TwinMom2013 Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 Hello middle-school homeschoolers- I am at that stage where I'm starting to sweat and lose sleep over my curriculum selections for the upcoming year. I am a new to homeschooling this age group. What did you choose for your sixth grader? What choices did you or do you feel constitute a complete 6th grade year? Below I have included what is required by my state (Maryland) for homeschooling. Has anyone found a nice curriculum-selection worksheet? Maybe having it all laid out will help me feel better. Also, what components make up a solid Language Arts curriculum. I'm currently settled on Writing with Skill Level 1 but am wondering if there are any extras I should add. (1) The home instruction program shall: (a) Provide regular, thorough instruction in the studies usually taught in the public schools to children of the same age; (b) Include instruction in English, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, health, and physical education; and (c) Take place on a regular basis during the school year and be of sufficient duration to implement the instruction program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 1 hour ago, TwinMom2013 said: Hello middle-school homeschoolers- I am at that stage where I'm starting to sweat and lose sleep over my curriculum selections for the upcoming year. I am a new to homeschooling this age group. My third son will be in 6th grade next year. One thing I have learned over the years is that middle school really doesn't require fretting or losing sleep. On one hand, it is important to build the skills that the student will need in high school. But, on the other hand, there are a ton of ways to do that, and it is still really important to just meet the kid you have where they are and prioritize love of learning, family harmony, and getting through puberty. Middle school is also the point at which I start differentiating curriculum choices quite a bit based on the student's passions and goals (if they have them which is certainly not required at that age). Quote What did you choose for your sixth grader? What choices did you or do you feel constitute a complete 6th grade year? Every year there are planning threads for every grade that let you peak at a whole range of different plans and strategies. Here is the 6th grade thread for this year: 6th grade planning 2024-25 Quote Also, what components make up a solid Language Arts curriculum. I'm currently settled on Writing with Skill Level 1 but am wondering if there are any extras I should add. Language Arts should definitely include literature, so that would need to be added. However, it certainly doesn't require a curriculum - they can just read good books. A sixth grader may or may not also require specific curriculum to teach spelling, grammar, and/or vocabulary (often from Latin and Greek roots). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likaly Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 My daughter will be in the 5th grade, it's not 6th, but the curriculum depends on the kid. She has IEW (kids tried Lantern in the summer, and it will never be their choice), Lukeion (Mythology), AoPS, sci, SS - read a lot of books. I have some textbooks from critical thinking and Singapore, Latin (Memorial Academy), ballet, art, and being forced to play piano in the past; I hate any music lessons. We also live in MD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 As my kids got older, I really needed to see what the work load would look like. There are a LOT of great programs out there and they're all different. Every year I did a mock up of 1-2 weeks to see how heavy the daily load was, what we had an abundance of, what was lacking....it's hard to see it when looking at each subject. Things I chose for 6th grade were chosen in conjunction with my kid, so that's probably no help to you trying to fit your child. I took his interests and strengths into consideration, and looked for targeted materials for his weaker areas. You may enjoy looking through some of the charts Rainbow Resource publishes. They have planning sheets and comparison charts for free on their site: https://www.rainbowresource.com/resources Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 My 6th graders still needed grammar, even if it was light review. And intentional literature. WWS only covers writing and maybe a teeny bit of literature analysis. Curiosity Chronicles (world) or Oh Freedom (US) history are good places to start for social studies. For science we chase interests, pick a spine, and read piles of nonfiction books. The last time I ran 6th grade it looked something like: English: Winning With Writing, GftWTM, Megawords spelling, and diy literature Science/social studies: diy prehistory and evolution Math: prealgebra Elective: Star Wars (lore, some science, Hero's Journey, etc) Music, health, and PE would have been covered at his dance studio. And we did some art study in Star Wars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porridge Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 6 hours ago, TwinMom2013 said: What choices did you or do you feel constitute a complete 6th grade year? For 6th grade, I think the 3Rs are still the most important areas to focus on: Language Arts = Lit (I picked books, we read and discussed them) + Writing (WWS) + Grammar (Analytical Grammar for one kid, GWTM for the other) Math - one kid did AoPS, other kid did Singapore followed by Derek Owens My second tier (still important but not as foundational as the 3Rs): Science - we read a lot of "living books" + I did discussions based on BFSU + kids did some science kits History - we picked books and read a from them 2-3 days/ week. Student outlined some chapters, wrote narrative summaries of some chapters PE / Health - kids did neighborhood swim program, tried some other sports Nice to have (and it sounds like a requirement in your state) but if there wasn't time I would not hesitate to drop these or make them very relaxed (unless they were a primary interest for the kids) Art - we did Charlotte Mason style picture study (We'd choose 1-2 artists per year, so 6-12 paintings. With my older, we also did some projects from Creating a Masterpiece. Younger kid tagged along). Music - we did this via piano lessons I don't use a curriculum selection spreadsheet. I have a spreadsheet where I list out the subjects I want / need to cover, and the resources I might use for each. I always feel less panicked when I have my spreadsheet filled out 🙂 And I want to second what wendyroo said: 6 hours ago, wendyroo said: it is still really important to just meet the kid you have where they are and prioritize love of learning, family harmony, and getting through puberty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraClark Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 The big changes I made from 5th to 6th grade: -added in daily logic (previously it was only on Fridays) -grammar became a 4 day/week affair instead of 2 day. Everything else was just doing the next level from what he did in 5th. In 7th grade my kids start to go independent in science and history and I switch out spelling for vocabulary. The planning threads that someone linked above are excellent resources. Language arts curriculum at this age includes: -spelling -writing -grammar -reading good books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoes+Ships+SealingWax Posted August 7 Share Posted August 7 The biggest difference for us between 5th & 6th grade is my expectation for independence. Much of the reading that he or I used to do aloud for history, science, or literature is now to be completed solo, followed by discussion or some sort of assignment to show comprehension. Textbooks are written to him, not to me. He’s expected to keep his workspace tidy & his supplies (books, partially-completed assignments, etc) organized. He’s learning a few different methods of note-taking & beginning to have occasional quizzes / tests that require review & studying. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porridge Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 On 8/7/2024 at 4:04 PM, Shoes+Ships+SealingWax said: The biggest difference for us between 5th & 6th grade is my expectation for independence. Much of the reading that he or I used to do aloud for history, science, or literature is now to be completed solo, followed by discussion or some sort of assignment to show comprehension. Textbooks are written to him, not to me. He’s expected to keep his workspace tidy & his supplies (books, partially-completed assignments, etc) organized. He’s learning a few different methods of note-taking & beginning to have occasional quizzes / tests that require review & studying. While this was great for one of my kids, the other was not ready for greater independence in 6th grade. I mention this because it can create a lot of conflict and affect the kids’ self esteem if they are expected to be independent but not ready for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoes+Ships+SealingWax Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 19 hours ago, Porridge said: While this was great for one of my kids, the other was not ready for greater independence in 6th grade. I mention this because it can create a lot of conflict and affect the kids’ self esteem if they are expected to be independent but not ready for it. We are definitely taking it slow, using this first month of school to adjust expectations & assignments as necessary - it’s part of why we start back weeks before his extracurriculars get rolling! Becoming successful with these things is something I fully expect to work towards all year long. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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