Our 5th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices

I’ve already shared the preschool curriculum we’re using for my youngest son this school year, and today I’m sharing the 5th grade curriculum we’ve been using for my oldest son. While I had intended to share this post earlier in our school year, life happens. The good news is I can better speak to our 5th grade curriculum choices since we’ve had ample time to use them. This is also the time of year many mamas start thinking about curriculum choices for next school year, so I hope it ends up being timely after all.

This is our 7th year homeschooling, so I’ve had several years to look through various curriculum and piece together what is the best fit for my oldest. We’ve used curriculum that has been wonderful, and others that haven’t been the best fit.

Often in the homeschooling world there is talk of different methods of homeschooling. When we first started out I felt like I had to choose one, but just one approach doesn’t fit our family well. Thus, we are an eclectic homeschool family (which is technically a method too). I’ve seen eclectic defined different ways, but I mean we use a variety of styles that best suit our family. We use elements of Charlotte Mason, Unit Studies, and some Traditional for the most part.

So here’s what we’ve been using for 5th grade!

Language Arts

Within the past two years we’ve transitioned to using MasterBooks curriculum for some subject areas, and it’s really been a blessing to our homeschool. It is specifically designed for homeschoolers. For a good portion of language arts we’ve been using Language Lessons for a Living Education Level 5 by MasterBooks. It’s a Christian, Charlotte Mason-style curriculum, using a story-based approach. It incorporates grammar, spelling, vocabulary, writing, picture study, poetry, narration and some reading comprehension, and suggestions for independent reading.

It’s a 36-week course covering the span of a traditional school year, and it’s setup with 5 exercises per week so your child can do one exercise per day. It’s a gentle workload and a good fit if you’re teaching multiple children. The kids can work straight from the workbook, but I’ll share what we do instead.

We used Level 2 when my son was in 2nd grade and it just didn’t work for us at the time. But I decided to pick it back up again when he was in 4th grade, change my approach a bit, and it ended up working much better for us that year. Beforehand, I watched a few videos of how other moms used Language Lessons and it gave me some good ideas of how to adjust the curriculum to make it work better. It’s continued to work well for us this year too.

The curriculum comes with everything in one workbook, with perforated and hole-punched pages so it can easily be deconstructed or used as is. It also comes with a wonderful book called 101 Favorite Stories From the Bible that is used once a week. The teaching is integrated throughout the lessons and there is no separate teacher’s manual. For the sake of space and convenience this is nice, but I’ve found that it works much better for us to rip out the pages and organize everything in a binder with dividers. Giving my son one sheet at a time helps him focus better, and sometimes it was hard for him to write properly with the pages in the workbook. By pulling out the pages and organizing them in a binder, it also actually feels like I have a teacher’s manual that’s more usable. While it’s more work up front, this change made a world of difference in this curriculum suiting us better.

In my own research, I’ve read concerns about this curriculum being too gentle to be a stand alone language arts program. I think that depends on what your goals are and the learning styles of your children. For us, I’ve found it needs to be adapted some and supplemented with other materials to fill in the gaps.

My son came into this program a phenomenal reader so I wasn’t really looking for something heavy in reading comprehension. I was mainly looking to build his skills in grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and writing. He can get overwhelmed by too much written work, so the gentle aspect of this curriculum was actually an appeal for that reason.

Grammar: One part of this curriculum I like best is the grammar, and I find it to be sufficient. The past two years of using this has effectively built my son’s knowledge of things like parts of speech and correct punctuation.

Spelling: The spelling instruction isn’t very thorough, but I’ve found some ways to adapt it to make it more complete. There are a new set of words each week, and these words along with a worksheet are provided on the last day of each week. Since it makes more sense to me to practice a set of spelling words all week long, I’ve come up with a system that works for us and covers all five days of the week. The book also provides some ideas in the back of the book of how to practice spelling words.

My son writes flashcards of all 20 words on Monday and reviews them throughout the week. On Tuesday he practices the words on a dry-erase board. On Wednesday he completes the worksheet that comes with the lesson. On Thursday he uses the words in sentences and does some general review. And on Friday he takes a spelling test. We’ve also done things like practicing spelling words with magnet letters and sidewalk chalk.

Vocabulary: As with the spelling, I don’t find the teaching of vocabulary to be very prominent. There is an option for them to make a dictionary of some of their spelling words, but beyond that the teaching of vocab is very subtle. Kids pick up on vocabulary as they read, but I’m looking for other ways to expand vocabulary as we head into next school year.

Copywork: Once a week we read a story from 101 Favorite Stories From the Bible, and then my son completes the corresponding page of copywork and drawing a picture. The Bible book has beautiful pictures and I would recommend it even if you’re not using this curriculum,

Reading: My son is an avid reader, and we use some other things for sharpening reading skills that I will mention later. This curriculum does integrate come reading comprehension. At the beginning of some weeks there is a story. I read the story and then my son narrates the story back to me. It is also suggested that they do some independent reading.

Writing: There are some writing exercises and writing prompts woven throughout the book, but I decided my son would benefit from a more thorough writing program. He occasionally completes a Language Lessons writing exercise for extra practice, but we mainly focus on our other writing program that I will discuss a little ways down. Language Lessons also teaches the elements of a book report and he completes that portion.

Overall, this has been a good fit for my son with some slight adjustments and supplementation of other materials. It’s a manageable work load, realistic to teach with other kids in the mix, budget friendly, and incorporates Christian values. I plan to have my son continue on with Level 6 next year, and this is likely a curriculum I will also use with my youngest down the road.

Reading & Literature

This is an area where my son excels. He started reading at 3/4 years old and can now read an entire chapter book in a day or two. He worked through the All About Reading program in previous years, which he really enjoyed and I recommend. Since then I’ve been incorporating other activities to keep strengthening comprehension, critical thinking, etc.

He reads a variety of books every single day for leisure, but I also like to check in with him during school time to make sure he’s actually comprehending what’s he’s reading—and he is. I have him read out loud to me two days a week. He’s been reading through the 5th grade Abeka Readers. These books are a collection of short stories with some biblical themes and there are also comprehension questions at the end of each story, as well as a separate answer key for the parent/teacher. Abeka is a Christian based company, more traditional, and not a major source we’ve used for homeschooling—but I’ve been using some of their reading materials as a supplement for my son. My son reads and comprehends well beyond a 5th grade level, but the readers still benefit him and the content matches his emotional/maturity level.

We also use the Abeka Read & Comprehend Skills Sheets Grade 5. He does one page on Fridays. It’s a timed sheet where he reads a passage and then answers 10 multiple choice questions. They are quick comprehension exercises that he flies through and does well with. Though he could do a higher level, having some things like this that are easier can actually help build confidence. My son has plenty of opportunities to be challenged, but having some easier activities in between helps even things out.

During our morning time we do read aloud where I read from a chapter book. My boys love this and more than anything it’s just to foster a love for reading. We occasionally do some more in-depth literature studies and lapbooks, but it’s mostly about enjoying a good book together. Below is a picture of some of the books we’ve been reading throughout this year. Most of them we have enjoyed, and a few haven’t been our (or my) favorites. Also, please know that just because I share a picture of a book doesn’t mean that I endorse or like every page of the book. I’m fairly picky with books and do my best to select wholesome choices.

Unit Studies: We also do some unit studies to extend learning. For example, when we read through the George Washington Carver books we did a unit study on George Washington Carver and peanuts, because he did a lot of experiments with the peanut to better the lives of others. We read picture books about peanuts and George Washington Carver, learned about the life cycle of a peanut plant, talked about character because he was a man of good character, and had a fun time shelling peanuts and looking at them more closely with a magnifying glass. I learned so much I didn’t know, which is one of the things I love about homeschooling.

Writing

As I mentioned above, Language Lessons has some writing, but I wanted something with more instruction. We added WriteShop Junior Book E this year and this is a very unique curriculum that teaches writing with a multisensory approach—and I love that aspect. I also think it’s a good program for a reluctant writer, because it provides so many activities beyond just writing on paper. Also, the founder of WriteShop retired this year, so WriteShop has merged with Demme Learning.

Book E comes with a teacher’s guide, and an activity pack and timesaver pack that I’ve organized in a binder.

Level E has 10 lessons and each lesson covers a specific genre of writing (fable, adventure, narrative, humor, book report, etc.) over the course of three weeks at a pace of three days per week. Each lesson begins by going over a fold-n-go grammar exercise that is assembled ahead of time using a file folder. This part often reiterates things my son has learned in Language Lessons, and I think it’s a clever way to get them thinking about grammar elements that will help them write better. Then, over the course of the next few weeks there are a variety of activities such as games, other hands on activities, journal writing, and taking them through the full writing process from brainstorming to a final draft.

It’s a fantastic curriculum, very well thought out, and the teacher’s guide is so parent friendly–one of the best teacher’s manuals I’ve ever seen! I keep materials from the activity packet organized in a binder with dividers.

The only drawback is that it is somewhat parent intensive. There are some materials to prepare and organize ahead of time, and it does require the parent to do a lot of one-on-one with their child. It’s been working well for us, but it could be more challenging if you’re teaching writing to multiple children of different ages.

I didn’t take a separate picture of our handwriting curriculum, but I will explain that next.

Handwriting

My son started out learning manuscript/print in his early school years. I decided to wait to introduce him to cursive until his 4th grade year. He didn’t have much interest to learn it, but it’s still a skill I wanted to give him the opportunity to learn. He’s been working through A Reason for Handwriting Transition Workbook since last school year. Ignore the grade level because cursive can be learned at a variety of ages. We skipped the first half of the book because it’s just review of manuscript and we went straight to the teaching of cursive. We’ve been working through it at a slow pace, and he’s on course to likely finish the cursive portion of the book this school year. I like how it incorporates Scripture and it’s been a great fit for my son.

Math

We started out using Singapore Math in my son’s earlier years and eventually transitioned to using MasterBooks Math. While MasterBooks Math worked pretty well for my son, it doesn’t come with a teacher’s manual for the first 5 levels and I found it to be lacking in instruction. By the time they get to learning 2 and 3 digit multiplication and long division, I prefer something that helps me a little more as the teacher to teach the concepts. I also had concerns about it not being thorough enough.

I’ve researched just about every math homeschooling curriculum there is, and I don’t recommend changing math curriculums too frequently because it leaves more room for gaps. But I do think it’s important to make a change if something isn’t working.

After hours of looking through curriculum and contemplating using the updated version of Singapore Math, I decided to switch my son to BJU Math Grade 5 this school year. This curriculum is pretty much the opposite of MasterBooks math with the exception that it also uses a mastery approach and is Christian-based. It’s extremely thorough, more traditional, comes with more materials including not one but two huge teaching manuals (I was a bit shocked when they arrived in the mail), and leans more rigorous. It’s designed for the classroom, but is widely used by homeschoolers. There is a homeschool specific math kit, but the teacher manuals are not adapted for homeschoolers. I’m thankful to have a teacher’s manual, but it has some extra stuff that I find overwhelming and not necessary for the homeschool setting. The newest 4th edition also has a few built in STEM activities which was an appeal since my son likes that stuff.

Level 5 has an aviation theme that’s woven throughout the book and my son likes that. It’s mastery approach (which I prefer for math) and each chapter covers specific skills. It does spiral back to some previous concepts in future chapters, so they do get some review and expanding upon previously taught concepts.

I do some teaching instruction at the beginning of each lesson and then my son completes the worksheet both independently and with help when needed. There is a cumulative review and test at the end of each chapter.

Overall, it’s been an effective curriculum for my son and I have no worries about gaps because it’s extremely thorough. But because it’s extremely thorough and more rigorous, the amount of work can be overwhelming at times . And there’s not much wiggle room to spend extra time on a lesson if you want to finish the curriculum in one school year. It’s also more parent intensive.

So, I’ve adapted a few things to make it less overwhelming. Some of the worksheets have 30-40 problems, and I will often cut these back to a more manageable amount for my son. The kit also comes with some additional, optional activity worksheets for each lesson but we don’t use these. I wish these were an add-on option so that we don’t have to pay for something we’re not using. We also use various math manipulatives, but for sake of time I won’t go into detail here.

I’ve seen a lot of gains with this curriculum, but it’s taken some adjusting of the intensity level to make it more manageable.

This is also a pricier curriculum because it comes with a lot of materials. So I think this is one to really look into before buying to see if it really is good fit for your family.

History

We also use BJU for History and have been since my son was in 2nd grade This year we are using BJU Heritage Studies Grade 5. Just like the math, it is very thorough and teaches from a biblical worldview. The elementary levels progress through American History and my son has really grown to enjoy history. He also really enjoys reading historical fiction books.

It comes with a teacher’s manual, student textbook, worksheets, tests, an answer key, and a cd with additional material. Again, the teacher’s manual is written more for the classroom setting, but I don’t find that to be as overwhelming for the history. Like BJU Math it’s on the pricier side because it comes with a lot of materials, so that’s something to consider. I would caution that level 5 addresses some topics near the back of the book that you might want to read through first before deciding to teach.

My son follows along in his textbook while I read the lesson from my teacher’s manual. Each lesson is about three pages of reading, and there are oral comprehension questions for each page. Pausing after each page to check for understanding has been a helpful approach, versus going over all the comprehension questions at the end of the lesson. I also like how the lessons often tie in what the Bible has to say.

After we read the lesson together my son completes the worksheet(s). There are usually 1-2 worksheets per lesson, and like with the math, the workload tends to be on the heavier side. I’m not a fan of piling too many worksheets on my son at once. I adjust and do a combination of having him complete some of the worksheets by hand and some of them we just go over orally. There is also a chapter test at the end of each chapter.

Overall, this has given my son a good overview of American History and he’s enjoyed it. He comprehends well as we read through the lessons together.

The drawbacks have been too many worksheets and the number of lessons almost doubles by Grade 4, meaning history has to be done every day to get through it in a year. We did history 2-3 days a week in Grades 2 and 3 and that was a more realistic pace.

To be honest, I’ve wanted to move away from BJU history for awhile, but decided that since my son has done well with it, the consistency was good for him.

Despite some of the drawbacks, we’ve pushed through and stuck with this curriculum for elementary. Grade 5 wraps up the American History portion so it seems like a good stopping place for us. We will be transitioning to history with MasterBooks next year. I don’t regret choosing this curriculum, but it’s not one I would choose again in the future.

Geography

BJU Heritage Studies covers some geography and my son completes those portions, but it’s very traditional and worksheet focused. I decided to add some additional geography one day a week using Beautiful Feet Books Geography Through Literature. It is recommended for Grades 4-7, but they have other curriculum for a variety of ages. It’s a Charlotte Mason-inspired, literature based curriculum that comes with four books and four poster size maps for each book. Once a week, we do a lesson by reading a few pages from the book and then my son completes a portion of the large map. The story setting connects to the locations on the map and all four maps are different. I like how the children fill out the maps over time, and since my son likes to read I thought he would enjoy this. They also learn some history.

We’ve worked at a very slow place since I’m using it as a supplement for my son. We are just finishing up the second book and map. While my original plan was to finish this in a year, I’m considering keeping the last two books for 6th grade rather than rushing through them.

Science

My son loves science and is so gifted in this area. He reads so much and teaches me! Science was one of my least favorite subjects in school, but it’s been one of my most favorites to teach as a homeschool mama. We have loved all of the Christian-based science curriculum we have used over the years, and we teach science from a biblical young earth theory. Though this is not how I was taught in public schools, it has been redeeming to learn science alongside my son through the lenses of God as the Creator and what the Bible has to say. All of our main science curriculum over the years has supported this view.

We used Apologia for awhile and liked that. For 3rd grade we used Berean Builders Science in the Beginning, which is very experiments based. My son loves experiments so this was a hit with him. It can be used K-6 and teaches science concepts through each day of Creation, and I absolutely loved this approach. On a side note, Answers in Genesis is another good resource for a biblical view of science.

For 4th grade we transitioned to using the God’s Design series by MasterBooks and have continued on with it for 5th grade. This year we are working through God’s Design Heaven & Earth which can be used for grades 3-8. There is also a K-2 version if you have a younger sibling in the mix. Heaven & Earth covers weather & water, the Universe, and planet Earth in more depth. It comes with both a teacher’s guide and textbook. Each lesson has a reading portion, some discussion questions, and a follow-up activity or experiment. There’s an occasional worksheet, and it has quizzes and tests. It leaves room to bring in additional materials if desired or extend learning by doing more in-depth nature studies, as we have done at times.

It’s been the perfect fit for us right now, especially with a little brother in the mix.

Bible

The majority of our curriculum is Christian-based, so bible concepts are integrated throughout our day.

We’ve read various devotional books during morning time, and we’re currently reading through The Wonder of Creation: 100 More Devotions About God and Science by Louie Giglio. We’ve also read the other two devotionals in the series. They are short devos that integrate science concepts with biblical concepts, and since my oldest knows a lot about science it often reiterates things he knows. Both my boys have enjoyed these. Occasionally there’s some wording or story line that I don’t care for, but I’ve had lots of practice with improvising when needed.

We are also doing some of the Not Consumed Bible studies this year. You can checkout their website for more information, but we did the Obey study and are currently working through the My Brother’s Keeper study which is about loving your siblings God’s way. It comes with a journal booklet and there are different levels based on age so they can be done together as a family. My four-year-old also has his own journal for the My Brother’s Keeper study. It’s a combination of reading Bible passages, and reading and filling out the journals.

We are learning about the Attributes of God with a flashcard set by Driven by Grace. This is a quick thing we do in our morning time and we go through one attribute per week.

We also work on memorizing Bible verses and last year we did a study on learning how to pray from Thinking Kids Press.

We keep the NIRV Adventure Bible in our school room. This was my son’s first Bible, but he recently asked for something more grown-up. He now has the ESV Following Jesus Bible which he keeps in his room. We utilize both.

Art & Handicrafts

We don’t have just one art curriculum. We have a few of the Usborne Art books, we’ve done some handicrafts from the Wild & Free Handcrafts book, and we’ve used some lessons from Masterpiece Society in the past including some of the artist studies. I find lots of ideas online, Pinterest, etc. We also have some drawing books we use sometimes. I also give both my boys opportunities to free paint, free color, etc. I post pictures in our morning time area for art appreciation picture studies.

We usually do some kind of an art project on Tuesdays and a more specific handicraft on Thursdays.

Music Appreciation

We’ve been using SQUILT for music appreciation the past two years and really enjoy it. It stands for Super Quiet UnInterupted Listening Time. We went through the Meet the Composers flashcards last year, and this year we are going through the Meet the Instruments flashcards. In addition to the flashcards, you also get access to curated videos that allow your children to learn about the various composers and instruments. They get to watch real life orchestras perform pieces. We don’t use much screen time in our school time, but this has been beneficial learning for both my boys and a simple introduction.

There are also more in-depth composer studies, seasonal items like Christmas carols/hymns, and variety of other options at SQUILT. I’m so glad I found this through another mom’s blog!

We’ve also been reading through the book Then Sings My Soul. It tells the stories behind some of the famous hymns. It’s actually more of an adult books, but I’ve seen other homeschoolers use it so I thought we’d try it. It’s something that might become a little more meaningful as my boys grow, but we’ve read a few.

Poetry

On Wednesdays we have a special poetry tea time around the kitchen table. I wasn’t sure how this would go with boys, but this is something they look forward to each week. We also don’t always actually drink tea, but we have a variety of warm drinks. My youngest only likes hot cocoa right now, but my oldest almost always has tea. I set out a spread of special food and we read some poetry along with a variety of other books.

We’ve read through some of the Poetry for Kids series, A Child’s Garden of Verses, Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young, Poetry Teatime Companion, and we’re currently reading some spring poems I found from Etsy shops. Again, use your discretion to choose poetry that suits your family.

So there’s an overview of our main 5th grade curriculum!

We also use some other materials as well. We do some other unit studies/nature studies some years when time allows, and I often find printables from Etsy shops or other homeschool moms who have online shops. A lot of learning also naturally happens when my boys play outside, and now that it’s warming up I hope to get back into the habit of nature walks.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. And more than anything, I hope this is helpful to other homeschooling families. It’s hard to believe we are wrapping up my firstborn’s 5th grade year, and writing this really made me reflect on just how much learning has happened over the years.

I’m happy to answer questions, and please pass this along to other homeschoolers who might be interested!