mamatanya Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 Hello. I am going to start homeschooling my children next year. The two younger are very excited about this and cannot wait. However, my oldest is the cool kid cream of the crop in fifth grade and he has been very excited about going to middle school. Me--not excited about him going at all. He is a very social boy and he enjoys all of the attention that he receives at school. I have promised him that we will make homeschooling fun and I have tried to place a spot light on the fact that we will not have long school days, that he will have extra free time, that he will be able to soar academically, and that he will be able to start writing his book. (He wants to be an author). Okay, so my problem is this. 1. I am on a budget. 2. He does not like to do long unit studies. 3. As much as I love the Trisms History Maker program, it seems costly and he does not want to do so much creative work (like cutting things out, too much research etc.). Okay, with that said, I would love for my son to be able to read wonderful interesting books (like he would have if he were to use Trisms) and to be able to base most of his language arts, reading, around what he read in these book. Is there a program like this out there that won't cost me an arm and a leg? I'd prefer to borrow the books from the library if possible. In fact, I would REALLY just like a list of books telling him what to read and when and then something else telling him what kind of language arts skill to work on that week. And then he incorporate the two....am I making any sense? For math, I plan to use Chalkdust prealgebra and for science I am going to be using Noeo Chemistry II. He would also like to learn Latin, wants to do Wordly Wise for vocabulary, and does not need spelling this year. Any help is appreciated. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klothos Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 What period of history would you like to focus on? If he'd been following the trivium already, sixth grade is for the period of 400-1600. However, I think if you're starting homeschooling for the first time, it's better to start at the beginning with the ancients. Here's my fifth grade history reading list: The Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Rome by Cyndy Shearer Gilgamesh the King by Ludmila Zeman (trilogy) The Story of the Greeks by H.A. Guerber The Story of the Romans by H.A. Guerber The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfield Mystery of the Roman Ransom by Henry Winterfield Bodies from Ash: Life & Death in Ancient Pompeii by James Deem Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick Galen and the Gateway to Medicine by Jeanne Bendick In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid by Penelope Lively Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff Augustus Caesar's World by Genevieve Foster Alexander the Great by John Gunther The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff If you'd like to do the Middle Ages instead (or if you think he can cover both in one year): The Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of the Middle Ages by R. Shearer The Renaissance in Europe by Lynne Elliott The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White The Strongbow Saga, Book One: Viking Warrior by Judson Roberts Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by L. Schiltz The Magna Carta by James Daugherty Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett The Age of Charlemagne by David Nicolle Design Your Own Coat of Arms: An Intro. to Heraldry by Chorzempa As history/science unit studies, for sixth grade I'd also have him read: A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson Da Vinci For Kids: His Life and Ideas: 21 Activities Galileo for Kids: His Life and Ideas: 21 Activities Most of these books can be checked out from the library, and the ones you'll have to buy are usually under $10. For language arts, I'd use the Greenleaf Guides and have him write an essay about each of their famous men once or twice per week. Good luck! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamatanya Posted March 19, 2010 Author Share Posted March 19, 2010 I'm going to check this list out today. Thank you very much for your list!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chloe Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 You might like Beautiful Feet. The guides are only about $15 and most of the books can be found at the library. The guides give discussion question ideas, essay questions, vocabulary work, mapping, notebooking suggestions, etc. If you did most of the work in the guides and added a simple grammar program, maybe Easy Grammar, that would take care of your language arts and history. However, it is a Christian curriculum. I'm not sure if you prefer something secular. http://www.bfbooks.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meet me in paris Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 You might like Beautiful Feet. The guides are only about $15 and most of the books can be found at the library. The guides give discussion question ideas, essay questions, vocabulary work, mapping, notebooking suggestions, etc. If you did most of the work in the guides and added a simple grammar program, maybe Easy Grammar, that would take care of your language arts and history. However, it is a Christian curriculum. I'm not sure if you prefer something secular. http://www.bfbooks.com/ I agree. Very affordable, and good books. Easy to implement. I would also recommend Sonlight Core 6. You do not have to buy the whole Core from SL, which is pricey, but if you could get a used Instructor Guide and borrow most of the books (or even a selection of the books) from the library, and it's a great guide. Not a lot of hands-on, not crafty at all. The Language Arts 6 from SL goes with the history/geography, so it meshes it all together and it's very simple to use. The LA programs run about $35 for the year, and use the same books as the core. SL 6 is very boy friendly, in my opinion. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamatanya Posted March 19, 2010 Author Share Posted March 19, 2010 I would like to thank everyone for their suggestions. I am looking into each one and I am very appreciative of the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 We just finished our year of History Makers and I highly recommend it. Try to find a used set on Ebay or Amazon. I believe I paid $60 after shipping. You can certainly find the books themselves, but the way the whole year is laid out for you (except for math, foreign language, and lab science) is extrordinarily helpful and time saving. If you have any questions about our experience with it - let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 I suggest a good grammar program if he is going to be a writer! Rod & Staff and Analytical Grammar are good ones, and are somewhat more rigorous than some of the other ones, imho! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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