6th Grade Home School Curriculum
Here is my TOP 6th Grade Home School Curriculum picks for homeschooling a 6th-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 6.
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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 6th grade as I home educated all three of my children in 6th grade! Well, I have to be honest here and say, my son actually never went through 6th grade, he skipped 6th grade and went directly to Grade 7 when we were home educating. So an interesting fact about him is that he never went through 6th grade!
Keep in mind at this level, Grade 6, 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 6, the homeschool parental goal is to have one Parent at Elbow subject, one Hovering Parent subjects, and the rest of the subjects will be Assign and Check. I always select the most difficult subject for the child to be PEW. For instance, usually, I would be a PEW parent for Math. The HOP I would select a subject that had a lot of reading content, so I could help alleviate the burden of all the reading. Next, I would 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.
6th Grade Home School Curriculum
Math
Saxon Math 7/6, and Pre-Algebra (depending on your own child)
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 6th grade and none of them completed the same Math during 6th 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
Shurley Grammar (Level 7) OR Editor in Chief Level 1, Wordly Wise 3000 Grade 6 & Think Analogies, Level B, Book 1 OR BJU Press Grade 6 Vocabulary + Spelling
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use it?
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. I recommend going through level 6 in Shurley Grammar. You can go ahead and use level 7 if your children like it, but I will warn you it is labor-intensive, very repetitive, and monotonous. My two oldest children despised level 7! It was torture.
We used BJU Press Grade 6 English, Vocabulary, and Spelling for my youngest daughter and I really wish I had discovered this curriculum earlier! My friend uses Editor in Chief Level 1, Wordly Wise 3000 Grade 6 & Think Analogies, Level B, Book 1 for both of her children and they really enjoy it!
Spelling
Spelling: The Grammar of Spelling OR Soaring with Spelling
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use it? Yes and No
The Grammar of Spelling was a new Spelling curriculum we tried. I’m not very successful with Spelling curriculum. My girls DO not like it. But - they don't like any spelling curriculum I have ever purchased. They simply do not like spelling, that is all there is to it.
I do like Soaring with Spelling better and so do my daughters.
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 Nationss
Grade 2 —> Mystery of History Volume II - The Early Church and the Middle Ages
Grade 3 —> Mystery of History Volume I - Creation to the Resurrection
Week 1–4 Student Reader PDF
Week 1-4 Companion Guide Activities
Grade 4 —> Mystery of History: Volume 4: Wars of Independence to Modern Times
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.
Literature/Composition:
Classical Composition III: Cheria/Maxim
Does it work? YES
Will I continue to use it? Yes
This is a supplement textbook in addition to the following reading books. This textbook is great if you are taking the Literature Composition path versus the English/Vocabulary path. Don’t do both, simply select which path works best for your family and your children. These reading books are read in collaboration with the Omnibus textbook. Each reading book will be read along with the time frame and correlate to the area of historical studies.
These books are read in conjunction with the Omnibus: Mystery of History Volume II - The Early Church and the Middle Ages textbook. Grade 6: Twice Freed, The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow, Cathedral, Morning Star of the Reformation, Augustine, The Farmer's Boy, Beorn the Proud, Door in the Wall, Ink on His Fingers, The Kite Fighters, Son of Charlemagne
READ ALOUD: Beowulf: A Hero's Tale Retold, The Story of Joan of Arc, Favorite Medieval Tales, The Hobbit, Shakespeare's Macbeth
These books are read with the Omnibus: Mystery of History Volume III The Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations Vol III Grade 6: The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt By Day, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood, Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Young Sam Collier by Gail Langer Karwoski, Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose, A The Tinker’s Daughter by Wendy Lawton, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Cecile: Gates of Gold, I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton De Trevino, A Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb, Dangerous Journey by Oliver Hunkin
English/Vocabulary/Language
BJU Press English Grade 6 Homeschool Kit (Second Edition)
By BJU Press
Teach your students grammar and help them develop writing skills that will last a lifetime. BJU Press' guided approach helps you to utilize the entire writing process effectively, and provides detailed instruction in grammar, personal narratives, editorials, essays, reports, fiction, reference skills and more.
Kit Includes:
- Teacher's Edition & Toolkit CD
- Student Worktext
- Tests & Answer Keys
BJU Press English Grade 6
Does it work? yes
Will I continue to use it? yes and no
If you prefer to not use the Classical Composition Book II, I would recommend BJU Press English Grade 6. 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 curriculum.
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 2: A Bible Course for Children
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 in Grade 5, your child will move on to GGC NT Book 1. The student will complete this series in Grade 6 with the GGC NT Book 2.
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
Logos Latin 4 + Quizlet for studying (https://quizlet.com/Logospress) Simply scroll down to the appropriate level to study Latin 4 vocabulary.
Does it work? yes
Will I continue to use? Yes
We began with Latin in Grade 1 and have continued ever since. My daughters utilized the Logos Latin textbooks, Latin is a struggle - BUT, it does help SO MUCH with grammar and writing! Latin correlates with Shurley Grammar as well. There is a teacher’s manual so it is super simple to teach!!
Art & Music
Art & Music: Violin, Private Lessons and Chamber Orchestra for my 4th grader & 6th grader. Art classes at the academy, Study of Art Through the Masters - Drawing
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use? Yes
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.