Today ended our awesome, relatively easy-going, productive, 5th grade year. Berry took her last final exam in Math. I am so excited about being done, and happy about having her feel so proud of her accomplishments this year.
We are also excited about next year’s curriculum. I have ordered it all, received it all, and not reviewed it all…yet.
However, since I am familiar with all the curriculum and want to share a list of the things we like.
We will be using Math-U-See again this year. I like it because there is a hands on aspect using manipulatives that grab the attention of my kiddo who thinks math in 3-D. It is also written in a way that even I can understand and teach. That is a miracle because math confuses me.
I have chosen Apologia for science again this year. I LOVE APOLOGIA!! This year we will be covering Land Animals of the Sixth Day. We get to cover carnivores, marsupials, primates, and things that I can’t even pronounce yet. I love the journaling and experiments. It also gives a lot of excuses to go to museums. I loved the ocean studies being here in the land of ocean, but I will love this unit just as much!!
My new favorite line of studies is Learning Adventures. This year is Book 3, Westward and Onward. This will cover our language arts, literature, history and bible. We will be covering the new testament this year, which I love because it is perfect for where Berry is at. She will be doing a lot more creative writing this year and I am excited for that because her imagination is amazing! She is excited because History will cover going West, as the title implies and she loves that period in time! We will continue the state notebook and start a new book covering the presidents. There are a few other projects along the way. Fine arts will be included and I have chosen several of those projects tagged. We will be reading a lot of good literature. Newbery Award Winners;
- Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
- Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
- A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos
- Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham.
The Newbery Honor book list includes:
- Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
- Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry
The other books include:
- By The Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleischman
- American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenburg
- Streams to the River, River to the Sea by Scott O’Dell
- Bound for Oregon by Jean Van Leewen
- Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The one extra that I am really, seriously, most excited by is a series developed by friends of ours who are living in Papua Indonesia. They are raising 4 boys in the remote jungle and the boys take us on a journey through their wild world. I am so tempted to watch these, but I definitely want to see them with Berry. I can’t wait to see the excitement and wonder that she will have.
We will continue the state notebook and start a new book covering the presidents. There are a few other projects along the way. Fine arts will be included and I have chosen several of those projects tagged.
So there you have it. Our school year in a nutshell. Now, comes my part, going through each lesson, working up the lesson plans, printing all the grade sheets, coming up with a daily plan. I will be glad to have it done so that we can play all summer!!
