5th Grade Curriculum
Bible: This year we used a combination of daily devotions and Sunday school homework (sent home by our church). I also love the Jesus Calling for Kids. It was a great spring board for sharing and conversation. I also spent quite a bit of time teaching the kids how to look up books, chapters, and verses in their Bibles. Last year we covered the order of the books for the New Testament with a fun song. This year, I would announce a book and they would have to tell me if it was from the Old or New Testament. Then we would move from there, finding the specific books, chapter, and verse. Science: Answers in Genesis I purchased this curriculum last year at our annual curriculum swap. It had been previously used by two other families but was still in really great condition. The best part about this curriculum is that it is designed to work with multiple ages at the same time. Both of my sons were able to work side by side and my daughter was able to join in, as well. It was fantastic and made our science time fun for everyone.
Geography:
Road Trip U.S.A.
from Confessions of a Homeschooler. All three kids worked on this curriculum together. It was a great "trip" across our country with fun facts, state flowers, animals, landmarks, and food. We also covered all 50 states and capitals with a super fun song.
Handwriting:
A Reason for Handwriting Level D Like I have said in my previous posts, I really like this handwriting curriculum. Level D was perfect for my fifth grader. This is two levels above the transition level. It is very important that the student have cursive experience before working in this book.
Spelling:
All About Spelling Level 1, 2, & 3 My fifth grader has always struggled with spelling. This year I decided to switch from ABeka and try All About Spelling. I had heard wonderful things about it from other homeschool moms and figured it might be a good fit. It has been amazing! With this program, the student starts with Level 1 regardless of age. I told my son that it might seem really easy in the beginning but we needed to make sure he had a good foundation before moving to other levels. I was really concerned that he would think it was too baby-ish; especially since his 2nd grade brother was starting at the same level. But to my surprise, it didn't bother him. He moved through Level 1 in 1 six week grading period. He was super excited to move onto Level 2. By Christmas he had completed Level 2. I could really see his confidence with spelling grow. It took him all of second semester to complete Level 3. Oh. My!!! His spelling has improved so much!!! He will begin Level 4 in the fall.
Math:
Math U See - Gamma and Math U See - Delta Math has also been a stressful for my oldest son. He tends to get very overwhelmed with this subject. Half way through 4th grade we realized he needed a switch in curriculum. He just couldn't grasp multiplication and he was beginning to get left in the dust with his current curriculum. I had heard that Math U See was a great curriculum for students that have a lot of anxiety with math. We started the Gamma level (mainly multiplication) during the second half of his 4th grade year and finished the first half this year. After completing the Gamma level, we moved onto to Delta (mainly division). He will finish the Delta level next week. I was concerned that taking so much time to focus only on multiplication and division may cause some delay in other math areas. However, when I gave him the Saxon Math placement test his was actually ahead. He will begin Saxon Level 7/6 at the start of 6th grade.
Language:
ABeka Language B Since we started with ABeka in 2nd grade and were happy with it, I figured it was best to stay the course. ABeka Language is extremely thorough and at times very long, however, I do feel it is giving him a great foundation. He completed his 5th grade Language Final Exam on Thursday. It did a fantastic job and is very relieved to have that subject finished for the summer. :)
Reading:
ABeka Readers and Timed Reading Again, we have used this curriculum since the 2nd grade. I have always been very pleased with the readers and timed reading assignments from ABeka. He has always seemed to enjoy the stories, as well.
He also chose to take Extreme Art, Ancient Egypt, and Texas History at our Friday co-op.
Woohoo!!! I am done! I know we cover all of this every school day for 180 days but typing it all out is just as exhausting!!!
Thanks for this info Elizabeth! I am very intrigued and can't wait until next year. Xo
Reply DeleteAwe!Thank you for taking the time to read it. I hope you find it helpful. :)
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