Homeschool Curriculum Plans for the 2020/2021 School Year

Holy crap did I wait until the last minute to get this done. Yikes. This post includes A LOT, but that doesn’t mean that we are going it get all of it done.

This is our 12th year…or maybe our 11th. I can’t remember.

It’s been a long time though, and this is how it looks for us.

First off I try to write out a weekly schedule just to give us an idea of what we should be doing each day. I like pen and paper. It makes me feel organized when I am not.

Often shit happens and schedules don’t work out, so whatever we don’t get it done I just roll it over to the next day.

Let’s get to it.

I think we can all agree that this is a weird one this year. School start next week and I am just solidifying my plans as I type this.

Any books that need to be ordered will probably be late, and any curriculum that I can get via PDF I will.

I like pdf’s anyway because then I can reuse them for Merle if I feel like it will be a good fit, unlike consumable workbooks.

Even though we homeschool anyway, these last months threw us. Everything was just really, really off and we didn’t put that much time or effort into learning.

It has kind of been a free for all as the school year wrapped up, and that is okay.

Everyone is going through a huge adjustment and focusing on just keeping it together is allowed.

That being said, I am also kicking myself for not using that time to plan out our upcoming school year.

With so many people deciding to homeschool this fall, there are a lot of books on backorder so yeah…I am regretting my procrastination.

Like all children, my girls have strengths and weaknesses, and likes and dislikes in school. I try to work with those to figure out what we are going to do.

Roo doesn’t really like, math, and because she doesn’t like math she doesn’t put tons of effort into it.

I have to choose a curriculum that has really good teaching/explanations because this is an area where an open and go textbook doesn’t work.

So with her she will use Unlock Math.

Other the other hand, Merle doesn’t love math but she is really good at it.

Her thought process in coming up with answers is different than the standard way of teaching (she does mental math really well) and I needed to find a curriculum that works the way her brain works.

She will use Beast Academy online because it is rigorous but taught in a comic book format which keeps her interest.

Homeschool Curriculum I Won’t Use?

I try to avoid curriculum by religious publishers but sometimes I give depending on the subject.

Although it is an absolute no for History or the Sciences.

But with writing, I might depending on the publisher.

Aside from learning the standard 5 paragraph essay, I tried to embark on the classical method of writing and rhetoric, and unfortunately, most classical curriculums are faith-based.

But with the subject of writing, it doesn’t come from a Christian or faith-based perspective so it is easy to implement without any religious undertones.

I won’t use:

• Apologia
• Bob Jones (BJU Press)
• Abeka
• ACE
• Sonlight
• Accellus
• Easy Peasy
• When in doubt, do your research. Sometimes it’s hidden in there.

There are a lot more but those are off the top of my head that I know come from a creationist perspective.

Here are some tips on vetting secular science curriculum.

Now, before I jump into what actually are using I want to say that we do not have a dedicated learning area.

I am seeing all over social media, school rooms, desks, work stations that their kids will be using for their virtual learning.

I guess if we had to use Zoom and stuff all day we would probably have to figure something out, but since we do our own thing I have actively tried to avoid making the house replicate a schoolroom.

We sit wherever.

Actually, I usually sit at my desk depending if I have to have pdf’s or books I need to refer to.

The girls are always within the same room but usually sitting somewhere else.

The couch, chair, floor, a pillow, my bed (it’s close by) and even on a step ladder. Wherever depending if they need to be writing or following along.

Sometimes Roo gets into a cleaning thing and ends up sweeping, swiffering, and wiping down or rearranging cupboards while we learn.

Also depending on whether she needs to be writing things down.

We are pretty lax in that department.

So don’t feel bad or guilty if you don’t have a cute little learning nook for your kids.

They’ll be fine, and will still learn…even if they are sitting in a laundry basket, in the closet, with a blanket over their head.

11th Grade Homeschool Curriculum

Language Arts
Writing With Skill ( Instructor Book, and Student Book)
Writing and Rhetoric Book 9:Description & Impersonation (Teacher Guide, and Student Book)
Writing & Rhetoric Book 10: Thesis Part 1 (Teacher Guide, and Student Book)
Books:
In Cold Blood
Fahrenheit 451
The Grapes of Wrath
Brave New World
A Tale of Two Cities (I hated this book in high school so I’m hoping it’s better the second time around)
The Metamorphosis
Slaughterhouse-Five
Flowers for Algernon
Macbeth

Math
Unlock Math
Khan Academy

History
Global Perspective Studies Core 2 Unit 4 Focusing on WWI and WWII
The Holocaust – An Introduction: Nazi Germany: Ideology, The Jews and the World
A History of Hitler’s Empire
World War II Battlefield Europe
Crash Course Videos on topics
I’m still gathering WWI resources.
Books:
World Masterpieces A quality World or European history textbook
Anne Frank’s Diary
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Code Name Verity 
Maus I and II 
White Teeth 

Science
Chemistry: A Study of Matter
Conceptual Chemistry
Chemistry 2nd Edition

French
Duolingo
Assimil French With Ease
Watch French TV Shows

Philosophy
Psychology of Human Behaviour
Understanding the Dark Side of Human Nature

Art History
The Städel Course on Modern Art
AP College Art History
Janson’s History of Art (I bought it used)

Forensic Science (Elective) 1/2 Credit
Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology
Introduction to Forensic Science
Forensic Psychology: Witness Investigation

The History of Film (Elective) 1/2 Credit
Hollywood: History, Industry, Art
Crash Course Film History

5th Grade Homeschool Curriculum

Language Arts
Writing With Ease 4
Writing & Rhetoric 2 (Teacher and Student) and 3 (Teacher and Student)
Spelling Workout C and D
Grammar First Language Lessons 4
Handwriting WIthout Tears Cursive

Math
Beast Academy Online
Khan Academy
Singapore 3A and 3B to review and solidify skills

History
History Quest Middle Times

Science
Mr. Q Life Science (it’s free)

French
Duolingo
L’art de Lire 3
Watch French TV and read french kids books

Art
Meet The Masters
Sister Wendy’s Art – The Complete Collection

Geography
Mapping the World with Art

Logic
Logic Liftoff
Orbiting Logic
Detective Club Mysteries

Music
Piano via keyboard

Books (we get our book ideas from Mensa for Kids)
D’Aulaire’s Book of Norse Myths
D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths
Hatchet
A Christmas Carol
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Little Prince
The Dark is Rising Sequence:
Over Sea, Under Stone
The Dark is Rising
Greenwitch
The Grey King
Silver on the Tree
The Jungle Book
The Rescuers
Treasure Island
Pigman
Tales From Shakespeare

That’s all folks!

Congratulations for finally getting your shit together Sara.

Stay Safe.

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