Our 2017/2018 Relaxed Homeschool Curriculum for 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Grade

I’ll be homeschooling nine kids this year. That may sound like a lot, but it’s actually one less than last year since my oldest daughter became my first homeschool graduate.

Sniff.

As stressful as people think that may sound, it truly isn’t as chaotic as people think. Busy? Sure. I’d be worried about any homeschool that wasn’t busy. But believe it or not, homeschooling is actually pleasurable for me. 

If you’re wondering how that’s even possible, I’ve got a two-word answer:

Relaxed homeschooling.

Because of my former experience with unschooling, I am well aware of how naturally learning will come if we simply let it happen.

With that being said, here is:

Our Relaxed Homeschool Curriculum for 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Grade (aka- the Middles)

(This post contains affiliate links.)

In Sarah Mackenzie’s book, Teaching from Rest, she makes the statement that curriculum isn’t something that you buy; it’s something that you do. I wholeheartedly agree with her, and it is with this in mind that I approach my children’s education.

Let’s get started.

Language Arts:

I do not use any textbooks or workbooks for this subject for this particular age group. (Watch my video on that here.) All of the essentials of language arts will be incorporated naturally through:

• Copywork
• Read-Alouds
• Notebooking
• Keeping a journal
• Independent reading, and
• Unit study activities

Math:

My 4th and 5th graders will be working their way through the rest of the Life of Fred elementary series.

My 6th grader will be finishing up the last couple of books in the elementary series and then will move onto the Life of Fred Intermediate Series.

My 8th grader will be working through Life of Fred Fractions to Pre-Algebra.

Bible:

We don’t use a Bible curriculum. We simply read the Bible together, discuss it, and do devotions together using the Kids’ Devotional Bible.

German:

This is something we started doing together last year just for fun, and the kids really enjoy it. We use the free Duolingo website!

Everything else:

Yup. You read that right. We don’t do anything else separately, but rather do them more holistically using read-alouds and unit studies. The unit study resources we’ll be using this year are Time Capsule: Medieval England, Beautiful Feet Books, and my beloved KONOS.

Believe it or not, that’s it! I fully believe that learning happens best when approached simply and holistically. Stay tuned over the next week as I share our 2017/2018 relaxed homeschool curriculum for the Littles and the Teens.

And in case you missed it, I’m so excited to announce that I’ve started a Facebook group specifically for homeschool moms (or dads) to get advice from fellow homeschoolers (and to give it, too)! I’d love for you to join us!

Are you homeschooling this age group this year? What are some of your curriculum choices?