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5th Grade

 

·       Tapestry of Grace

When our kids were in grades 1, 4, and 7 we began using a curriculum called Tapestry of Grace. TOG follows the “classical method” using a 4-year rotating cycle of Ancients, Middle Ages/Reformation, Early Modern and Modern. Based on a Christian worldview, this is the BEST curriculum I have ever used. Having all three of my girls using the same curriculum means that they all cover the same topics and subjects, but each grade level has age appropriate activities and expectations. Each Year Plan can be purchased in digital format (DE) as well as in print. You purchase the lesson plans (instructions) for Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4 and then use them over again as you go through each cycle. If you began this curriculum with your child in 1st grade you would go through the 4 year cycle 3 times before he graduates (going through Ancients in grades 1, 5, and 9). The reading books and reference materials will change with each grade level as you go through the curriculum, but you only have to purchase the lesson plans once. You can purchase additional pieces to go along with the curriculum for subjects like writing/grammar, map work, etc. We added our own math and science for the older students and the Tapestry lesson plans provided instructions for everything else...including hands on projects!

At first glance, it can be intimidating. I honestly looked at it for 3 years and didn’t think I could do it, but I eventually figured out that each Year Plan has everything in it for grades 1-12 and I would never “do it all” in one year.   We have now worked with Year Plans 1, 2, and 3 and I can honestly say that we are solid in our decision to use this curriculum until our last child graduates from high school. You even have access to online help including other users and the authors through the Tapestry Forum on their website. Check it out by clicking here...


Text Box: Tapestry of Grace website

 

  • America: An Integrated Curriculum Year 2 by Chris Roe

          www.christiannovelstudies.com/America/america.html 

 

My quick overview of the America Year 2 program:

Year 1 of the America program is a literature based history program. My girls and I all really enjoyed Year 1.  Year 2 is laid out a little differently and is not based on children’s novels as Year 1 is. Mrs. Roe did a great job, but we were not as thrilled with Year 2 as we were with year 1

 

We did learn much about America from the Civil War through modern times. If you are looking for an in depth study of America, we highly suggest the Integrated Curriculum from Mrs. Roe (Christian Novel Studies).

         

  • Singapore Math

          www.singaporemath.com

 

Lessons are done with your child from the Home Educator’s Manual. It tells you what to say and do. Then parent and child go through the Textbook examples together. Once the child demonstrates that they understand the concepts, the Textbook points you to the correct lesson in the workbook.

 

My thoughts on how it worked for us:

One word – fabulous.  Singapore Math is relatively inexpensive compared to some other math programs we checked out. While my oldest child was using Teaching Textbooks (see below), my younger 2 used Singapore Math. It is such a thorough program, that we decided to have the younger two not switch from it until they get to Pre-Algebra (at which point they will most likely take math at our co-op and then they will use whatever program the co-op is choosing to teach).

 

  • Rod and Staff Grammar

www.rodstaff.com

 

This is an EXCELLENT grammar program teaching grammar from the ground up. It is very thorough and while friends called it “dry” my kids had no problem with the lessons being at least interesting enough to get through without much fuss. We chose to use it for all kids through grade 6 and then they can handle just about anything without formal grammar training.

(Note: we used Rod and Staff for various kids in grades 4-6. When we began to use Tapestry of Grace the oldest was in grade 6 and the youngest was in grade 1 - at that time all kids went to the grammar suggest by TOG. For as long as we have used TOG, we have used the grammar series by Writer's Inc. Lessons are short and even colorful in the younger grades and all have learned grammar by using it in their writing rather than studying grammar for grammar's sake).

 

  • Teaching Textbooks

www.teachingtextbooks.com

 

After hearing a recommendation for this program at a homeschool support group meeting I had my daughter take the online placement test. Having used Singapore for the past few years, she breezed through the 5th grade exam online.  I contacted Teaching Textbooks and asked them what to do; they suggested giving her the 6th grade placement test. She actually did well on that, but we chose to start her off with the 6th grade version instead of jumping 2 years ahead to grade 7.  This program comes in both printed text and on CD (although we didn’t even break the shrink wrap on the printed version). My daughter went from sort of liking math to loving it. Each lesson had a short animated lecture, sample problems and then the actual working problems. As the student works through and checks each answer, he has the opportunity to get a hint and/or check each answer. When the student checks the answer, the computer walks them through EACH step of finding the answer. Nothing is left for the student to wonder or be confused about. The computer also keeps track of the student’s scores. With a quick glance at the grade book I knew exactly how my daughter was doing and what we might need to work on.  We worked it out so that she had to do odd or even problems and if the grade fell below 80 for 3 days in a row she had to do all problems for the next week. We both loved this program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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