Spring is nearly here and for many of us, that means it's time to brainstorm and plan out the upcoming year in our homeschools! What are you considering or debating in regards to your currcula choices or homeschool plans??
I too have struggled with the age difference between my girls. We've always had to do LA separately because my oldest is advanced in the area and my youngest struggles. Even group subjects like History and Science I know I am going to have to separate them soon. Like you said my oldest is ready for more and my younger daughter is getting to the point where some of it is going over her head. I think next year will be the last year we have those subjects listed as group subjects. The nice thing about that though is I've noticed my oldest daughters work is becoming a lot more independent, which I think will be beneficial as it leaves more time available for me to work with my 7yr old and 4yr old. AAS is an upfront cost, but its also something you will be able to pass down to your younger children, so there is a potential cost savings there. That's how I often approach pricier curriculum options.
Yes, I'm wondering when we will have to separate science and history... As of right now, I'm able to beef up lessons in those content areas for my oldest, mostly with extra reading. But I'm not sure how long that will work. Great point about AAS!
Hi Kaela! I'm also a second generation homeschool mom of five. Next year my kids will be 6th grade, 4th, 2nd, and I also have a 4 year old and 1 year old. We use history quest(just the story book not the study guide) and curiosity chronicles for history. I also use layers of learning which we also love. I'm trying brave writer next year for language arts. I feel a lot of pressure choosing a language arts program and so far have not like any that I've tried in previous years. Thank you for the video!
I have been interested in a new LA curriculum called Hearth and Story. I think we are going to use it for 5th grade next year. We will probably continue using Lithouse Learning book studies for my younger student.
Have you seen Blossom and Root Grade 5 Language Arts? I think your eldest might really enjoy it! I’m not so keen on their language arts in younger grades and feel it’s more literature guides, but from 2nd/3rd I think it’s more of a language arts curriculum.
I agree! It looks great! My main concern is that my daughter might not be able to keep up with all the literature scheduled. But it's worth considering!
Grade 5 is still a little while away for us so I don’t have any experience of that particular level, but from what you’re describing she wants, I think maybe she might be very keen to work through it! I think B&R LA works best when the years theme/ book selections resonate with the child. Definitely worth looking into, first thing I thought of when you mentioned her wants right now anyway! Again, no experience of that level, but generally if they read just a chapter of whichever book each school day, there’s usually a day or two left to enjoy poetry. 😉
We did curiosity chronicles for ancient and my daughter hated it. It unfortunately made her think she hated history. Historyquest has won her over this year for medeival but she is adamant she wants to stick with world history. She is also going into 5th. I have no idea what we are going to do. Curiosty chronicles is obviously out, we want strictly secular so story of the world is out. She loves the look or big history project but I'm afraid its too light and I'm not sure I want to build that up myself. I'm considering it though, and possibly using it with Torchlight or Build Your Library and lining it up with those literature choices etc. But that seems like so much work. Plus I need to find science and writing that work for us. We are using guest hollow la and beowulf grammar but it is definitely too light on writing, and we need to do different lit study. Grade 5 might be our biggest challenge, planning wise, yet.
I hear ya! I finally feel like we have momentum with writing, that was such a pain point for me over the last year! Have you tried out IEW or Write By Number for writing?
I actually have Story of the World checked out from my library right now. The first volume is definitely not secular and the second volume is secular-ish, but the third and fourth volume seem to be completely secular. I personally would need to edit/omit several chapters for being eurocentric/whitewashed, but I may end up using volume 3 (combined with HQ US) if I can't find anything better. Might be worth looking at your library to see if you could make them work for you 🤷♀️.
@OdetoAbode we are happy with Guest Hollow language arts except for the writing. I think we are going to add Blossom and Root level 4 for literature and it seems like it will add some writing in that we are lacking. But I will check out lithouse. I haven't heard of that one. We have not tried formal writing programs yet. We did nightzookeeoer, which was not for us. I will look at IEW. Write by number didn't seem like something that would work well for us. Oakmeadow is definitely out of my price range. But thanks for all these options. Looking forward to checking them out.
We're in a similar spot re: history. We've liked HQ's first two levels, but I'm not impressed with the US level. It's so light! Both of the world history resources I've looked at (Curiosity Chronicles and Story of the World) cover more US history than HQ US does. HQ is also planning to do early modern and modern in one final volume, and I'm now expecting it to be far too light to stand on its own 😕. We tried Curiosity Chronicles for Ancients and part of Medieval (as an addition to HQ), and it made my kids cry. They hated the info-dump-disguised-as-dialogue style, and they had a really hard time processing and retaining any CC info (several of us have SPD, fyi). I'm also irritated that it has such big jumps in difficulty between levels, but I love how inclusive it is! I know lots of people love it, and I hope it works well for y'all!
Ugh. I'm so nervous about the CC style. Hoping my kids like it... I am definitely not in the space to plan out our own history - at least not this year!
@OdetoAbode if you haven't found it yet, CC has a sample you can download of a few chapters of material (it's the "complete preview" under everything else). Might be worth trialing before you buy the whole thing.
@@OdetoAbode Yes, the complete preview download includes the intro and first 3 chapters of the audio book (so it's 7 audiofiles, plus pdfs of all of the other pieces)
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Spring is nearly here and for many of us, that means it's time to brainstorm and plan out the upcoming year in our homeschools! What are you considering or debating in regards to your currcula choices or homeschool plans??
What about incorporating a book club for your oldest??? Mary Hanna Wilson?? So so good!
@@inquisitivemindsacademy That's a great suggestion!
I too have struggled with the age difference between my girls. We've always had to do LA separately because my oldest is advanced in the area and my youngest struggles. Even group subjects like History and Science I know I am going to have to separate them soon. Like you said my oldest is ready for more and my younger daughter is getting to the point where some of it is going over her head. I think next year will be the last year we have those subjects listed as group subjects. The nice thing about that though is I've noticed my oldest daughters work is becoming a lot more independent, which I think will be beneficial as it leaves more time available for me to work with my 7yr old and 4yr old. AAS is an upfront cost, but its also something you will be able to pass down to your younger children, so there is a potential cost savings there. That's how I often approach pricier curriculum options.
Yes, I'm wondering when we will have to separate science and history... As of right now, I'm able to beef up lessons in those content areas for my oldest, mostly with extra reading. But I'm not sure how long that will work.
Great point about AAS!
Hi Kaela! I'm also a second generation homeschool mom of five. Next year my kids will be 6th grade, 4th, 2nd, and I also have a 4 year old and 1 year old. We use history quest(just the story book not the study guide) and curiosity chronicles for history. I also use layers of learning which we also love. I'm trying brave writer next year for language arts. I feel a lot of pressure choosing a language arts program and so far have not like any that I've tried in previous years. Thank you for the video!
ELA is tough!! I hope you like Brave Writer. It wasn't for us.
Are you using Layers of Learning for History?
@OdetoAbode Yes. There are free student pages you can download and they also have digital content on their website under "Resources".
All of Layers Of Learning subjects have worked well for us but the writing workshop isn't a complete ELA so I don't really use that one a lot.
I love curiosity chronicles vs history quest!
I hope we enjoy it! I'm worried about the writing style difference
Baby girl in the background is so sweet!❤
I had to edit out so much of her screaming 😅🤣
Yes just ❤ . MashaAllah!
Maybe you could do a year of geography while you are waiting for History Quest
Not a bad idea! We tend to tie in geography, right along with our history units, but we could do more intensive geography
layers-of-learning.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/lol-units-at-a-glance-3.pdf
@@OdetoAbodethat is what we are doing for 5th and 2nd. Around the World. Unit study style (for the most part).
I have been interested in a new LA curriculum called Hearth and Story. I think we are going to use it for 5th grade next year. We will probably continue using Lithouse Learning book studies for my younger student.
You're ahead of the game 😜
Have you seen Blossom and Root Grade 5 Language Arts? I think your eldest might really enjoy it! I’m not so keen on their language arts in younger grades and feel it’s more literature guides, but from 2nd/3rd I think it’s more of a language arts curriculum.
I agree! It looks great! My main concern is that my daughter might not be able to keep up with all the literature scheduled. But it's worth considering!
Grade 5 is still a little while away for us so I don’t have any experience of that particular level, but from what you’re describing she wants, I think maybe she might be very keen to work through it! I think B&R LA works best when the years theme/ book selections resonate with the child. Definitely worth looking into, first thing I thought of when you mentioned her wants right now anyway! Again, no experience of that level, but generally if they read just a chapter of whichever book each school day, there’s usually a day or two left to enjoy poetry. 😉
@@vickyb3561 nice! Yes, it all depends on if the book list interests or resonates with her. I'll take a look at what they have scheduled for 5th.
💯 agree about LA, way too many moving parts.
All about learning just came out with a spelling program! So interested in it. Any insight or opinions on the program yet?
I purchased the newly revised All About Spelling level 1 for my upcoming Second Grader... I'll update when we get some time with it!
Hello! Will you be incorporating Write By Number in your curriculum? Thank you.
Yes! We're still enjoying WBN. It's not going anywhere!
We did curiosity chronicles for ancient and my daughter hated it. It unfortunately made her think she hated history. Historyquest has won her over this year for medeival but she is adamant she wants to stick with world history. She is also going into 5th. I have no idea what we are going to do. Curiosty chronicles is obviously out, we want strictly secular so story of the world is out. She loves the look or big history project but I'm afraid its too light and I'm not sure I want to build that up myself. I'm considering it though, and possibly using it with Torchlight or Build Your Library and lining it up with those literature choices etc. But that seems like so much work.
Plus I need to find science and writing that work for us. We are using guest hollow la and beowulf grammar but it is definitely too light on writing, and we need to do different lit study. Grade 5 might be our biggest challenge, planning wise, yet.
I hear ya! I finally feel like we have momentum with writing, that was such a pain point for me over the last year! Have you tried out IEW or Write By Number for writing?
I also really like LitHouse Learning for composition + lit study
I actually have Story of the World checked out from my library right now. The first volume is definitely not secular and the second volume is secular-ish, but the third and fourth volume seem to be completely secular. I personally would need to edit/omit several chapters for being eurocentric/whitewashed, but I may end up using volume 3 (combined with HQ US) if I can't find anything better. Might be worth looking at your library to see if you could make them work for you 🤷♀️.
Have you considered Oak Meadow for Language Arts or History? I definitely can't afford it, but I hear it's great
@OdetoAbode we are happy with Guest Hollow language arts except for the writing. I think we are going to add Blossom and Root level 4 for literature and it seems like it will add some writing in that we are lacking. But I will check out lithouse. I haven't heard of that one. We have not tried formal writing programs yet. We did nightzookeeoer, which was not for us. I will look at IEW. Write by number didn't seem like something that would work well for us. Oakmeadow is definitely out of my price range. But thanks for all these options. Looking forward to checking them out.
Can u start including links in the description for curriculum u have or plan to use plz!!
Yes! I almost always do include links. I'm sorry I missed this one. I'll add them now ☺️
Added!
We're in a similar spot re: history. We've liked HQ's first two levels, but I'm not impressed with the US level. It's so light! Both of the world history resources I've looked at (Curiosity Chronicles and Story of the World) cover more US history than HQ US does. HQ is also planning to do early modern and modern in one final volume, and I'm now expecting it to be far too light to stand on its own 😕.
We tried Curiosity Chronicles for Ancients and part of Medieval (as an addition to HQ), and it made my kids cry. They hated the info-dump-disguised-as-dialogue style, and they had a really hard time processing and retaining any CC info (several of us have SPD, fyi). I'm also irritated that it has such big jumps in difficulty between levels, but I love how inclusive it is! I know lots of people love it, and I hope it works well for y'all!
Ugh. I'm so nervous about the CC style. Hoping my kids like it... I am definitely not in the space to plan out our own history - at least not this year!
@OdetoAbode if you haven't found it yet, CC has a sample you can download of a few chapters of material (it's the "complete preview" under everything else). Might be worth trialing before you buy the whole thing.
@@EclecticHomeschoolShelf Do you know if they have a sample of the audio book? That would be most helpful
@@OdetoAbode Yes, the complete preview download includes the intro and first 3 chapters of the audio book (so it's 7 audiofiles, plus pdfs of all of the other pieces)
@@EclecticHomeschoolShelf Thanks! I'll download that later today
History quest has a modern history bridge
That's meant to be a bridge into their more advanced history curriculum. I don't think it's written in the same style as History Quest.