5th Grade Home School Curriculum
Here is my TOP 5th Grade Home School Curriculum picks for homeschooling a 5th-grade student. Homeschooling 5th-grade students are all about developing the foundations of subjects and always adding in some fun and extra activities!
Whether you have made the decision to homeschool or are still considering the final decision to actually homeschool or home educate your children, one of the most major decisions is which curriculum will be used. The choices can be a bit overwhelming and I have highlighted what I have used over the years. Here are my selections for Grade 5.
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Homeschooling is challenging but wonderful and very rewarding. My children are benefiting from me and I from them!
I like to think I know what I’m talking about in regards to homeschooling 5th grade as I home educated all three of my children in 5th grade!
Keep in mind at this level, Grade 5, you as the homeschool parent are still a Parent at Elbow (PEW). Sitting next to your student helping them understand concepts and complete work to the best of their ability. But you are moving towards the next level of the Hovering Parent (HOP). Checking in frequently to ensure they are understanding what is being asked of them and what they have read/learned. As well as learning to brainstorm paper and project ideas and how to break the task down. You will continue to proofread papers and helping them see errors in grammar and logical structure. In addition, you will help study and manage time. and basically ensure their best work is what is being turned in.
I like to say that at this stage in Grade 5, the homeschool parental goal is to have one Parent at Elbow subject, two Hovering Parent subjects, and the rest of the subjects will be Assign and Check. But continue to use a checklist and continue to work on personal schedule keeping. Identify which subjects require you to be At Elbow, and which require you to Hover, and which can be moved to Assign and Check. Give the assignment, a time frame, and a timer. and have your kiddo report back at the end of the time frame. Now is the time to give rewards for diligence and consequences for irresponsibility.
5th Grade Home School Curriculum
Math
Saxon Math 7/6, 6/5 or 5/4 or even Pre-Algebra
If you are unsure of the level of Math to place your child, Saxon Math has placement tests you can download and give to your own child to test their levels.
Saxon Math 5/4: Placement Test (PDF) and Scope and Sequence (PDF)
Saxon Math 6/5: Placement Test (PDF) and Scope and Sequence (PDF)
Saxon Math 7/6: Placement Test (PDF) and Scope and Sequence (PDF)
Saxon Algebra 1/2 (Pre-Algebra): Placement Test (PDF) and Scope and Sequence (PDF)
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use it? Yes.
It is best to select the appropriate level of Math for your child. Every child progresses differently. Each one of my children was at a different level of Math in 5th grade and none of them completed the same Math during 5th grade! My son began Saxon Math 7/6 in 5th grade and I quickly realized he didn’t need this level and we progressed to PreAlgebra. My oldest daughter completed Saxon Math 6/5 during 6th grade and my youngest daughter skipped Saxon Math 7/6 and went straight to PreAlgebra too. Saxon Math 7/6 is for students who aren’t quite ready for Algebra yet but are advanced. Saxon 6/5 is for students who are right in the middle and Saxon Math 5/4 is for a student who may be struggling with Math a bit.
Grammar
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use it? YES
All three of my children used Shurley Grammar pretty much from the beginning of our homeschool journey. Shurley Grammar is a phenomenal foundation in Grammar. This level, level 6 is the last one I would recommend though. Don’t use past Level 6 as it just gets way too repetitive and will drive your child (and yourself) bonkers.
Spelling
Does it work? yes and yes
Will I continue to use it? Yes & We will because I can't locate a curriculum that WORKS well.
I have struggled with locating a Spelling curriculum that works for my family. This is the best fit for us, Soaring with Spelling. I have used Spelling Power in the past and it worked fine for my son when he was in 5th grade, but he is a gifted student. My oldest daughter really despised this book though. However, Spelling Power is one book you can purchase and use for many, many years!! I wanted to like this book so much, but perhaps I had the wrong attitude as I really though Spelling as a course why somewhat repetitive. We were heavy on reading and writing, so I really felt my kids were already getting Spelling with those subjects. So perhaps the issue was all mine ??
Handwriting/Penmanship
Rod & Staff (Grade 3 and Grade 4)
I never really focused that much on handwriting skills or penmanship or learning cursive as I just don’t care that much. We would work on tasks from last year’s books about once a month.
Literature/Composition
various literature books AND Classical Composition II: Narrative
My kids always took Literature & Composition at their co-op. These complete lessons in Classical Composition II: Narrative book assigned and learn writing skills. Simply order the Classical Composition II Narrative teacher’s manual and you will be able to teach this course easily! Their assignments are reading and writing reports on the books assigned. Teaching your children how to compose an essay, expository writing is very critical and necessary. When my son went to a private junior high, his teacher was astounded at how well he was able to articulate in a paper. If you work with your kids in elementary and teach them how to write, and write well, they will be able to write papers in their sleep!
Omnibus/History/Social Studies/Geography
The Story of the World & Mystery of History Volume III - The Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use it? Yes
My children use Mystery of History Volume III - The Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations, for Omnibus at their homeschool academy. I work with them each week with Mystery of History and happen to really like this curriculum as well.
SUBJECT ROTATION
There are a few courses that I rotate in order to make home teaching easier at different levels. In the Elementary stages, History and Science are on a rotation. Since I had three children at different levels, I didn’t want to be teaching 3 separate sciences and 3 separate HIstoriy subjects. All my kiddos studied the same historic time period and the same Science subject. Therefore, by the time 5th grade comes around, we are back to where I began in Grade 1.
Grade 1 —> Mystery of History Volume III - The Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations
In addition to the MOH curriculum, we also use SOTW. LOVE, love, love this curriculum. The SOTW reading book is wonderful and easy to understand (I read the stories to my kids). The activity book was equally as awesome. I was able to complete almost all the activities they would assign per chapter. We have made some amazing projects! In addition, we are creating a lapbook for SOTW utilizing this website {she's awesome!}. We are simply picking up where we left off the last school session.
English/Vocabulary/Language
BJU Press English Grade 5 OR Rod & Staff Grade 5 OR Daily Language Review Grade 5
Does it work? yes and not so much
Will I continue to use it? yes and no
If you prefer to not use the Classical Composition Book II, I would recommend to use BJU Press English OR Rod & Staff or Evan Moor. Don’t use all three together or you will be overloading yourself and your child. If you are going to use the Classical Composition book, just skip this section. ☺ I actually really like the BJU Press and the Rod & Staff curriculum. My daughter likes this curriculum from Rod & Staff and claims it to be her best subject! My youngest daughter preferred the BJU Press curriculum.
We have used Daily Language Review off and on over the years and it is a great supplemental curriculum. It is simply a daily page of review lessons that are easily completed.
Science
Exploring Creation Through Anatomy and Physiology with the Notebooking Journals
Does it work? YES to all
Will I continue to use? yes to all
My 5th grader has Anatomy and Physiology (from Apologia) at their co-op. I bought the junior notebooking journal for my little one as well so we could all have Science together at home. I also purchased the box of experiments that went along with this book directly from Apologia. We are a heavy Science family. My children all love and adore Science and experiments so I continue to feed their curiosity.
SUBJECT ROTATION
As you can see, we are back to Exploring Creation Through Anatomy and Physiology , which I recommended to begin with in Grade 1. Really, you can use these books in any order you like. There are enough Apologia textbooks for a full 6 years.
Grade 1 —> Exploring Creation Through Anatomy and Physiology
Grade 2 —> Exploring Creation Through Astronomy
Grade 3 —> Exploring Creation with Zoology 3 (Land Animals) AND Exploring Creation with Botony
Grade 4 —> Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics
ALTERNATIVE #1 —> Exploring Creation Through Astronomy AND Exploring Creation with Botony
ALTERNATIVE #2 —> Exploring Creation Through Zoology I (Flying Creatures) AND Exploring Creation Through Zoology II (Swimming Creatures)
Religion/Memory
God's Great Covenant, NT Book 1: A Bible Course for Children & Veritas Press Gospels Flashcards
Does it work? yes
Will I continue to use? yes
I recommended beginning this book in Grade 3 with GGC Book 1 and in Grade 4 GGC Book 2 and now in Grade 5, your child will move on to GGC NT Book 1.
I used this textbook for 6 years on a rotating schedule. So if you have kiddos in different grades, I would suggest beginning them both in the same book and just rotate from wherever you begin. For instance, if you have a 2nd grader and a 4th grader, have them both begin with either OT 1 or OT 2. Keep in mind the NT textbooks are a tad bit harder and the lower level grades may not be able to complete the assignments, but they absolutely could enjoy the stories.
Foreign Language
Does it work? yes
Will I continue to use? Yes
We began with Latin in Grade 2 and have continued ever since. My daughter utilizes the Logos Latin book, which we began last year. Sadly, she forgot everything we worked on last year, but that's okay. She seems to enjoy Latin as well. Latin is a struggle - BUT, it does help SO MUCH with grammar and writing! Latin correlates with Shurley Grammar as well.
Art & Music
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers & Rod & Staff (music & art) & guitar & Violin
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use? Yes
I purchased 'Getting to Know the Worlds Greatest Composers, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Gershwin, Chopin, Handel, Stravinsky & Tchaikovsky.
We read the books, along with books from the local library. We have a lapbook that we are completing and a page and many activities are dedicated to each composer. We conclude the unit study of each composer with a project. The children really love Music this year.
We will also be studying Music through the Rod & Staff curriculum. Learning notes and rhythm and the like. My son plays the guitar and will continue with his lessons. Both of the girls play the violin and they will continue as well with their private lessons.
Field Trips
We have many, many field trips since we live in a great city with numerous museums. Field Trip day will always be the favorite I think.
Here’s a post on our workboxes and how we use them in our homeschool classroom! I also have some printable workbox tags.
I really hope this helps in planning your homeschool curriculum for 5th grade homeschooled students! Make sure to check out my other homeschool grade curriculum picks.