Homeschool Curriculum 2020-2021

Us Watsons are new to the homeschool world. When I began homeschool research (I’m an avid researcher), I was unfamiliar with and overwhelmed by the number of homeschool curriculums offered. I was overwhelmed by the methods, styles, and literature.

Once I got over my initial shock, I delved into what method would work well for our family. I chose Charlotte Mason method with a touch of traditional and unschooling. It was not long after I made that decision that I began my curriculum hunt. After reviewing spines on Amazon and various blogs, I stumbled upon SEVERAL You Tube video reviews. Amazon reviews and vlogs from real homeschool parents (linked below) helped me to decide which books to get for our children.

Homeschool Vloggers that I love:

• Homeschool On
• Homeschool 101
• The Olgesby Ohana
• Project Happy Home
• The Waldock Way

So, without further ado, these are our homeschool curriculum picks for our 2020-2021 premiere homeschool year!!

GROUP SUBJECTS

I teach these subjects to both kids. I am not surprised that the kids look forward to them the most because these are more interactive and engaging that our other subjects.

SCIENCE

• Scientific Connections through Inquiry – Level 3

HISORY

• History Quest: Early Times
• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History (required reading for HQ Early Times)

ART

• Art Lab
• A Survival Kit for the Elementary/Middle School Art Teacher
• Complete Art Curriculum Activities Kit

NATURE

• Exploring Nature with Children

NOVEL STUDY

• Sarah, Plain & Tall
• The Boxcar Children
• Number the Stars
• Where the Red Fern Grows

SIXTH GRADE CURRICULUM

While my sixth grader was bummed about missing her first year of middle school, she is currently enjoying the texts that I chose for her. I landed on Masterbooks for both kids for ELAR and math. I felt that these books both did a good job of explaining the concepts, and I love that the students narrate what they learned at the end showing mastery of concepts. I asked Harper to choose a foreign language elective because I felt that would be easiest for her to kind of learn on her own (with my help of course). She chose French which is great because I took 3 years of French in high school, tutored for 1 year, and then I took a year of French in college. I'm a bit rusty, but I'm using this as review.

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Language Lessons for a Living Education, Level 6
• The 10 Minute Bible Journey (required reading for LanguageLessons, Level 6)
• Evan-Moor Daily 6-Trait Writing, Grade 6

MATH

• Math Lessons for a Living Education, Level 6 Set

FRENCH

• The Everything Kids’ Learning French Book
• French 1, Grades K-5 (Skill Builders)

THIRD GRADE CURRICULUM

Sawyer was actually super happy to be homeschooling. He misses his friends from public school, and he misses his Dyslexia teacher, but I think homeschooling is a good fit for him, even if he is ornery at times. He is ADHD with moderate Dyslexia and Dysgraphia, so I tried to find a curriculum that would best fit him, his interests as well as offer a quick, efficient form of learning. So far, Masterbooks fits the bill, but we will see over the course of the year. I started him on level 2 rather than level 3 for language arts because he is behind in his reading and writing. Right now we are in review, and he's catching on quickly.

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Language Lessons for a Living Education, Level 2
• 101 Favorite Stories from the Bible (required reading forLanguage Lessons, Level 2)
• Handwriting Book for Boys
• Cursive Writing Practice Book

MATH

• Math Lessons for a Living Education, Level 3
  

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

For both kids, I also chose supplemental materials. These materials are easy enough for dad to take on in case I am sick or for the kids to complete when they are bored during the daytime while mom and dad are working. 

• 180 Days of Social Studies, Grade 6
• 180 Days of Science, Grade 6
• 180 Days of Social Studies, Grade 3

I hope that these curriculum picks are helpful to you. We went with a blend of spines to achieve the perfect fit for our kiddos. We are on week two of our homeschool year, and the kids are enjoying these materials thus far. 

In my next few posts, I will share reference books and materials that we love using this year as well as supplies that we cannot live without.  

Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this and other posts are affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, I may make a small commission. I only link to items that are tried and true for our family. I will not link to items or services that I do not like. The commission I make, if any, is minuscule.