Our 2016 Homeschool Plan and Resource List

2016 for us brings Grade 6.

The final year of Primary School! 

Yikes! 

That went fast.

Our plan for the year is very eclectic.  We are hoping to have more independent work completed and have some scope for more interest led work.  I have to modify and adjust work to cater for my son's learning disorders and fatigue from his physical health issues means things take longer to complete. So we need a variety of delivery methods and I need to limit the amount of book work. 

So far in 2016 we have theatre trips planned, a homeschool camp, weekly tuition sessions and looking forward to some homeschool excursions in the cooler months when we aren't as restricted by health issues.

Our subject list for Grade 6:

Mathematics: 

We are using Maths Plus 6 from Oxford Uni Press.  We love this brand.  The layout is good, it's colourful, it has explanations, it has answers at the back, it has definitions, it has 4 diagnostic tests throughout the book plus extension work.  Sample pages can be found here. 

English: 

Rather than using workbooks and specific curriculum for Grammar, Text Types, Reading Comprehension etc, we will be learning these as part of our Literature Unit Studies.   

• Literature Units produced by Erica at COAH (Confessions of a Homeschooler).  We use them in a notebooking format (see my Folder Set up here) rather than actual lapbooks and will use these units as starting points for interest led learning and incorporating more writing tasks.  The books used with these Literature Units is the Classic Starts series of abridged novels. We do a few of these each year.

• Harry Potter/Magic Theme Unit Study: Incorporating "Hogwarts" subjects like 'The Study of Magical Creatures' (books covering Magical Beasts, Monsters, Goblins, Mythical Creatures, Myths and Legends etc), Herbology (study of Plants) and Potions.We will be using parts of unit studies/lapbooks from Build You Library as well as many reference books to create our own interest led work. We will obviously also be reading the Harry Potter books.  

• As well as reading the books for the Literature Units, we have set reading time each morning for at least an hour where my son has freedom to choose what he likes.
• 'My Spelling Workbook' by RIC Publications.  
• McGraw Hill Macmillan English Grade 6

History & Geography: 

We are taking a themed approach to the year studying American History and Geography. Both will be studied alongside each other using the following:

• Adventure Tales of America (Illustrated Text books, Student Workbooks and Teacher Guides) 
• Liberty's Kids DVD Series and Online Content.
• A large library of resource books I have collected (too many to list but have photographed below LOL).
• Road Trip USA Geography Curriculum by Confessions of a Homeschooler which is a weekly state by state geography study of the USA. 
• DVD's including America's Civil War documentary series, American National Treasures (Geography series), Trail of Tears, The Wild West (BBC series), Thomas Jefferson. 

Science: 

• Private Science session with a Science teacher each week focusing on Robotics, Coding, Programming and Grade 6 Australian Curriculum Science topics.
• California Science Grade 6 Curriculum Text, Student Workbook & Activity Lab Book.
• Scientists and Inventors Unit Studies by Confessions of a Homeschooler. Using books from the Mike Venezia series "Getting to Know the Worlds Famous Scientists and Inventors'. 
• Using the above Scientists units, we will be doing a project/study between Edison and Tesla. The Tesla book we will be using is 'Electrical Wizard: How Nicola Tesla Lit up the World'. Two books on Edison are the 'Getting to know the World's Greatest Inventors and Scientists: Thomas Edison' and a Graphic Biographies series Thomas Edison. 

Technology:

• Private Science sessions with a Science teacher each week focusing on Robotics (including working with Edison Robots), Coding, Programming and Grade 6 Australian Curriculum Science topics (as listed above)
• 'How to Code' series of 4 books (and Teacher Guide) by Max Wainewright.
• Coding for Beginners Using Scratch by Usborne Books. 

Art: 

• Private Art sessions weekly with an Art Teacher from Artlis Studios, focusing on Drawing Skills, Perspective and Painting.
• Artists Unit Studies from Confessions of a Homeschooler. Using books from the Mike Venezia series 'Getting to Know the Worlds Famous Artists'. 
• Interest led artworks and study

Music: 

• Private Music Tuition weekly with The Music Bus, focusing on playing the Drums and Keyboard, song writing, programming and reading/writing music.
• Composers Unit Studies from Confessions of a Homeschooler.  Using books from the Mike Venezia series 'Getting to Know the Worlds Famous Composers'.

Sport / Physical Education / Health: 

• Sport - Horse Riding, Hydrotherapy & Occupational Therapy.
• Health - We are using the Australian Organic Schools website for their units on Organic gardening. 
• Physical Education Theory - Personal development and Puberty. 

Special Interests:   

• Pagan & Cultural Studies including creating an information book/catalog from researching the history of the culture, of traditional/modern holidays, of nature and the elements of the earth.  Reading about lost civilisations and discovering the meaning of ancient symbols. 
• Journal writing / Diary writing. 

So that's the "plan" for 2016 - for our last year of Primary School.  I have to get used to saying that!  I would love to hear your plans and if you have any questions about resources etc, feel free to post in the comments.  

Wishing everyone a wonderful school year!