Our Homeschool Curriculum Picks for 2020-2021
We actually started on this school year in the beginning of August (with a two-week break in September as we explored Custer, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons)
Like I say every year, none of this is set in stone, but it is our plan for the year for now.
We now have three readers in the house, which is super exciting. And wow, does it make a difference!
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Curriculum Picks for 2020-2021
7th Grade:
Handwriting:
Writing:
I’m kind of winging it for my daughter’s writing this year. I’ve gone back and forth with the idea of unschooling writing for her, signing her up for a class, or doing a more rigorous curriculum. The fact of the matter is she has high aptitude for writing and some of her best writing has come when she is not prompted. With that being said, if I do feel we need to beef up her writing requirements, I will probably use Bravewriter Writing Projects.
Math:
Life of Fred – She’ll be finishing pre-algebra and moving into algebra this year. Life of Fred continues to be an amazing fit for her.
Reading/LA:
Becuase Life of Fred Math has been such a great fit, we decided to try their lanugage arts books. They are technically for high schoolers but from the reviews I read, many said they used them successfully with their middle schoolers, so we thought we’d give them a try. So far so good!
Independent reading – 1 book per month from a list I made for her on top of all the other reading she does (she’s a re-reader, so most often I’ll find her in a book she’s already read!)
Other:
Spanish -using Duolingo
Piano lessons
Sketching
5th Grade:
Handwriting:
Writing:
Journal Entries using writing prompts.
Writeshop – This writing curriculum is more structured than what we’re used to, but so far it has been a good fit for this particular kiddo. It’s gentle and not too intimidating, and covers many different genres. And as a bonus – it includes a colorful “fold-n-go” grammar practice.
Language Arts/Reading:
Explode the Code – He’ll be finishing book 8 this year.
Independent reading on own – we decide books together.
Math:
Masterbooks math – We needed a change for math this year, and heard a lot about Masterbooks, and so far it’s a great fit! This kid needed more structure and review than Life of Fred offers.
Math-It – Math facts practice
Extra workbooks for practice such as this one.
1st Grade:
Handwriting:
Writing:
Journal entries (very basic and as he wants to – I don’t push it!)
Reading:
Read aloud with me (separate from the older kids as his books skew younger)
Independent Reading/Audiobooks (this kid listens to a LOT of audiobooks!) Now that this kiddo has started reading, there’s no stopping him!
Language Arts:
Math:
For Everyone:
Bible:
Rotating between:
A Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos
Picture-Smart Bible -An especially great choice for picture-smart kids!
Memorizing various passages of scripture (we’re working on 1 Corinthians 13 right now.)
Literature:
Lots of reading aloud!
History:
Living Books exploring Renaissance to Early U.S. History. We will be plotting the major events on our timeline as we go.
A Child’s History of the World by Virgil M. Hillyer – Our history spine to read alongside the Living Books.
Chalk Pastel classes that go along with our history cycle
**For a more comprehensive post on how we do history check out this post: Homeschooling History Without a Text Book!
Science
No Sweat Nature Study – This continues to be a favorite, especially for my younger two, and gives me a reprieve. 🙂
Weekly Science Co-op with friends
Language:
English from the Roots Up – I got a used copy of this book to save a few bucks!
Music:
S.Q.U.I.L.T. – I love how this curriculum is open and go. And even though I have a music background it’s nice to have something that’s already prepared.
Other:
Kiwi Crates (we switch between Kiwi, Tinker, Atlas, Doodle and love them all!)
These our our curriculum picks for 2020-2021. They are bound to be tweaked at least a bit, but this is the plan for now!
Thank you for sharing your curriculum picks! Do you like Explode the Code or is this a 1st time? I love your literature and reading to have read alouds and reading time, living books…. Neat to see some new curriculum I’m not familiar with too!
Thanks Marianne! We do like the explode the code. The kids think it’s fun! Lydia only did the first two books (many years ago) and grew out of it, but the boys really like it.