Sixth Grade Curriculum Choices (2025)

*Some links are affiliate links; see full disclosure below*

My eleven-year-old is going into sixth grade! How is he already old enough for church youth group and moving up to the Navigators group in our Trail Life troop?

He also enjoys fishing, hiking, and all things science. This is his first year running cross country for the local homeschool team. He would love to be able to skip math, but alas, I feel math is an integral part of his education.

Reading:

Since his reading is solid and he loves to read, we are going to do a fun and easy (for Mom) Book Bingo for his literature this year. The book bingo will give him a lot of autonomy in his reading, but also make sure he is getting in a variety of different books.

We are also continuing to use the Family Book Clubs from Read Aloud Revival, which are always fun and engaging.

Finally, don’t tell him that it’s actually school work, but he is participating in a local book club where they read a book each month and gather together to discuss it. Last month, they read Robin Hood, and this month, they are reading Sense and Sensibility.

Spelling

We have been working on All About Spelling, and he will continue to work his way through that. He really struggled with spelling, but over the last couple of years, he has shown tremendous progress, and we are excited to continue. We discovered All About Spelling years ago when my oldest child was struggling with spelling, and it has been our family’s favorite ever since.

Writing

For writing, we will be finishing Master Books Handwriting A to Zoo to review some handwriting skills. He will also be doing the next level in First Language Lessons to work on some grammar.

I printed out a huge selection of fun journaling prompts, and he chooses one each day to write about in his journal to work on his creative writing. He will also be entering some essays into several contests, including those sponsored by our junior historians and the state fair, to work on those skills. Those real-life applications have been so beneficial in encouraging my children to write solid essays.

Math

He will be finishing Math for a Living Education this year. We both love the format; it worked very well for him. There is generally enough practice for him without it being too much busy work. If there are concepts where he struggles, we can add in some extra practice.

Science:

I needed to be realistic this year about the amount of time and focus I have available for schoolwork, while also managing a toddler and multiple speech and physical therapy appointments each week. Of course, it is also important to me that my children get the solid education that they deserve.

This is where Journey Homeschool Academy solved my problem. We are doing one of their elementary science courses (which is solid enough for a sixth grader) with both my second and sixth graders. The boys wanted to learn about Astronomy, and we are loving the Elementary Astronomy course so far.

The video-based content makes it easy for them to do while I’m focused on the toddler, but then we can do the hands-on activities together. The course has solid science content with a Christian worldview that is also easy for me to implement. It has been a win for all of us.

Additionally, we will conduct a nature study at least once a week (we often do it more frequently when the weather is favorable). Sometimes our nature study is as simple as going outside and observing. Still, we also love to use our Homeschool Nature Study subscription to take things a little further and help me find some great activities and ideas.

History:

We are jumping back into Story of the World Volume 3 this year. We love all the hands-on activities and recipes included in the workbook, and we have the audio version of the text that allows us to listen while riding to appointments during our busy weeks.

Art

This son is the one I refer to as my little artist. He loves to draw, paint, and create. We will continue to use our membership with You Are An Artist chalk pastels for his online art lessons and provide him with lots of time and materials to be creative.

He also requested the opportunity to learn more about drawing, and so he is going to be trying some lessons from Timberdoodle’s Simply Draw.

Morning Time:

Morning time is my favorite part of our school day. We will do our daily Bible study and watch World Watch for current events each day. In addition, we plan to do a rotation of fine arts studies, poetry, Tuttle Twins books, and more. You can find out more about the resources we are using this year at Morning Time Plans 2025.

We have a toddler in the house and seven standing appointments each week, so I am holding all of our plans in an open hand and praying for the best. We will do what we can, when we can, and trust that God will fill in the gaps.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will receive a link and password to access the library. We add new items to the library each month. You will also receive a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on our current posts.

Resource Library

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always, I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in, and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

If you have not tried SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you don’t want to miss this sale!

Tuttle Twins is having a big curriculum sale! You can also get great deals on books and their Academy.

New subscribers can get 3 months of World Watch for FREE! This is a great deal.

Who What Why Moses, The Exodus, and The Tabernacle

I am excited to share the latest three books in Danika Cooley’s Who, What, Why series with you! I always look forward to these books because they are engaging and full of great Biblical information to help us as I teach and disciple my children.

The three newest books in the series were released this month. They cover Moses, the Exodus, and the Tabernacle.

*Some links are affiliate links, see disclosure below*

Who What Why Series

If you are unfamiliar with the series, it consists of brief chapter books geared toward students aged eight to eleven. The books are nonfiction but engaging and sometimes humorous. In addition to the target age group, younger students could enjoy them and learn from them through read-aloud. In addition, older students would find them to be very simple but still educational.

Each book contains illustrations that help the reader understand the book (and are often quite humorous), a timeline of events, and a works cited section so that you know where she derived the historical information.

Who Was Moses?

This exciting and easy-to-read chapter book details Moses’s life and contributions. It also explains how the events that happened with Moses point to Jesus. An excellent timeline in the back helps you understand how Moses’s life fits with other Biblical and historical events.

Did you know that while it should only have taken 11 days to walk from Mount Sinai to Kadesh, it took the Israelites over forty years? Did you know that Moses was 120 when God showed him the promised land?

While the facts are all included in scripture, this book helps to really break things apart and allows the reader to really understand Moses and his life.

Why Did the Exodus Happen?

All scripture is useful for teaching, but some of its contents can be a little challenging for children to understand. This book helps students better understand the Exodus, why it happened, and the historical timeline.

Many interesting facts help students (and parents) better understand the Exodus. For example, did you know that “The people of Israel left Egypt in the middle of the night with bowls of flatbread dough tied to their backs…There were six hundred thousand Israelite men walking out of Egypt. With their wives and children, the caravan probably numbered more than two million people.” While I have read about the Exodus multiple times, I had never really thought about just how many people were included.

Throughout this book, while learning about the Exodus, the reader is also introduced to the various characteristics of God. For example, God is Faithful, God is Known to Us, God is Sovereign, and God is our Savior.

It is a great resource to assist children in their study and understanding of the Bible.

What was the Tabernacle?

The Old Testament spends a great deal of time discussing the Tabernacle, both its physical characteristics and spiritual importance. This book helps students understand what the Tabernacle was and how that physical Tabernacle pointed to Jesus.

This book describes the Tabernacle’s physical description, information on how long it took to make, the materials used, the craftsmanship involved, etc. However, it also takes time to discuss the different feasts and procedures involved in worshiping God through the Tabernacle.

Then, it takes it a step further and discusses how things are different now because of Jesus and the New Covenant.

Conclusions

The Who, What, Why series is a great addition to any home library. They are useful as read-alouds or independent reading. You can supplement your Bible study or a study of Ancient History with these books. They could also work as independent reading.

These books are available to purchase at Thinking Kids Press (individually or save money and buy them as a bundle) or on Amazon.

Which title most interests you? What other titles would you like to see added to the series?

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will get a link and password to the library. We add new items to the library each month. You will also receive a monthly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library

Gnome Sweet Gnome a Timberdoodle Review

Children learn so much through play, and I love it when I find tools that can help guide that learning while still being fun and enjoyable for the child. I recently had the opportunity to review the game Gnome Sweet Gnome from Timberdoodle.

Gnome Sweet Gnome is a game that children can play independently. It has several different skill levels, making it great for developing skills. It works on fine motor skills, critical thinking, comparing sizes, and color recognition and is great for preschool through kindergarten or first grade.

What is Gnome Sweet Gnome?

The game includes three different gnomes, each gnome is a different size and color. The Gnomes each come with a matching flower pot, each with a different depth. The different sizes and depths mean that when stacked in different combinations, you can see different amounts of the gnome. For example, if you put the smallest gnome in the deepest flower pot, you can only see the top of his hat.

There are forty-eight challenges included with the game (each challenge is a different picture that the child needs to recreate). The challenges vary from easy to expert levels. I loved that the challenges were all enclosed in a spiral-bound book. That means no loose cards that are easy to misplace.

How Do We Play Gnome Sweet Gnome?

The beginning challenges use only a few pieces, and the challenge card shows the color for all of the pieces used. Then, they get a little more challenging by using more pieces but still showing all of the colors. On the final levels of difficulty, some or all of the colors are grayed. Other than the easiest level, all the challenges have a solution picture on the back of the page so the child can check their work.

This game can be completed independently, or a parent could work with the child to check their work and help them problem-solve. Depending on their attention span and ability level, children can work through anywhere from one challenge to the whole book. Younger children can start with the easier levels, and as they get more practice and confidence, they can move up to the more challenging options.

Overall, we really enjoyed this game. My six-year-old wanted to check it out and went through all the levels in one sitting. Even though he had completed them all, he still wanted to play again on other occasions, so it was not a one-and-done activity.

This is also a great game to prepare students for the more challenging IQ Gears that we reviewed a few weeks ago for Timberdoodle. They work on similar skills at different levels.

Where Do I Find Gnome Sweet Gnome?

I highly recommend this game if you have a young child and want to work on fine motor skills (stacking), colors, or problem-solving. You can find out more and purchase Gnome Sweet Gnome at Timberdoodle. It is also included in their preschool kit.

IQ Gears a Timberdoodle Review

I love getting my hands on fun and educational games, little ways my children can keep their minds growing while they play. Thus, I was excited to get the opportunity to review Smart Games’ IQ Gears from Timberdoodle. We had reviewed another game, IQ 6 Pro, from them last year, so I had high expectations.

The IQ Gears was similar to the IQ 6 Pro but with added fun and challenge. It is a puzzle game that can be played independently or together, with players challenging each other to different levels.

What is IQ Gears?

The game consists of a playing board and seven puzzle pieces. Seven pieces may not seem like a lot, but there are so many different combinations and challenge levels that it is great for a variety of ages. The included manual has over one hundred challenges at five different levels, ranging from starter to wizard.

Each of the seven pieces is a different color and shape. They also each have small gears on different parts of the shape. On the outside of the playing board are two larger gears. The goal is to get the puzzle pieces to fit back on the playing board in a way that connects the two outside gears. So you should be able to turn one outside gear and cause the other outside gear to turn.

There are many possible combinations to make this happen, but each challenge has specifics that have to be in place. For example, it might show you the position of several of the pieces, and you have to figure out where the other pieces will fit. Some of the challenges show positions but with the pieces whited out so that you have to figure out which pieces they are using and get them all in the right places.

The easiest starter puzzles show the shapes of all the pieces on the board but only have a few of them colored in. All of these levels make it easy for people of different ages to enjoy the puzzle together.

How To Use This Game

As a homeschool mom, I loved that this game was working on critical thinking skills and was QUIET. It was very small and self-contained, so it worked well as a game for car rides. A child who needs to keep their hands occupied during read-aloud time could also use it.

It doesn’t have to be for school; it also makes a delightful family game to play in the evenings. It challenges teenagers and can be a great way to engage them in family time. My daughter was surprised at how challenging it was at first. She assumed that with only sevel pieces it would be too easy.

We enjoyed the game and were glad to add it to our collection. I encourage you to find out more about IQ Gears at Timberdoodle, where it can be purchased independently or as part of the 10th-grade kit.

Morning Time Plans 2024

Over the years, we have changed many things in our homeschool, but through it all, we have tried to maintain some form of “morning time.” There have been years when morning time more typically happened in the evening (we could rename it family time), but we have tried to keep that learning time together.

We have incorporated a variety of subjects, and it looks a little different each year, but two things have remained the same: we learn together as a family, and we incorporate some type of Bible study.

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links. See below for more information. *

This year will be the first year with one of my children, out of the nest, so to speak. My oldest is headed off to college this year. I also have a young baby that will add a bit of noise and chaos to our mornings. In order to be realistic with the baby, I am trying to keep mornings simple this year.

Every Day Morning Time Choices

Our two main morning priorities will be our daily family Bible reading and World Watch. Over the years, we have used a wide variety of Bible curriculum and enjoyed many of them, but I often found it hard to be consistent when using curriculum and trying to make it work for all ages. However, several years ago, I read Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible and realized I was over complicating things.

Now, as a family, we read one chapter a day from the Bible, going through an entire book. This keeps it simple and easy to maintain, even during busy seasons. We read (or listen to it on my phone app) the chapter and then discuss it. My husband bought me a wonderful set of commentaries that we pull out if we have questions or want to dig deeper into a verse. We have found this to be hugely impactful and easy to maintain.

After the Bible, World Watch is our second priority. We even kept these two components when we were traveling last spring. If you are not familiar, World Watch is a news program with a Christian perspective designed for students. It is ten minutes a day and covers a variety of major news topics and fun interest stories.

I find that it has opened the door for many conversations, helped my teens better understand what is happening in the world, and given us all more perspective. We have found that watching and discussing works well for our family, but I did want to mention that they now also have downloadable worksheets that you could add to your World Watch time if you felt your student needed that or to help you use it for high school credit.

Morning Time Rotations

In addition to our two main components, we will try to incorporate one additional subject each day. Those will include fine arts, hymn study, logic, poetry, books of the Bible, and any other topics that I want to fit in as a family. Sometimes, we may do the same subject each day for several weeks; other times, we may rotate daily depending on our needs. This allows us to cover various topics without adding too many different things in one day (which would make it unmanageable).

For those rotations, we will be using the following resources:

Fine Arts: We will be using the Fine Arts program from You Are An Artist. They have a variety of fine arts courses that focus on different eras and topics.

Hymn Study: For the hymn study, we will use the studies I have already written and some new ones I will add throughout the year.

Logic: We use the book The Fallacy Detective to study logic and logical fallacies. While I don’t particularly care if my children can remember a fallacy’s exact name, I appreciate how it helps them identify fallacies in different arguments. (And they have come to love calling them out by name.)

Poetry: For poetry, we love the Poetry for Young People series. It is a great way to learn more about a poet and their poetry through read-aloud.

Books of the Bible: I realized that while we were covering a lot of Bible in our home, my younger boys had not memorized the books of the Bible, so we decided to grab the Books of the Bible set from Danika Cooley to work through this year and help them not only memorize the books but also understand a little more about them.

I am looking forward to our morning time together this year. We plan to do it right after breakfast to start our day together, but when that doesn’t work, we can be flexible and do it any time. I would love to hear what you are using for your morning studies this year.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will get a link and password to the library. We add new items to the library each month. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you updated on what we have going on.

Resource Library

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always, I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in, and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. However, it does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Schoolhouse Teachers is also offering a BOGO great sale! They are a great place for a one-stop shop curriculum or for having many options to fill in different electives and courses into what you have already chosen.

Don’t miss this FREE Shipping deal from All About Learning Press! We utilize both All About Spelling and All About Reading in our homeschool.

Tuttle Twins has some great new books available, as well as their new Academy on pre-order!

Tuesday Tips: Choosing Curriculum “What is Best For Me, Might Not Be Best For Thee”

I love helping families transition to homeschooling, and I could talk about curriculum for hours. As a mom who has been homeschooling for ten years, runs an online book store, and reviews curriculum, I have seen and tried a lot of different programs.

Almost always, one of the first questions people ask me when they decide to transition to homeschooling is, “which curriculum is the best?”

Sometimes I wish this was an easy cut and dried answer. However, what works best for your family (and sometimes each child) will vary based on many factors. My motto when dealing with curriculum is, “What is Best For Me, Might Not Be Best For Thee.”

When deciding on the right curriculum, you must consider various factors.

Questions to Consider When Choosing Curriculum:

What are the goals of my homeschool?
How much parental input is needed/desired?
What are the learning styles of my children?
What is my budget?
Does this align with our family values?
How much time will this program take?
Is the program paper/pencil or computer-based?
Will I need additional materials?

How Do I Decide?

Now that we have established that there is no one size fits all solution to homeschool curriculum, you might be feeling more lost than ever and wondering if you will ever find the right fit. This news should be freeing. You can choose, and there is not necessarily a right or wrong answer.

Too often, parents feel like they are failing when a popular curriculum is not working for their child. Other times, parents feel frozen in indecision because they are unsure if the curriculum they are looking at is “best.”

My advice is to talk to people you know and look at reviews, but also make sure you look at each program through the lens of the questions listed above. Then choose the one (or ones) that you think will work best for your family.

Try the curriculum for a while and if it works, keep doing it. If it isn’t working, do not be afraid to sell that one and try something new. It may take a couple of tries to find the right fit. You are not alone, and that is not a failure.

Other Curriculum Resources:

Remember, you can’t do everything, and just because it is a good program does not mean it is suitable for your family! Find out more about that in my post about getting rid of our Latin curriculum.

You can also learn more about picking a curriculum and see our curriculum reviews using the links below!

New Years Curriculum Reevaluation and Nature Study

Changing Up Curriculum Without Overspending!

High School Credit for Morning Time Studies

Reviews

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Not Consumed is having their annual Back to School Sale! (They have great family Bible studies)

$10 Off for Amazon Prime Day

Pre-Order the Brand New Tuttle Twins American History book for a big discount and some awesome bonuses.

Try Journey Homeschool Academy’s FUN and Free summer courses this week! Check out the Stargazing Astronomy Course and the Backyard Bugs course.

Also, check out the FREE Unlocking the Bible course for teens!

Also, get a 15% discount on Thinkwell Math by using this referral link.

Schoolhouse Teachers Review 2022

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew. There are affiliate links in this review, see below for full disclosure.

Often I review products that are new to our family or something we tried because of the review. However, we have been using the Ultimate Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com for several years now, and I love sharing all of the new features each year.

Schoolhouse Teachers Overview

The Ultimate Membership with SchoolhouseTeachers.com is an online subscription that provides access to over 400 courses ranging from preschool through twelfth grade. Classes are set up in a variety of different formats.

Some courses are video-based, some have online grading, some use PDF documents, others utilize digital books or library resources. Your membership gets you access to all of the courses, and you can pick and choose which course works best for your family.

You can bookmark the course you select for easy access. Some parents have students access the courses through the website, and others download the course materials and print or add to google documents for their students.

In addition to classes, there are many different resources included with the membership. One significant resource is access to World Book Online, and this has been quite helpful to us for research papers.

The membership also includes access to lots of educational streaming programs. We have enjoyed the movies for both educational purposes and family entertainment.

How We use Schoolhouse Teachers

Our family uses a variety of courses from SchoolhouseTeachers.com. While it includes all of the classes needed for a complete curriculum, we use it for selected courses for each child.

Right now, both my eighth-grader and my sophomore are using it for literature courses. I appreciate that it provides questions and answers so that I don’t always have to re-read their literature choices. However, I also enjoy the flexibility to choose which selections we will use and adapt the courses to meet our needs.

History is another subject that we often utilize in SchoolhouseTeachers.com. We have loved their Drive Thru History courses, and currently, my sophomore is enjoying the Modern history course.

I also enjoy using the extra holiday-themed resources with my younger children. There are videos, activities, and literature studies for many traditional holidays.

Grade Level Boxes

While we enjoy using the program as a pick and choose approach, I know many parents like to have a program that has everything selected. The SchoolhouseTeachers.com membership offers school boxes with all the courses selected and planned out for each grade level. These are currently available for Kindergarten through twelfth grade, but Pre-Kindergarten is coming soon!

The school boxes have a curriculum guide for each subject, and the lesson plans are broken down by day and week. You can still adapt as you see fit, but it does the planning for you.

Fun New Features

SchoolhouseTeachers.com has rolled out a few new features that are lots of fun and add in some interactive opportunities for students.

Preschool and kindergarten students are offered a virtual storytime and show and tell each month.

Older students are offering a virtual science fair and a virtual art contest.

Moms should not feel left out; they also offer virtual meetings for moms through the Hey, Mama! Chats.

Conclusions

I think that SchoolhouseTeachers.com is an excellent option for many homeschool families. It is not the program for you if you want to sit a child down in front of the computer and have everything happen automatically. However, it is full of great courses and resources.

It is very reasonably priced (and the price includes all of your children) and can be a complete curriculum or a supplement.

Be sure to click on the graphic below to see what other reviewers are using from SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

New Years Curriculum Reevaluation and Nature Study

*Some links are affiliate links, see disclosure below*

While our school year runs from September to May, I always like to use our Christmas break as a time to reevaluate our curriculum choices and make any changes that might be needed. (I fully respect that you can revaluate and change the curriculum at any point during the year.)

Most years, I find that I need to change several parts of our curriculum, and a few years, we have done a complete overhaul. Typically, there are one or two things that I started the year planning to use but let the ball drop for whatever reason.

What is Working

This year, we are honestly keeping most of our curriculum the same. We have made good progress, the children are doing well with the programs, and it has been a manageable load for me.

As homeschool moms, we sometimes forget that keeping it manageable for us is just as important as having it be a good fit for our children.

I am seeing great improvement with my son’s reading and he is getting ready to move into the next level of All About Reading. He loves his math and science programs and is overall doing great.

My older two children are doing a great job being more independent with their courses and staying on track! It is hard for me to believe that my oldest will be able to start taking college courses next year through dual enrollment.

Changes

The one area that I wanted to change was adding more nature study. We have been doing nature study for years, but I had let that ball drop this year. However, my children, particularly my seven-year-old son, missed that part of our studies. I set up his science to be very low maintenance for me, and he loves it, so we left that intact and are just planning to add in the nature study at least twice a week. (He would do it every day if I let him, and I will try to work it in as often as possible, but I want to be realistic in what I can add to my day.) The three-year-old will also join us for nature study because he loves being outside and he loves learning.

My thirteen-year-old daughter is taking a rigorous science course that is beneficial but also challenging. So we decided that we would let my daughter alternate between her regular science curriculum and nature study. This change will allow her to keep learning while taking a bit of a break from her more rigorous curriculum.

Adding Nature Study

When we first started doing nature study, we found many great resources to use. Then as time went on and I became more comfortable with nature study, I began to create my lessons. However, at this stage in our homeschool (1 in high school, 1 in middle school, 1 in elementary, and a three-year-old), I recognize that I need something laid out for me to make it easier for me to get it done.

Just a few of the courses included in the homeschool nature study membership.

Thankfully, I found a program that will make it easy for me to implement nature study on our schedule and based on our interests. Years ago, we used the Outdoor Hour Challenges and other resources from the Handbook of Nature Study website to learn about nature study. As of last month, my friend Tricia Hodges is the new owner of that material, and they are revamping the materials and offering some great resources.

We are excited to use the new homeschool nature study site to make nature study easy in our home. There is a daily calendar of ideas and access to materials on a wide variety of topics. We plan to combine the daily calendar and courses that are interesting to my children or fit into our other studies.

For example, my son loves birds, so we will be spending some time using the Birds course. Some of it we will do together, but there are also activities like studying a feather that he can do independently.

As an added bonus this will make it even easier for us to combine our art lessons with our nature study.

Reviews and Questions

Other than going back to our regular scripture and Bible plans after having paused those in favor of Advent studies for December, we are not making any other significant changes in the curriculum this year.

I am sure we will be adding and supplementing as we get back into various reviews beginning in February, but our curriculum is working well. We are enjoying the progress that we are seeing in each child. This year is our tenth year of homeschooling and probably the first year we haven’t needed to make significant changes mid-year. So if you look at your homeschool and need to make substantial changes, please know that you are not alone, and it is perfectly normal to need to make changes and not a sign of failure.

Are you making any changes in your homeschool? What programs are working well for you, and what is not going great?

Other Helpful Resources

If you are needing to make changes, these resources might be helpful.

Reviews

Our 10th Grade Homeschool Curriculum (2021)

Our 8th Grade Curriculum Choices (2021)

Our Second Grade Choices (2021)

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will get a link and password to the library. You will also get a monthly newsletter email to keep you updated on what we have going on.

Resource Library

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in, and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

My Teaching Library is offering 40% off of their lifetime access membership with great products for pre-k to 12th grade.

Tuttle Twins is offering 25% off individual books. This is a great way to complete your set if new books have come out since you bought a bundle or ‘dip your toes in the water’ and try one if you are new to Tuttle Twins.

Schoolhouse Teachers is offering a great deal on their ultimate annual membership!

Last Minute Back to Homeschool Solutions and a Giveaway

Every year, sometime in August, I get at least one family who decided last minute to homeschool and wants to know how to make the switch. Maybe school starts in a couple weeks (or days), and you just know it isn’t right for you, or maybe you started back to school and really want to bring your children home.

You CAN do this!

Take Your Time

First, take some time to breathe. Do what you need to do to register as a homeschooler in your state, bring your child home, and take a few days to enjoy time as a family and get prepared to start. You do not have to keep the same schedule as the school system and it is OK to take a few weeks to prepare.

Spend some time making goals for your homeschool, researching homeschool styles and philosophies to see how you want to set up your curriculum. Talk to your students and get their input. It might make you feel like you are getting behind, but the time you spend preparing will save you time and frustration moving forward.

Curriculum

I am often asked, “What is the best homeschool curriculum?” There is no single right answer to that question. The best is the one that works for your family. I have spent hundreds of hours reviewing curriculum, and I can tell you that there are many wonderful programs available, and what works for one child may not work for another.

When you are getting started, I recommend buying used curriculum. When you buy used, you can resell and get most of your money back if you find it does not work for you. This often helps give families flexibility as they determine what will or will not work for them. I also highly recommend doing a little research into homeschooling philosophies to help you narrow down your options. There are some great free tools to help with that in our How Do I Get Started Homeschooling? post.

Find a Flexible Program

Another great option is to try a program like Schoolhouse Teachers. We love Schoolhouse Teachers because, with only one membership, we have access to a wide variety of courses (over 400 from preschool to high school). If we try one course and it is not a good fit for us, we can simply switch to a different course within the membership.

The membership is also good for the budget because it covers all of the students in your household. There are text-based courses, video-based courses, grade-specific courses, and family-style courses all included. We are using our membership for several courses for each of my students this year.

Final Thoughts and Encouragement

There are links to some great homeschooling resources at the bottom of this post, but mostly I want to leave you with the knowledge that you can homeschool. If you are being called to homeschool, God will provide you with what you need to make it work. You taught them how to eat, speak, and walk, and you can teach them academics.

Reach out if I can be of any help getting you started, and make sure to click on the graphic below to read the posts from all of the other Crew Members and enter the giveaway for a free Schoolhouse Teachers Membership.

Resources:

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies

If you have not tried SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you don’t want to miss this sale: Buy One Year Get A Second Year Free!

Our 10th Grade Homeschool Curriculum (2021)

*Some links are affiliate links, see disclosure below*

My oldest will be in 10^th grade this year. It feels almost unbelievable, as it feels like just a few years ago he was in first grade and we were starting our first year of homeschool. Last year we learned a bit about what worked well for us and what did not for high school level courses.

As always, there are many great options, you just have to find the ones that are right for your family and your child’s strengths and goals.

Math

First, we were blessed with the opportunity to review Thinkwell Math for geometry last year. This went really well for us and I loved that he could go to office hours to get help each week if needed. They also allowed for a flexible schedule so that we could take our breaks on our schedule.

We enjoyed the combination of support with flexibility and are signed up for Algebra II with them this year. I purchased the self-paced course and we will add in the office hours if we see that he needs the additional help.

I love that while I am available to answer questions, he can complete this course with very little input from me (it has been a few years since I have taken upper level math courses.)

Literature

We used Schoolhouse Teachers last year for literature after our original plan did not work well and plan to continue that for this year. Last year he took a course focused on Tolkien and this year he is doing a course that covers a variety of British Literature. For literature, he will read and answer the questions that come with the course. We will then discuss the questions together.

History

He is going to take a Modern World History Course from Schoolhouse Teachers. We did ancient history last year and wanted to make sure he had a good foundation in modern history before we move on to US History and Government. This course is set up with readings, writing assignments, maps, and activities.

He will complete most of the assignments on his own and I will grade them. We will also have some discussions about what he is learning and add in a few documentaries.

Electives

He wanted to take Horticulture and Animal Science for two of his electives. These courses tie in very well to the hobbies and extra-curricular activities he was already doing. They also fit well with his college goals. To facilitate this, I am using 4-H and FFA materials as a guide.

We will also be adding hands-on projects including raising animals for the livestock show, growing a garden, and doing a 4-H presentation about one of those topics.

In the spring, he will be taking Culinary Arts. We are still working on the exact syllabus for this course. However, I know that we plan to use some of the course work from the Home Economics course at Schoolhouse Teachers and some episodes of Good Eats with projects based around the different techniques that he learns.

Music

Last year he took Music Performance I and he really enjoys his music so we are doing Music Appreciation and Performance II this year. We plan to continue using Practice Monkeys for his guitar lessons. Last year he did guitar and violin but is planning to focus on guitar this year.

In addition, we will be using Schoolhouse Teachers Advanced Music Theory and SQUILT Music Lessons for theory and music appreciation. He also has the opportunity to play with our youth group band which gives him the opportunity to perform for other people.

Science

Last but not least is chemistry. Last year we reviewed the biology course from Journey Homeschool Academy. My son really enjoyed it, so we decided to try their new chemistry course this year. The videos were interested and easy to understand but also thorough.

There were tests that they graded and discussion questions and lab reports that I graded. It was so simple and required very little time on my part, which was important with everything else we had going on.

They have elementary, middle, and high school level science courses. All of their courses are done from a Christian world view. (If you are interested in Journey Homeschool Academy science courses their open enrollment ends at the end of August.)

Family Studies

He will be joining us for our Bible and hymn study time in the morning, but that will not count as a course. I still feel the family time is an important part of his development.

Overall, we are looking forward to a great year. Since my son wanted to be able to take a few extra days off this fall for hunting and fishing, he has already started some of his courses. We will stay flexible throughout the year as always and change if needed but I think we have a good plan for the year.

What courses or programs do you love for high school? Anything you are trying to find or need suggestions for?

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies

If you have not tried SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you don’t want to miss this sale: Buy One Year Get Another Year Free!

Not Consumed is offering 15% off everything in their store! Great Bible studies, hymn studies, missionary curriculum and more. Use Code: 2NDCHANCE

Evan-Moor is having a 25% off sale one all of their resources!

Use this link to get 15% off at Thinkwell Math! It was a lifesaver for us for Geometry and I look forward to using them for Algebra II next year.

Journey Homeschool Academy is offering a FREE Virtual Open House August 24 at 9pm. This is a great way to find out more about this science program and see if it is a good fit for your family. Get signed-up today!