5th grade curriculum plannng help

[mom24cuties]

This is my first year homeschooling and my oldest is in 4th grade right now. He is on a light schedule to try and get us used to homeschooling. Right now he is using saxon 54 for math, Rod and Staff 4 for English, Spelling Workout D (which is way to easy for him, he just goes through the lessons for practice but he can spell all the words in the book) Sotw volume 1 for history and kingfisher science enclyopedia with written narrations. I assign him 1 book a month that he reads and does a lit. guide that I will get online where he gets extra spelling, writing practice, comprehension questions, and then he writes a book report on it.

 

I am looking into curriculum options for his 5th grade year. I know I want to keep saxon for math, but I want to supplement it with someting that is a little more exciting. (I love saxon it is just so boring), I also want to keep R&S for English, so I am looking for Spelling, History (he will read sotw v.2 himself but won't be doing the activity guide(i don't think)), Science, and anything extra that would be fun for a 10 year old boy. We may also be working through WWS slowly, I know that R&S is suposed to cover writing I just want some extra for him. Also I want to gently introduce him to latin so we need a good beginner curriculum for that.

 

I want us to have a fun year next year because he is always complaining that homeschool is boring, and even though I want him to get a quality education I also want him to have fun. He is pretty independent with his work and likes it that way.

 

Thank you for any help that you can give.

[Joker]

What about supplementing math with Math Mammoth? I've never used Saxon but I would think Math Mammoth is easy (and cheap) to add in to any program. There's also Challenging Word Problems from Singapore Math.

 

I use Megawords for spelling with my 5th grader. It's amazing for us but I'm not really sure if it's well liked.

 

We use SOTW for history and just add in extra reading. For Science, I'm using Science Daybook. You can find them at Rainbow Resource. We just add in extra reading and dd loves science/nature documentaries.

 

For Latin, I would look into Lively Latin. We're not hardcore with our Latin, but both dds enjoyed working through (we took our time) this and they learned a lot.

[LearningMomm]

One idea is Homeschool in the Woods Middle Ages Passport. We love the Time Traveler US ones and would've enjoyed them for that time period too! Add some more books along side of STOW, think about adding the AG also. Personally I do not like Saxon at all but a few fun supplements would be Life of Fred, patty paper geometry, education unboxed and Greg Tang has lots of fun books too. My 5th grader has enjoyed all of those. We love IEW so not sure about WWS. We also love Lively Latin and Ellen Mchery's science curriculum. But really I think it depends on your son.. Does he like hands on? Reading? Visual? What are his interests?

[TarynB]

Just a few thoughts:

 

If he is complaining that homeschool is boring, consider increasing the LEVEL of the materials he's using to match his ability, rather than just adding MORE materials. Maybe instead of bored, he's actually saying that he needs a bit more of a challenge in difficulty, but not in quantity.

 

You said he has a "light schedule" this year, but it looks like you're hitting all the basic subjects - not too light in my view. I think you're doing great! Maybe just think about ensuring that he's working to his full potential and staying challenged, plus add a couple of things for fun to break up his day. (I listed some of our favorite fun things below.)

 

Spelling Workout is great for a natural-speller who likes to work independently . . . so why not move him up to a harder level, if D is too easy?

 

For science, consider adding living/library books and let him read whatever interests him. Doing science narrations from an encyclopedia would be boring for many kids. Add in science documentaries that go with the books he chooses. Do science experiments in the kitchen. Many threads on the board on that topic.

 

Since he's a good speller, is he also an advanced reader? Maybe he'll need something more on his level/not as "young" as SOTW2? We're using K12's Human Odyssey book and love it. My DS would not be into crafts and cooking for history, either, but there are other ways to enliven history. And some kids just don't need hands-on for history, so no need to push that if he's not into it.

 

In my opinion, WWS plus the writing in R&S would be too much. What do you love about R&S that makes you want to use it again in 5th? Again, don't reward his efforts by piling on MORE work just to keep him busy.

 

ETA - Some fun extras that my son likes:

 

Brain Pop (we have the app, not a full subscription)

 

Stack the States/Countries (iPhone apps)

 

online drawing lessons from Mark Kistler (can be purchased less expensively through Homeschool Buyers Co-Op) http://markkistler.c...nlineVideo.html

 

Eureka science videos on YouTube http://www.youtube.c...FD&feature=plcp

 

Beakman's World science videos (Netflix or other sources)

 

Artistic Pursuits art lessons (combines appreciation and hands-on, look for it on eBay) http://www.artisticpursuits.com/

 

Scratch beginner computer programming (free website, can buy guidebooks inexpensively if he really gets into it) http://scratch.mit.edu/

 

How about a geography workbook he can do independently? Here's one option: http://www.amazon.co...orkbook grade 5

 

Do you have a Wii? My DS likes Big Brain Academy when he gets Wii time. http://www.amazon.co...ain academy wii

 

Hopefully this gives you some ideas.

[thebacabunch]

I wouldn't use WWS as a supplement. It is a rigorous writing program in its own right. I love it.

 

I do use the Usborne internet linked encyclopedia for science and we do about 1-2 hours of experiments a week. I was very frustrated with the science textbooks (either too advanced and discombobulated for the age of kid or to much of a religious slant) and find that the Usborne encyclopedias are perfect for my kiddo.

 

Definately choose spelling to stretch your kiddo.

 

I would give the sotw activity guide a second glance as well. The maps and games are great and the activity guide also has resource lists (book lists etc). It has recipes and crafts that my 6th grader still enjoys doing. It also lists where to go in the kingfisher and usborne encyclopedias for the older kids to outline. Very helpful.

[TheApprentice]

My youngest ds will be in 5th grade next year as well, and here are some things I'm looking at:

 

History Odyssey (which uses SOTW as a spine, but also includes historical literature)

 

Latin - Lively Latin (currently doing Getting Started With Latin, which we LOVE)

 

Real Science 4 Kids (each topic covers one semester)

 

Michael Clay Thompson for Poetry (we own this already so I may or may not use the entire program)

 

Logic Liftoff

 

Math Mammoth

 

If you plan on keeping with R & S English, I would not supplement with WWS. My 7th grader is using it right now and it is really thorough and takes quite a bit of his time.

[2_girls_mommy]

For us, a lot of the fun, exciting stuff happens outside of the house. Sometimes the work inside the house is a little boring, but it has to be done :) We do science classes outside the house in co-op. So they do the microscope work, and a lot of the experiments there. We do the reading and writing at home, and observe the experiments for the rest of the week here. We do latin with a group. We did it at home for 1 yr, but then I decided to see if anyone else was interested, and now I have 2 big classes 2 years later and a latin club where we study it as a group and we can do more fun things with it.

 

This is our first year to do science outside of the house as our main curric. Before this year any science classes we did were supplementary. To keep it fun they just liked lots of experiments and field trips and such.

 

We do outside competitions like enter our art in the state fair, and homeschool science fairs, and lots of scouting projects. That way we have to get through some of our work (math, spelling, grammar, etc.) but then we have the fun stuff to get to. Yesterday we did math and latin at home and read together. Then they had an art class and then we went to an Audobon Society meeting where they observed many rare large birds of prey. While out, we picked up lots of library books .

 

For latin for a 6th grader just starting I would do Latina Christiana I. I taught it in co-op last year to 5th and 6th graders, and they loved it. All of them moved up with me to First Form this year.

[laughing lioness]

so I am looking for Spelling,

History (he will read sotw v.2 himself but won't be doing the activity guide(i don't think)),

Science, and anything extra that would be fun for a 10 year old boy.

We may also be working through WWS slowly, I know that R&S is suposed to cover writing I just want some extra for him.

Also I want to gently introduce him to latin so we need a good beginner curriculum for that.

 

 

Sequential Spelling is the big winner here- it was the only thing that worked for my 18 yo. He's also enjoyed the IEW spelling/vocab for h.s.

History- we love SOTW Cd's and have played them into the ground, along with reading the books and devling into HOTW (Medieval). ds12 is NOT an activity guide kinda guy so we just skip that.

We also love Memoria Press Famous Men series. We are doing FMOG this year, along with Christian Studies IV. MP's core pkgs also include lit that is also hx, Ds 12 read Trojan Wars so far- study guide is good. My boys have loved the MP study guides.

We are also memorizing Horatius at the Bridge and doing that study guide from MP as well- it's a great tie-in to FMOG.

Science- we like the Tiner series, and younger kids watch GC with ds 18. We've also used a ton of DVD's - bio 101, chem 101, moody (not my fav but hte kids love them) and dh has kids on NOAA and NASA sites almost daily. Ellen McHenry has been taught at Tutoring Center ands ds 12 loved it!

We LOVE WWS -it is the bomb. Two enthusiastic thumbs up. I wouldn't choke him on english though- r and s and WWS might be a bit much. I'd choose one or the other- they are both sequential so they build.

First Form Latin- no questinon. If you don't know it yourself, get the DVD and TM.

[Homemama2]

I'm thinking of trying Spelling Power next year b/c we've had the same issue where they know how to spell the words already. Spelling Power has you test into the level they need, and they only practice words they don't know.

 

For latin, we like Getting Started w/ Latin for a gentle intro. We're looking at Visual Latin for next year. (But we are not hard-core latin people here. ;) I would be totally happy if they really just learned the roots.)

[RootAnn]

To recap

Current:

Math: Saxon 54

LA: R&S 4 & SWO D (easy)

History: SOTW 1 + 1 book/lit guide/book report per month

Science: KSE (written narrations)

 

Wanting for 5th:

Keep Saxon + add fun

Keep R&S + looking for new spelling

Keep SOTW ?

Science ?

WWS slowly?

Latin beginner curriculum

**Independent worker**

 

You've gotten a lot of good advice. I'll add my own $0.02.

 

If you want to add fun for math, there are plenty of "living books" you could add for math (the Number Devil, for instance). Or, you could grab someone's used Beast Academy books or Life of Fred (start with Fractions). While your son would already know the concepts, it could be a once per week "fun" math time. Or, check out MEP (Level 4 or 5, for example).

 

You've had several recommendations for Latin - Lively Latin, Getting Started With Latin, Latina Christiana & First Form (both by Memoria Press). While he COULD start with First Form (age appropriate), it really isn't "fun" and it goes pretty quickly for what you described your wanted (beginner curriculum). Look at what you want out of your Latin studies --- WHY do you want to do Latin? GSWL isn't "fun" - but it is challenging and interesting. For your description & from the recommendations you've gotten so far, Lively Latin fits.

 

Science: I've heard that Ellen McHenry's science is fun and kids retain a lot. Another thing to consider would be Sassafras Science from Elemental Science. It has more of a 'living book' feel - if he enjoys SOTW.

 

I have no advice on Spelling. I wouldn't add WWS as a supplement. If you did WWS, you really should eliminate the R&S writing assignments and cut down on outside writing in other subjects on weeks where the WWS writing is heavy. While I think adding a literature book per month is great, I'm not big on book reports or in depth lit guides. They tend to kill the love of the book. I add several literature books, but only require a discussion (or 'literary analysis') on one every couple of months.

 

History - If you want to add something fun to SOTW, think about adding movies or hands-on to the mix. There are lots of threads on here about movies that go along with SOTW. (I can't figure out the new tags function & I'm not sure the search function is working well, or I'd link them. AHA! Here's a blog with some links. You can try it out with SOTW 1 wherever you are & see how it goes this year.) Other people gave you good ideas - Homeschool In the Woods or activity guide for SOTW, etc.

 

Lastly, what type of "fun" does your SON like to do? He is getting to where you should include him on some of his curriculum decisions. If you have co-ops available (not all of us do), would he be interested in doing that?

 

Good luck!

[mom24cuties]

 

 

We use SOTW for history and just add in extra reading. For Science, I'm using Science Daybook. You can find them at Rainbow Resource. We just add in extra reading and dd loves science/nature documentaries.

 

For Latin, I would look into Lively Latin. We're not hardcore with our Latin, but both dds enjoyed working through (we took our time) this and they learned a lot.

 

 

I am going to look into the Sciece Daybook and Lively Latin, thank you for the suggestions.

[mom24cuties]

One idea is Homeschool in the Woods Middle Ages Passport. We love the Time Traveler US ones and would've enjoyed them for that time period too! Add some more books along side of STOW, think about adding the AG also. Personally I do not like Saxon at all but a few fun supplements would be Life of Fred, patty paper geometry, education unboxed and Greg Tang has lots of fun books too. My 5th grader has enjoyed all of those. We love IEW so not sure about WWS. We also love Lively Latin and Ellen Mchery's science curriculum. But really I think it depends on your son.. Does he like hands on? Reading? Visual? What are his interests?

 

I had been on Homeschool in the Woods website a long time ago and forgot about it. Thank you for refreshing my memory on that. I will also look into Life of Fred, I have heard a lot about that series but never really looked at it. I will also check out the science you mentioned.

[mom24cuties]

Just a few thoughts:

 

If he is complaining that homeschool is boring, consider increasing the LEVEL of the materials he's using to match his ability, rather than just adding MORE materials. Maybe instead of bored, he's actually saying that he needs a bit more of a challenge in difficulty, but not in quantity. I was thinking that I might need to increase his level because he does seem bored with the work and just breezes through it.

 

 

You said he has a "light schedule" this year, but it looks like you're hitting all the basic subjects - not too light in my view. I think you're doing great! Maybe just think about ensuring that he's working to his full potential and staying challenged, plus add a couple of things for fun to break up his day. (I listed some of our favorite fun things below.)

 

Spelling Workout is great for a natural-speller who likes to work independently . . . so why not move him up to a harder level, if D is too easy? I was keeping him in D for the activites in it, but now I am thinking it is just a waste of time since I am pretty sure they all have activites in it. I might just put it up for my younger kids and move him to E and see if that is better for him.

 

For science, consider adding living/library books and let him read whatever interests him. Doing science narrations from an encyclopedia would be boring for many kids. Add in science documentaries that go with the books he chooses. Do science experiments in the kitchen. Many threads on the board on that topic. I am trying this approach with him now along with the encyclopedia but he says he doesn't know what he wants to learn about. He shows a little interest in dinosaurs and airplanes but when I get him the books or let him pick them out he doesn't read them, he will skim through them at home and say they are boreing and doesn't want to finish it. Maybe I should make him finish them.

 

Since he's a good speller, is he also an advanced reader? Maybe he'll need something more on his level/not as "young" as SOTW2? We're using K12's Human Odyssey book and love it. My DS would not be into crafts and cooking for history, either, but there are other ways to enliven history. And some kids just don't need hands-on for history, so no need to push that if he's not into it.

He is a little advanced in reading when he came out of the third grade last year at ps he tested at a 6th grade level, but I don't know how they tested him to determine that.

In my opinion, WWS plus the writing in R&S would be too much. What do you love about R&S that makes you want to use it again in 5th? Again, don't reward his efforts by piling on MORE work just to keep him busy. From reading through all the comments I figure R&S and WWS will be overkill so I may just stick with R&S which we both like because the lessons are short, and I love the Christian point of view.

 

ETA - Some fun extras that my son likes:

 

Brain Pop (we have the app, not a full subscription)

 

Stack the States/Countries (iPhone apps)

 

online drawing lessons from Mark Kistler (can be purchased less expensively through Homeschool Buyers Co-Op) http://markkistler.c...nlineVideo.html

 

Eureka science videos on YouTube http://www.youtube.c...FD&feature=plcp

 

Beakman's World science videos (Netflix or other sources)

 

Artistic Pursuits art lessons (combines appreciation and hands-on, look for it on eBay) http://www.artisticpursuits.com/

 

Scratch beginner computer programming (free website, can buy guidebooks inexpensively if he really gets into it) http://scratch.mit.edu/

 

How about a geography workbook he can do independently? Here's one option: http://www.amazon.co...orkbook grade 5

 

Do you have a Wii? My DS likes Big Brain Academy when he gets Wii time. http://www.amazon.co...ain academy wii

I will check out all of these, I am really interested in the computer programming since he is showing more and more interest in computers.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas.

 

Thank you for all your suggestions.

[mom24cuties]

To recap

 

You've gotten a lot of good advice. I'll add my own $0.02.

 

If you want to add fun for math, there are plenty of "living books" you could add for math (the Number Devil, for instance). Or, you could grab someone's used Beast Academy books or Life of Fred (start with Fractions). While your son would already know the concepts, it could be a once per week "fun" math time. Or, check out MEP (Level 4 or 5, for example).I will look into these. I think he would do good with living math books. A while ago he read some of the Sir Cumfrence books and he loved them and learned a lot from them.

 

You've had several recommendations for Latin - Lively Latin, Getting Started With Latin, Latina Christiana & First Form (both by Memoria Press). While he COULD start with First Form (age appropriate), it really isn't "fun" and it goes pretty quickly for what you described your wanted (beginner curriculum). Look at what you want out of your Latin studies --- WHY do you want to do Latin? GSWL isn't "fun" - but it is challenging and interesting. For your description & from the recommendations you've gotten so far, Lively Latin fits.

 

Science: I've heard that Ellen McHenry's science is fun and kids retain a lot. Another thing to consider would be Sassafras Science from Elemental Science. It has more of a 'living book' feel - if he enjoys SOTW.I will check both of these out.

 

I have no advice on Spelling. I wouldn't add WWS as a supplement. If you did WWS, you really should eliminate the R&S writing assignments and cut down on outside writing in other subjects on weeks where the WWS writing is heavy. While I think adding a literature book per month is great, I'm not big on book reports or in depth lit guides. They tend to kill the love of the book. I add several literature books, but only require a discussion (or 'literary analysis') on one every couple of months.

 

History - If you want to add something fun to SOTW, think about adding movies or hands-on to the mix. There are lots of threads on here about movies that go along with SOTW. (I can't figure out the new tags function & I'm not sure the search function is working well, or I'd link them. AHA! Here's a blog with some links. You can try it out with SOTW 1 wherever you are & see how it goes this year.) Other people gave you good ideas - Homeschool In the Woods or activity guide for SOTW, etc.

I will look through these movies. He loves watching movies and actually learns a lot from them.

Lastly, what type of "fun" does your SON like to do? He is getting to where you should include him on some of his curriculum decisions. If you have co-ops available (not all of us do), would he be interested in doing that? I will be looking at the local co-op for next year so we can get out of the house more. Maybe I will take him to the curriculum fair with me when they have it so he can look through the books and see what he likes. As for fun his passion is football but there is only so much that can be done with that. He likes cars, airplanes, dogs, playing outside, typical boy stuff.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Thank you for all of your suggestions.

[Dolphin]

Hi, just something else to add to the mix. Have you looked at Galore Park? My son really loves Latin Prep and So you really want to learn science. You can order them from Horrible Books (also the horrible histories that are great fun).

 

He also really enjoys Life of Fred, we are just finishing the elementary series (apples-jellybeans) and getting ready for fractions in the New year.

 

IEW has some good resources other than writing. We have been having a lot of success with Phonetic Zoo and Linguistic Development through poem memorization. He really likes the independent nature of it and the fact that it involves a portable cd player with headphones.

 

Best of luck.

[laughing lioness]

wanting to add- this is our 2nd year of doing Lego League- awesome STEM studies that incorporate a TON of stuff- my kids have helped create tech notebooks, powerpoint, programming, team work challenges, performance and presentation- all through LL- GREAT FUN program. We've also done tons of theater- great fun- and includes lit/hx studies, performance, memory work.

We add in lots of lit and film to our homeschool- we do educational dvd's, historical fiction- and we utilize CD's - SOTW, CC Cd's, latin stuff, etc.

[besroma]

For math, I would look at LOF, MEP, and Zaccaro's books.

 

For science, Ellen McHenry.

[mom31257]

:lurk5: I'm planning for a 5th grader next year, too. LOF Fractions is a definite add-in next year. My ds will LOVE the humor in it.