It’s hard to believe I’ll have another 6th grader this year! He’ll be my fifth 6th grader—how is that even possible?
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Language Arts
We’re starting the year with The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts 5. Last year, LA 4 didn’t go so well, but I picked up a few tips that I’m hoping will make a big difference. Toward the end of the school year, I started teaching the writing lessons out loud instead of expecting him to do them on his own, and I sometimes modified the assignments if the topic didn’t interest him. That helped a lot, so we’re going to stick with that approach this year.
The set comes with four books to read alongside the course, and I think he’ll enjoy them. My daughter sure did when she used this level.
The last piece of the set is the watercolor course, which we’ll be skipping this time. I didn’t feel the tutorials were well explained, and honestly, I wish there had been videos instead. So we’ll sub in something else when those lessons come up.
Math
We started last year with The Good and the Beautiful Math 5 but ended up switching to Saxon 7/6. We’ll be continuing with Saxon for 6th grade. If you want to know more about why we switched, I talk about it on my YouTube channel.
This particular child is slow at math,mainly because he struggles to focus. I’m not totally sure if we’ll stick with Saxon long-term, but everything else I’ve looked at either isn’t a good fit or doesn’t offer the right level for him. So unless I stumble across something better, we’re sticking with it for now.
Handwriting
He’ll finish the handwriting book we started last year, then move into The Good and the Beautiful Level 6. We weren’t very consistent with handwriting before, so I plan to be more intentional this time. I like to schedule handwriting during our family read-aloud time right after breakfast—it’s a nice way to ease into the day.
Spelling
TGTB includes spelling, but he’s in dyslexia therapy four days a week and does a lot of spelling work there. I’m planning to lightly supplement with Evan-Moor for basic practice, but if it starts to feel like too much, it’ll be the first thing I drop.
Science
This year, my 6th grader wanted to do his own science and I think he’s ready for that next step. He wasn’t excited about doing science with the younger kids anymore, since he’d already completed all the units we’re going through with them.
We chose Apologia Botany for him to do independently. He’s always loved plants, and I was hoping he’d enjoy this. It turns out, he was so excited he wanted to start this summer! I let him go ahead with it since it can only make the school year easier if he gets some of it done early. Another bonus: the course includes audio narration for the books, and I’ve heard they’re really well done.
History
My two youngest and my 6th grader will be using Little School of Smiths. We’re doing Adventures to the New World and Adventures through America. Each guide includes four units, with each one taking about four weeks to complete.
I’ll also be pulling in various readers from Sonlight’s Level D list for him to read alongside. We’ve used Sonlight for the past two years and absolutely loved it, but I wanted to try something different this year, so we’re giving LSS a go. I’m genuinely excited for this course, I think it’s going to be such a fun way to explore history together!
And that wraps up our 6th-grade plan!
I’ve got more details and updates over on my YouTube channel if you want to check those videos out. Thanks for following along!
Some links shared may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you—if you choose to purchase through them. Thanks for supporting our homeschool journey!