Hey, friends! I'm so excited to share what we are using for my sixth grade son. I posted my fifth graders choices last week, so if you're curious, you can check those out too. You'll see some subjects are not on "grade level," but the beauty of homeschool is I don't have to rush him through material just to remain on typical "grade level."
We had a bit of a rough start in math and changed our language arts program three times, but I think our current lineup is a winner. It's working and we haven't had any tears in over a month! That's big. Math is hard to remember all the reasons of why you do something and when you finally get comfortable doing a chapter, it's time to move on the next and start all over. We're getting there though. I've slowed things down for him and it's been working.
Let's break down the subjects
Language Arts: Like I stated earlier, we are on our third program and this one is working. We are using IEW Structure and Style Level 1A with FixIt! Grammar Level 2. These have been what I've been looking for for the past two years. We start week five this week. There are videos each week about an hour each, give or take. Xander doesn't complain about them, he enjoys how Mr. Pudewa makes the classes enjoyable to watch with his jokes and clear explanations.
He's using The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting, Level 4. I had him repeat level 3 because his penmanship is not neat and I wanted him to have the extra practice. Level 4 he started cursive and it's amazing how nice his cursive is!
For reading he's using Reading Skills Grade 6, and also reads 30 minutes from a chapter book each day.
I went back and forth if I wanted to put spelling into our lineup this year and decided we would. Sure there's automatic spelling correction on all devices now days, along with google, Alexa, and Siri. I think having a strong spelling foundation is vital to being a good writer and reader. So, we added 180 Days of Spelling & Word Study, Grade 5.
Math: We continued with BJU Press Grade 6, and while they have 180 lessons and the book and this mom thinks she's required to finish every single one of them, I'm not going to this year. Yikes. I have to go at his speed so he can retain the information and understand why he's doing something. Grade 6 is the right level for him, although he'd love to go back to 5 with his sister (and it would make it easier for me, ha!) but, no, he's staying at 6. 5 is too easy for him, and 6 gives just enough of a brain workout.
We also added in Timed Tests because it never hurts to get some added facts practice. These are more fun than flashcards, and he loves using his iPad to time himself.
Social Studies: We hit history hard last year, so this year our focus is social studies and geography. We still watch documentaries and read books about historical figures and events. We're using 180 Days for both social studies and geography.
Science: We're using Apologia Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology. Xander is loving all the little experiments throughout the chapters.
We're also doing Bible studies from an app on our tablets.
For art we are going to try using a guided art lesson from a previous language arts book we had this year. We're going to do it this week and if it goes well, I'll share how they like it.
There you have it. Our sixth grade lineup. My guy is not much of a complainer, except for math. Once I can get him to his desk, he usually whips out his schoolwork rather quickly.
Have a wonderful day!
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