(A few of these might be affiliate links, where I might get back a tiny (tiny!) piece of anything you spend. Most are simply links to the resources themselves.)
This year, my kids range from 1st grade to 11th grade. And as usual, they are all based at home. I started typing the plans out and goodness, but the post got long! So I broke up the post into general school ideas, high school and middle school, and this post.
***If you aren’t interested in homeschooling, please just skip through these few posts. This is a hot topic in my neck of the world (and internet) right now!***
That’s one of the best things about homeschooling – each kid gets a specifically tailored experience!
Here are our plans:
6th grader: This guy is the definition of a hands on learner, but luckily, he can really buckle down and do (reasonable) seat work as needed. When there are choices, we bring out manipulatives and get him doing, though.
- Math: Teaching Textbooks 6: (He’s already part of the way through, so he’ll just continue on as he goes.) We also have hands on Montessori type materials for him.
- Language Arts: Open Tent Academy class, copywork, Writeshop book, and Spelling City, and TTRS Typing. More Montessori materials are ready for him for this subject, too.
- Science: Nature studies (in theory, supposed to be a co-op, but it’s going to just be us for now). We also love Mystery Doug and other science videos.
- History / social studies: following the election (C-Span does some good classroom materials on this, and in 2016 sent out a great map, but there are a lot of options!), Story of the World 4 (The Modern Age) – we have the books, the activity books, the CDs (I haven’t seen audiobooks, but please let me know if you have!), and the tests and answer keys. If you want to start at the beginning, you can do volume 1 (Ancient Times), volume 2 (the Middle Ages), and volume 3 (Early Modern Times).
- Art: A Year in My Life, Talya’s Art Studio (live classes for the whole family).
- Music: Hebrew in Harmony
- Physical Education / Gym: Tae kwon do practice (luckily we have a black belt in the house!) and running on the treadmill
- Health: First Aid course, reading through a book on puberty with me.
- Judaics: Gemara, Parsha, Hebrew, etc. : This is tougher because this kid doesn’t learn as well online. However we are doing some alephbet cards and hands-on Hebrew like this, plus Hebrew Montessori activities, workbooks, and more.
4th / 5th grade: (Yes, she’s right on the cusp) This child really, really misses her friends, so we are making sure to build in partners for her when we can. Most of the above applies to her, and once we can get her back out into the world, she will happily go back to all her clubs, lessons, and playdates.
- Math: Teaching Textbooks 4-5: (She’s already part of the way through, so he’ll just continue on as she goes.)
- Language Arts: Open Tent Academy class, copywork, Writeshop book, and Spelling City, and TTRS Typing.
- Science: Nature studies (in theory, supposed to be a co-op, but it’s going to just be us for now). We also love Mystery Doug and other science videos.
- History / social studies: following the election (C-Span does some good classroom materials on this, and in 2016 sent out a great map, but there are a lot of options!), Story of the World 4 (The Modern Age) – we have the books, the activity books, the CDs (I haven’t seen audiobooks, but please let me know if you have!), and the tests and answer keys. If you want to start at the beginning, you can do volume 1 (Ancient Times), volume 2 (the Middle Ages), and volume 3 (Early Modern Times).
- Art: A Year in My Life, Timberdoodle art kits like this one, Talya’s Art Studio (live classes for the whole family).
- Music: Hebrew in Harmony and piano lessons
- Physical Education / Gym: Tae kwon do practice (luckily we have a black belt in the house!) and running on the treadmill
- Health: First Aid course, reading through a book on puberty with me, helping with cooking and menu planning.
- Judaics: We live a Jewish life, so a lot of this comes from helping and experiencing. We are also doing some alephbet cards and hands-on Hebrew like this, plus Hebrew Montessori activities, workbooks, and more.
1st /2nd grade: (Yes, she’s right on the cusp, too.) Most of the above applies to her, although she does less. She’s very creative, but not a strong reader yet, so we’re taking that slowly and letting her build her confidence.
- Math: Teaching Textbooks 3 (She thinks she’s ready to start, so we’ll let her test that out. Most of her math will come from in-person lessons, an appropriate workbook, and Math Seeds.
- Language Arts: Open Tent Academy class, copywork, Writeshop book, and Reading Eggs.
- Science: Nature studies (in theory, supposed to be a co-op, but it’s going to just be us for now). We also love Mystery Doug and other science videos.
- History / social studies: She follows along and loves activities, but doesn’t sit in on everything her older siblings do. We’ll be following the election (C-Span does some good classroom materials on this, and in 2016 sent out a great map, but there are a lot of options!), Story of the World 4 (The Modern Age) – we have the books, the activity books, the CDs (I haven’t seen audiobooks, but please let me know if you have!), and the tests and answer keys. If you want to start at the beginning, you can do volume 1 (Ancient Times), volume 2 (the Middle Ages), and volume 3 (Early Modern Times).
- Art: Timberdoodle art kits like this one, daily art, Talya’s Art Studio (live classes for the whole family).
- Music: Hebrew in Harmony and singing lessons (we’re working on a lisp with her – just as soon as she gets some teeth back!)
- Physical Education / Gym: Tae kwon do practice (luckily we have a black belt in the house!) and walking on the treadmill
- Health: Help cooking, talking about health.
- Judaics: We live a Jewish life, so a lot of this comes from helping and experiencing. We are also doing some alephbet cards and hands-on Hebrew like this, plus Hebrew Montessori activities, workbooks, and more.
The post Homeschooling elementary school 2020-2021 first appeared on Organized Jewish Home.