Our Picks: Homeschool Curriculum For Outside the Box Learners
Perhaps a better title for this post is “Homeschool Curriculum Picks (so far)“. I’m sure there will be tweaking, and I’m ok with that.
We follow a Charlotte Mason/Classical/Eclectic style of homeschooling and these curriculum choices reflect that!
This year will be a change for us, as we have spent the last year and a half in Classical Conversations (CC). After much thought and prayer, we decided to not be part of any formal co-op this year. Not an easy decision, but the one that gave me the most peace. And part of our journey as Outside the Box Learners.
The biggest changes for us will be a shift from IEW (for writing) to Bravewriter for my 5th-grade daughter, Lydia and introducing writing to my 3rd-grade son using Bravewriter. Also, we will not be doing memory work (a big part of CC).
I think it’s important to note that we won’t do everything on this list each day. We will for sure do handwriting, math and read (good ol’ Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmetic!) each day, and then loop the other subjects.
HERE WE GO!
Curriculum Picks for 5th Grade:
Handwriting:
Writing/Language Arts:
Bravewriter – We are starting with Writer’s Jungle to get our feet wet with the program.
Math:
Dreambox – Online program
Life of Fred – Starting with Ice Cream
We will be exploring Beast Academy this year – to potentially be used instead of Dreambox.
Math-It – Math facts practice
**Novelty is huge for my daughter, especially with math, and we find it works best when we mix things up. That’s why I don’t just use one math curriculum.**
Curriculum Picks for 3rd Grade:
Handwriting:
Getty Dubay Handwriting – Character Basic Print
Writing/Language Arts:
Math:
Dreambox – Online program
Math-It – Math facts practice
Life of Fred – Apples through Dogs
Preschool:
Our youngest, age 4, is going to a year of 4K this year, 3 days a week. On his off days, we will do lots of reading together.
For Everyone:
Bible:
A Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos – We are currently working through the Old Testament.
Scripture Memory- We will be focusing on one verse a week.
Reading:
Read Aloud Revival Book Club – This is new and I’m hoping a great addition to our homeschool. I’ll keep you posted!
Beyond the book club, we will read aloud as many fantastic books as time allows.
Poetry Teatime – Check out my post on Poetry Teatime here.
Independent Reading – Thankfully my kids enjoy reading immensely, and I don’t actually keep track of how much they read since it’s just something they love to do!
History:
Ancient History Living Books – Our goal is to get from Creation through Greece this year.
A Child’s History of the World by Virgil M. Hillyer – to read alongside our Living Books.
The Story of the World (audiobook)
Geography:
A Child’s Geography, Volume 1: Explore His Earth By Ann Voskamp
Maps that go along with Ancient History from this website.
Science:
A whole lot of nature observing. We are going to attempt Nature Journals this year. We will use this book to help guide us in Nature Journaling.
A Child’s Geography, Volume 1: Explore His Earth by Ann Voskamp – This is a Geography AND Earth Science Curriculum.
Music and Art:
I don’t have grandiose plans for these subjects. I will probably follow CC’s Cycle 1 using my CC Foundations Guide, sprinkling things in throughout the year.
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