Actually, I better blog post title would be “What we are going to do to start the new school year…” One of the things I love about homeschooling is flexibility.
Lot’s of homeschool bloggers have been posting about their curriculum choices for the new school year. I’m writing a post about what we’re going to start with… and likely be committed to at least until Thanksgiving. (We usually take a break during December from formally homeschooling.) One of the wonderful things about homeschooling is the flexibility. If something we start the year with no longer works for us, then we are free to make changes. What doesn’t change is what the Georgia Department of Education recommends students learn at each grade-level. However, what we do to learn those things is up to us… so here goes!
*This post contains affiliate links… just thought you should know.
4th Grade
We are going to begin the year with a blended approach of online learning and finishing up/ reviewing some things from last year’s boxed curriculum that we didn’t finish because I was distracted in the early days of the pandemic. I purchased a new history curriculum last week that is targeted to 3rd – 7th grade that I’m planning to use with all of my kids but primarily with my 4th grader. I’ve been working on identifying and making a list of learning activities for her afternoons when she is done with her curriculum-based lessons. This will include music, art and technology activities. Every year, we get a BrainQuest workbook as a backup offline option for days when we want to work at the church or travel. She is currently obsessed with the musical, “Hamilton” on Disney+ so I have found an online virtual musical theater class for her at Outschool that I think she might enjoy. And finally, we will continue her bible study and theology lessons.
- Time4Learning – Online Curriculum
- Moving Beyond the Page – Boxed Curriculum
- “Oh Freedom: A Conscious U.S. History Curriculum”
- BrainQuest Grade 4 Workbook
- OutSchool
- Varsity Tutors
- Parables of the Messiah Workbook
- Attributes of God Workbook
- Devotional – “I Am Yours” by Wynter Pitts
8th Grade
My son completed his 7th grade boxed curriculum last spring so he is ready for a fresh start for 8th grade. I’ve decided to have him start the year with an online curriculum as a way to assess and prepare him for the transition to highschool next year. In addition to the online curriculum, he will read , research and write about history using books and resources from our home library. He will also be reading and watching videos on many of the classics in American literature to begin to build background knowledge that is necessary for success on standardized tests. Follow along with some of the history lessons from “Oh Freedom,” take classes on Outschool and/or Varsity Tutors and engage in learning activities in music, art and technology. He will also continue his bible and theology lessons with the Bible Project and Andy Stanley’s book, “Irresistible.”
- Time4Learning – Online Curriculum
- “Oh Freedom: A Conscious U.S. History Curriculum”
- OutSchool
- Varsity Tutors
- Bible Project
- Reading List: Stamped from the Beginning, Color of Compromise, Irresistible