Advanced 5th Grade Homeschool Curriculum

My husband and I love the BASIS Charter School's standard of excellent teaching and results. We have always said that if the kids went to school it would most likely be there. Although I am not ready to send my upcoming 5th grader to BASIS, I did wonder if I could give him the same types of programs and education at home. Transition to school would be so much easier if you were already using and learning the same stuff, right?

So, after much digging, planning, and researching, I have come up with our 5th grade plan. For the upcoming year, we will be switching to a "loop" schedule. Basically, we will be studying Math, Grammar, Spelling, and Writing in our first 2 hour block and then the "loop" for the next 2 hour block. After trying out the loop for a few weeks, I have seen some great things and some pit falls. I really like that we get to everything on our list to do, every week! It is hard to get to more than 1-2 loop activities if there are interruptions. For the loop schedule, you have a list of activities you would like to complete each week. You start at the top on your first day of the week you homeschool and work through the list for your specified amount of time. The next day you pick up where you left off, and so on through the week. Sometimes you can get to some subjects more than once a week. 

In 5th grade, I will be asking Optimus to do much more independent work and writing. He is of the age now that it's time to increase the work load. I need to devote more time to my 3rd grader and give him some more independence.

Optimus' 5th Grade Curriculum Schedule

EVERYDAY:

Math, Saxon Math

Grammar, Saxon Grammar and Writing Grade 5 (we won't be using the writing sections)

Writing, Writing with Skill

Spelling, All About Spelling

Required Reading

LOOP (2 hours a day):

Science, Glencoe Science Level Red (followed by Holt Science & Technology: Astronomy and Focus On Middle School Chemistry, Gravitas Publishing with Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe)
Letter Writing
Geography, Geography Book: Activities for Exploring, Mapping, and Enjoying Your World and Geography Coloring Book
Oral Reading, Words That Built a Nation (followed by The World’s Greatest Speeches and George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Poems of American Patriotism by Brander Matthews)
Math Supplement, math facts or Sudoku
Vocabulary, Vocabulary from Classical Roots A (followed by B)
Read Aloud, for me to read to him
 Book List

1. Arabian Nights
2. Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff
3. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
4. Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
5. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
6. Classics for Young Readers, Vol 5A and 5B
7. American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenburg
8. Paddle to the Sea by Holling Clancy Holling
9. Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare
10. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
11. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
12. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
13. Ben and Me by Robert Lawson
14. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
15. Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
16. War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Latin, Prima Latina (followed by Latina Christina)
Art, Artistic Pursuits Grades 4-6 Book 1 (followed by Book 2)
World History, Human Odyssey Vol. 1, Prehistory Through the Middle Ages
Music, Peter and the Wolf (followed by Disney’s Fantasia and The Magic Flute, by Mozart and Boccherini - Minuet, Mozart - Symphony No. 40, Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 Mvt. 1, Beethoven - Symphony No. 9, Schubuert - Unfinished Symphony, Schubert - Trout Quintet, Schumann - The Happy Farmer, Brahms - Lullaby, Souza - Stars and Stripes Forever, Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Story and Music, Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Overature, Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker March of the Toy Soldiers - Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata, Gounod - Funeral March of a Marionette, Strauss - Blue Danube Waltz, Vivaldi - Autumn of The Four Seasons, Vivaldi - Winter fro tThe Four Seasons, Dvorak - Humoresque, Bach - Orchestral Suite, No. 1 Bouree, Bach - Minuet in G, Mozart - Piano Sonata in C, Beethoven - Fur Elise, Beethoven - Turkish March from The Ruins of Athens, Schubert - Serenade, Mendelssohn - Spring Song, Chopin - Fantasie Impromptu, Debussy - Reverie, Stravinsky - Petrouchka, Brahms - Symphony No. 1 Mvt. 4, Tchaikovsky - Sleeping Beauty
Logic, Logic Liftoff (followed by Orbiting With Logic and then The Art of Argument)
Science Read Aloud, Aristotle Leads the Way
Spanish, Mango with Youtube
Poetry Memorization
American History, The Story of US
Cursive, Cursive Writing Practice Jokes and Riddles with CWP Inspirational Quotes
Handicraft (sewing/cooking or carpentry/survival skills or Scout activity)

There you have it. I'll post an update on how things are going with this in a few months.

Happy Homeschooling
-Michele