Start shopping for Fall.

More science textbooks just arrived.  I shop used books—especially at Good Will.  I bought a fifth grade English anthology, too.  Yes, this set is from 1996.  I’m looking for literature.  Take some time and determine next year’s curriculum.  You can’t go wrong with any of the Young Explorers Series for elementary science.  Yes, the notebooking journals are worth it.  (Abebooks, eBay, and Amazon have loads of used copies.). 

Where do you start?  Are you going with an online school?  Here are Roman Catholic home-school programs.  Here are Christian home-school programs.  The online school will shape your curricular decisions.  For now, our little household hosts a teen enrolled in Kolbe.  The ten year old, Paul, is enrolled in public school.  He has been on a home-school program since March.  For now, we are using Saxon 6/5, Houghlin Mifflin Grade 5 Reading, Apologia Young Explorers Series, Sea to Shining Sea, Vocabulary Workshop A, Easy Grammar Grade 5 and 6, and Handwriting.  We work three hours each morning, with extra reading in the afternoon and evening.  Paul finishes a page or two from each lesson each morning.  

As a science teacher, I like the Young Explorers series.  Use the notebooking journals; they have a daily schedule.  There are seven different science books.  I use series for Math, History, English, and Science.  When a Paul completes a textbook, I select another book in the series, or at the next grade level.  Don’t complicate your curriculum.  If your child does Saxon Math 5/4 and struggles, go back to 3 or reduce the pace.  Assign 10 problems, not 15 each day.  I am using older anthologies for Reading.  These are basal readers with stories, poems, literature.  Round out your curriculum with book reports, quizzes, and projects.  

Now that you have a core curriculum, start shopping.  Allow plenty of time to locate bargains in used books and workbooks.  Yes, I use workbooks and notebooking journals.  Paul likes them; when he completes one or two pages, he knows he has finished that subject for the day.  Don’t overthink it.  Just do it!