This year is usually stressful for students in public school. It's the first year of switching classes for every subject. It's the first time using lockers. From what I remember of my older girls when they were in public school, it was a year of intense homework. I remember saying, "I think every teacher believes their class is the only one the child has." It was not uncommon for them to have hours and hours of homework, often going well past bedtime.
And, other than causing a lot of stress, it was often unnecessary. Now that I have been homeschooling for a number of years, and have researched how children learn, the massive amount of homework only fulfilled the purpose of seeing if the child could handle the stress.
Homeschooling sixth grade is not like that. Yes, the workload increases yearly. The difficulty grows. But, children are meant to learn line upon line, precept upon precept, slowly and steadily. Occasionally there will be giant leaps in skills. In between first and second grade, the girl that is now in sixth grade jumped several reading levels in one summer just because she read all the time. For the most part, however, steady growth is best. Stressing out a child until they are exhausted or in tears doesn't promote learning.
This year, my daughter is continuing in Heart of Dakota, Creation to Christ. Last year, she finished up unit 12 before we stopped for the year. She will use the program, with extensions, at half-pace to complete the year of history, bible, and science. I am keeping her half-speed so that she can focus on some other skills. I have typing planned, though she can't begin it until we get our computer monitor repaired or replaced. I also want to focus on reading a lot of really great books.
So, here are our plans for sixth grade: (All are subject to change, if they don't work out for us.)
Math: Math is always difficult for my girl. She struggles. I am using a mixture of things. She does math twice a day. I split it up so she isn't overwhelmed. We are using Ace Paces math, Life of Fred, and Easy Peasy Math. I will also use some Khan Academy videos for extra explanations when needed. Ace has so much practice that, once my daughter has mastered a concept, I may skip some problems. I have noticed, however, that she understands the explanations very well. We have used many other things, and much of it brought her to tears or it wasn't enough practice for her. With the games on Easy Peasy and the stories in Life of Fred, the concepts stick more.
English: Grammar.... Charlotte Mason liked to wait until a child was a bit older before she introduced grammar. Personally, I introduced it much earlier through the years, and it went well. My youngest just isn't retaining as I would like with the traditional methods. So, I am taking a break. We are using Queen's Language Lessons this year. I do have an Ace Pace or two mixed in a very slow way where the concepts are not crammed with three or four pages per day. I may continue onto next year, depending on her retention. A more gentle year of grammar, mixed with copywork and picture studies helped one of my older daughters. When we went back to grammar study in a more serious way, her brain had matured and she had spent a year approaching grammar gently and with more writing and less drill.
Good grammar skills are important for writing, but many times these skills are somewhat picked up when a child is well read. For some students, this is enough. For others, they need more structure. For me, I want to see the grammar study work its way into writing. I want a steady build, but sometimes we hit a wall. I have learned that when we hit a wall, pull back and take some time to let the brain mature. In the meantime, we are going to work on some writing.
Spelling: We don't do a formal spelling program. Instead, we do the dictation that is located in the back of the Heart of Dakota guides. Much more than spelling, it works on grammar, sentence structure, and grammar also. It is very effective.
Literature: I use several things for literature. First, the history and science have a ton of literature as Heart of Dakota uses living books. I am also using Heart of Dakota's Drawn into the Heart of Reading. I rotate that with Ace's Literature and Creative Writing. I also really like Easy Peasy's writing lessons and may use some of them.
Writing: Coinciding with literature, Ace's Literature and Creative Writing contains a lot of writing instruction. Also, Creation to Christ teaches how to write written narrations, teaching about how to write effectively about the history reading completed. Probably my favorite writing materials that I use are the McGuffey readers. More than just a reader, when used effectively, these little gems contain spelling, vocabulary, copywork, narration, and so much more. I learned so many ideas about how to utilize the McGuffey's from Sherry Hayes at Mom Delights. They really are like a potent multivitamin for the mind, and only take a few minutes per day.
History and Science: Heart of Dakota's Creation to Christ holds the majority of these lessons. This also includes Bible and Geography.
Music: Megan will begin once again her piano lessons in September. She spent the summer participating in the musical, Newsies. I also plan to add in music once a week from Easy Peasy. The lessons are fun and engaging. Again, I have to wait until I have repaired or replaced my computer monitor.
Art: Heart of Dakota's Creation to Christ has Megan painting a scene once a week, bringing Robert Frost poetry to life. She also will be drawing with Draw and Write through History, drawing in her science, and illustration some of her McGuffey. Art is central for my girl. She is naturally artistic.
Typing: Meg will be using Typing Instructor for Kids when the computer monitor is repaired or replaced.
These are the plans for the sixth grade. We are looking forward to an exciting year.
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