Fifth graders are at such a fun age! While they are gaining more independence, they still enjoy being creative and playing. This is our fourth time having a fifth grader at home. Some things have changed. Many have stayed the same. If it’s working, don’t fix it, right? Want a sneak peek into what we’re doing this year? Here’s our homeschool plan and curriculum for 5th grade this time around.
My posts contain affiliate links.
5th Grade Daily Flow
We organize all our homeschool schedules on Trello. Since our fifth grader will have daily subjects and weekly subjects, he can drag and drop the weekly tasks to any day he wants.
We have daily flows or routines in our homeschool. We are not sticklers for exact schedules or time slots. When the kids wake up, they have morning routines like breakfast, chores, and getting ready for the day. Then they check their Trello boards and get started. Some of my kids like to settle in with a book for an hour in the morning. Others would rather tackle math first to get it done.
How long does 5th grade work take to get done? As long as it takes! Other than reading for at least an hour a day, until my kids reach high school, I don’t require a certain amount of time per subject. They do the next lesson in each subject area, and if they can get it done quickly, then great. If they need to spend more time on it, then we have that flexibility.
Daily Tasks
Here are the subjects my fifth grader will work on every day.
Daily Grams >> My kids work on grammar from grades 1-4 using First Language Lessons. For 5th and maybe 6th, we will review using Daily Grams until we start Analytical Grammar. You can see our general flow for Language Arts in K-8th HERE.
Reading >> See how our reading time has been revolutionized HERE.
Writing >> Previously, we worked on narration and summarizing skills using Writing With Ease. Now, my 5th grader will write across the subject areas until he starts Writing With Skill in a year or so.
Piano practice
Bible >> Exploring the Bible
Weekly Tasks
French with Rosetta Stone 3x weekly
Typing 3x weekly
Music 2x weekly
Handwriting >> we need to finish his cursive penmanship book from last year! 3x weekly until it is done
Reading Comprehension 2x weekly
Building Thinking Skills 2x weekly
Semester Blocks
I haven’t decided yet if we will work on science and history daily, or if we will take the first semester to do science, then the second semester to work on history. Previously, these subjects were perfect for combining multiple grades. However, with my oldest two working on high school courses, my younger ones might be more independent in these subjects as well. Sometimes it’s hard to fit in science and history everyday when you want the freedom to go deep into the topic. If you organize them by semester blocks, you can totally focus just on one subject for half of the year without feeling guilty or without skipping one of them too often. Ever have that happen?
Science
We previously used God’s Design for Science through the elementary years and up until the time when my oldest was in middle school. Last year we used Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy & Physiology and the kids enjoyed this book even more than the AIG curriculum. We didn’t finish the Human Anatomy book, however, so we will complete that first and then I will probably purchase another Apologia book. Once again, with the oldest kids in high school this year and doing their own science, we are not going to combine multiple ages. My 5th grader and 8th grader will do the same science but will probably read it independently. If there are experiments or projects, they may work together.
History
We have used and loved Mystery of History for over 10 years! However, with the oldest kids spun off to their own history curricula, I’m switching over to Story of the World this year for the younger kids. I purchased Volume 1 so we can finish from the birth of Christ until the fall of the Roman Empire. Then we will pick up with Volume 2 and the Middle Ages. Since it’s written in an interesting narrative style, my 5th grader and 8th grader should be able to read this on their own this year. I might also purchase the audio CD to listen to on longer car rides.
Since we’ve used both SOTW and MOH, check to see how these two popular history resources compare.
If you’re homeschooling a fifth grader, keep this in mind: They will never master everything. Give them lots of great resources and learning opportunities. Read, read, and read some more! Dive into science and history topics they love. Enjoy these years! Middle school is coming, and these kids really do have lots of potential. We get to fan the flames instead of schooling the love of learning right out of them.
Are you looking for my FREE resource library? You can get access HERE.
Want to see our updated 5th Grade Homeschool Curriculum choices?
I’m homeschooling my last fifth grader in the fall of 2023 and – while a few resources remain the same, there are a bunch of changes! Check out our latest 5th grade homeschool curriculum picks.
