As we wrap up our year homeschooling 6th grade, I thought it would be fun to share everything we used for my eldest son. As a second-generation homeschooler, I use a whole mix of curriculum for each subject and each kid, pulling old favorites that I knew and loved when I was young, as well as much newer curriculum options. It’s very much an eclectic style of homeschooling.
My son is “ahead” in certain subjects and possibly “behind” in others, so these may not all align with a typical 6th grade. But that’s part of the beauty of homeschooling: You can meet your children right where they are for each subject.
I hope this post gives you some ideas or insight as you plan your next homeschool year! I know I love to hear what other people are using, and glean ideas for the coming years.
The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts
TGAB language arts has been a great fit for our family. It’s very open-and-go, with very little prep needed on my end. This son started with their Level 2 and is now finishing Level 7. I love Levels K-5 the most. I wasn’t as big a fan of 6 and 7. They are working on updating those levels, so maybe I will like them more in the future.
This language arts program also incorporates some art and geography, which makes it more interesting and fun. For some of them, an entire level focuses on a specific art medium – pastels one year, then watercolors, etc. Maybe that’s why I love level 5 the most, because I love watercolors.
Thinkwell Math
My son has loved Thinkwell math, and it’s been a great fit. Previously, he did Teaching Textbooks 3-7 as well as Beast Academy 2-5.
Thinkwell was a really great next step. It challenges him a little more than TT but that has been good. I personally think TT is better for kids that aren’t as math minded. (It was great for me in high school!)
My son completed their 8th grade math last year, and this year he just finished Honors Algebra 1 and moved on to Honors Geometry.
One of the things I think is really cool with Thinkwell Math is that they offer add-on tutoring in 15-min segments. We haven’t tried it yet, but I anticipate using it in the future because he will pass me by in math. That way he can get help with specific questions when they come up.
Biochemistry Literacy for Kids
My son worked through this self-paced program for most of the year, and it was his favorite subject! Each morning, he’d wake up and ask to do it first. You can order a hands-on molecular building kit with this course, which I definitely recommend! His hands were always busy building what he was learning about while he listened to the lectures.
This course comes on the heels of my son’s obsession with chemistry, and if you’re interested in more ideas, I have written another article all about 21 Ideas for Kids to Learn Chemistry Before High School. He used these resources to teach himself and completely memorize the periodic table.
I just love homeschooling, and how the kids can tackle a subject when interest strikes rather than being confined to learning it only during a specific grade.
Gather Round Homeschool Chemistry
We went heavy on the chemistry this year, mainly because that is what he has been interested in. Gather Round is a curriculum designed for large families, allowing everyone to work through the same subject, but each has their own corresponding independent work at their own level. My boys liked this okay, sometimes it felt like a lot. But that was because it is designed to be an all-in-one curriculum (every subject except for math), where you work through one unit at a time. We used it on top of what we were already doing, but took it much slower.
The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting
Handwriting at this point feels like a simple filler in the day, but both my older boys really enjoy cursive, so we keep incorporating it into our homeschool days. I’m a little old school in that I waited so long to introduce typing and kept having them practice handwriting. So, we are “late” with typing, but that’s okay.
This handwriting incorporates geography, Bible, poetry, and other subjects, which I appreciate.
Masterbooks America’s Story History 2
I love Masterbooks History. We read the lesson together and then choose which accompanying worksheets we want to use. I don’t usually have them do all the worksheets that go with each lesson. Some are art, and this particular son is not a fan of art, so I don’t force him to draw with every lesson. He usually does the mapwork as well as writing assignments.
We’re a little “behind” in history (We still haven’t done California history!), but that’s okay. He still has a lot of years to learn. That was one subject I just didn’t incorporate until after his cancer treatment was over.
But he is getting history from many different sources, as he does a lot of independent reading as well as listening to our favorite G.A. Henty dramatized audiobooks. He has a good grasp on history and usually remembers dates better than I do!
Expedition Spanish
This was fun to add in toward the end of the year. My son does this independently and with headphones on, so I’ve been surprised at how the younger kids are picking up Spanish words as well! It all trickles down when they hear big brother practicing. This program incorporates some history and geography as well.
Bitsbox Coding
This has been the “fun” subject for my older boys (12 and 10), and I ask them to finish all their other subjects for the day before they do this. We don’t do any computer/video games in our house, so this probably feels like a game to them. The cards walk them through step-by-step beginning coding and making little apps.
Crunch Labs
The Crunch Labs Build Box subscription was a huge hit for both my 6th grader and my 4th grader this year. The projects were all excellent, and they were able to do it without any assistance from me (which I prefer). Each box has an accompanying video science lesson done by the creator, Mark Rober. In previous years, they’ve used Kiwi Co boxes, which they love as well, but these were even better!
Typing
I still haven’t found a typing program that I love. He did a lot with this free typing site, but I’m looking for something else that might be a better fit for us.
Morning Basket Reading Time Together:
Bible Reading
Read-Alouds that correspond with history
Devotionals/Character Building Books
Notebooking Pages (I love this resource/method from Jodi Mockabee)
Other Favorites for Homeschooling 6th Grade
Spartan Races were a highlight of the year for my boys. For P.E. they do obstacle course racing, soccer, and basketball. Traveling to a couple of races this year was such a fun experience for them!
Summer Reading Challenge Ideas for a Christian Homeschool – Last summer, we participated in my favorite summer reading program yet! It motivated my eldest, and he read over 50 books plus the entire Bible.
Coming soon – a post all about Books for Young Math Lovers. My son reaches for these books over and over again. Not curriculum, just for fun reading! I can’t wait to share these!
Tons of independent reading. I will share another post soon of all our favorite books for boys age 8-12.
Have you homeschooled a 6th grader? What are your favorites for this age? I’d love to hear!
Pin For Later:
Leave a Reply