caught up” or “behind”.
- Lessons are written to suit the evidence on attention span at each given developmental level.
- Allows for many opportunities for choice and flexibility in how you engage with lessons and content.
Hands-On
- We have developed a multifaceted approach to learning in this curriculum, including not only lessons that are engaging, but an active learning component, or AVK Connection, that incorporates audio, visual, and/or kinesthetic learning styles.
- In addition, each book includes a list of extensions to help further solidify the main themes of the books.
- While our curriculum is open-and-go, it also includes many opportunities for the unexpected rabbit trails Harbor + Sprout is known for.
Each book in the Language Arts and Reading suite is the result of extensive research and study to make it best suit the H+S approach to education and ensure that it is of utmost quality and highly effective.
Our lessons were designed to be just the right amount- not too little, not too much, with room to expand or simplify as needed. Estimated length of lessons by level are as follows:
Language Arts Curriculum:
- Little Sprouts: 10-20 minutes per day
- Kindergarten: 10-20 minutes per day
- Level 1: 15-20 minutes per day
Reading Curriculum:
- 30-40 minutes per week
- Additional read-aloud time recommended daily
Each Language Arts lesson is comprised of the following components:
- Objective- "I can" statement
- Materials list
- Warmup: spiral review of a previously learned concept
- Instructional lesson
- AVK Connection: audio/visual/kinesthetic active learning component to engage all styles of learning and reinforce concepts in tangible ways
- 2 pages of learner exercises with multifaceted activities to practice the lesson material
Language Arts Curriculum
Harbor + Sprout Language Arts includes 36 weeks of material and 180 days of instruction per level, thus fulfilling the requirements for states with compulsory schooling standards. You have the option to pace these lessons as needed; for example, you may choose to do two lessons a day as best suits your family's schedule.
At the end of each unit, you will have a skills check to gauge progress and understanding. If more practice is needed, you are encouraged to revisit the AVK Connection portions of the lessons or visit the extensions list at the beginning of the curriculum.
After every 3 units, you will find a mastery assessment to evaluate progress and understanding. In addition, there will be a comprehensive mastery assessment at the end of each curriculum.
For a by-level breakdown of lessons and assessments, please preview the scope and sequence of the level you will be using with your child.
Reading Curriculum
Our reading curriculum includes a weekly reading exercises for literature study. Whereas our Language Arts curriculum teaches phonics and the mechanics of reading, our reading curriculum focuses on reading comprehension and elemental literacy skills to help develop an innate appreciation and affinity for reading.
This book is intended to be used weekly for 36 weeks. Each weekly lesson includes:
- A reading passage for the week
- Comprehension questions
- Vocabulary
- Extensions
Click here to see a lesson structure overview.
The scope and sequence of our language arts and reading program was designed thoughtfully with the needs of every family worldwide in mind. Developed by our resident M.A. in Curriculum and Teaching and based on consultation with skilled curriculum developers with many collective years of experience refining impactful curricula in innovative ways, every aspect of this curriculum has been carefully researched to ensure it meets the standards of top quality curriculum with the unique, lively, and nature-based Harbor + Sprout twist. Click each level below to see the scope and sequence.
Little Sprouts Scope and Sequence
At Harbor + Sprout, we take great pride in offering a curriculum that is deeply intentional, thoughtfully designed, and firmly rooted in proven educational research. Our approach to both mathematics and language arts emphasizes conceptual depth, developmentally appropriate progression, and a commitment to supporting diverse learners.
Mathematics Curriculum
Our mathematics curriculum is built on the highly effective Concrete–Pictorial–Abstract (CPA) approach. This methodology guides students through three stages of understanding: beginning with tangible, hands-on materials; moving to visual representations; and finally progressing to abstract, symbolic notation. This process nurtures deep comprehension and long-term retention of core mathematical concepts.
Each concept in our program is carefully interwoven with others, creating an intuitive and meaningful learning journey. The curriculum emphasizes conceptual connections, encouraging students to see math not as isolated procedures but as a network of ideas that build on one another organically.
The framework for our math program was developed in partnership with a Ph.D. in Mathematics and Curriculum Development, whose expertise has been instrumental throughout the creation process. This expert-led guidance has ensured the program remains grounded in best practices from mathematics education research. Through careful piloting, iterative revision, and rigorous review, we have ensured that every component reflects a deep understanding of how children best learn math.
Language Arts Curriculum
Our Language Arts curriculum is guided by the principles of the Science of Reading, focusing on the foundational elements of literacy development: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. These essential components are intentionally sequenced and integrated to support skill development at a pace that matches your child's natural growth.
The framework was designed by a curriculum and instruction specialist with a M.A. in curriculum and teaching, with emphasis on reading education. and a background in research-informed educational design. Drawing from methodologies such as Montessori, Charlotte Mason, and Orton-Gillingham, the curriculum offers a blend of structured literacy and child-centered learning. This multifaceted approach allows us to support a wide range of learning preferences and provide a literacy foundation that is both strong and adaptable.
We understand the importance of inclusivity and accessibility, and have designed both programs to be neurodiversity-friendly, supporting varied cognitive profiles and learning needs with intention and care.
Both our Math and Language Arts programs align with national academic standards while also going beyond to explore concepts more deeply and meaningfully at developmentally appropriate stages. Every lesson, sequence, and activity has been carefully vetted, tested, and refined. We do not take shortcuts. Every decision is the result of collaborative expertise, thorough research, and a commitment to excellence.
We are honored to provide a curriculum that speaks to both the heart and science of teaching and learning.
Selecting the right level for your learner is a big decision, and we are here to help! The younger years are inherently full of nonlinear development that occurs at a unique pace for each child. Age bands are given as recommendations, not rules. You may even find that you need a different level of each subject. Every child is different.
Each subsequent level of Harbor and Sprout's core curriculum presents information in a developmentally-appropriate more advanced context than the previous level. The progression is gradual and methodical. Each level will provide the solid foundation your child needs to be prepared for the next. Note that you do not have to begin with Little Sprouts or any other Harbor and Sprout level; you may begin this program at any point in your child's education and fill in gaps from previous learning as needed.
When considering where your child should begin, we recommend that you take the placement assessments (linked below) and read through the scope and sequence (linked above) to determine the best fit. If you begin and find that you need to slow down the pace, you can always start one level earlier and return to the higher level when your child has a firm understanding of the foundational concepts needed to continue through the program.
Little Sprouts Ready-To-Learn Assessment
Q: Is this curriculum mastery based or spiral based?
A: Harbor + Sprout Language Arts is a mastery-spiral hybrid curriculum. Concepts are taught with a mastery-based approach and you will find a spiraled review concept in each lesson. We have combined the best of both worlds to create a full-bodied and impactful comprehensive math curriculum.
Q: Is the Language Arts course a learn-to-read program, or is that the purpose of the Literature book?
A: All mechanics of how to read and phonetic lessons are included in the Language Arts course. The Literature books are the literature portion of our curriculum, which include reading passages, comprehension, and vocabulary. You can use the LA program independently of the Literature reader, and vice versa.
Q: Is there a separate teacher's manual?
A: All instructional text is combined on-page with the learner exercises. This allows the curriculum to speak to the learner and it eliminates the need for separate pieces and cross referencing.
Q: Should I choose digital or print?
A: If you have a printer at home and plan to print lessons without binding the curriculum, digital is a great fit for you. If you intend to print and bind the book, we highly recommend purchasing the print version. There is a great deal of specific formatting required for the curriculum to print properly double-sided with top binding. Additionally, our prints are the most cost-effective option.
Q: I want to use this curriculum in my school or co-op. What do I need to purchase for each student?
A: Please read our group use guidelines here.