Reflections on 4.5 Years of Homeschool

My daughter is heading into sixth grade this September, which means we just passed a monumental milestone – she completed fifth grade! I like to take time to reflect on our experiences each year, but this year felt more important than most as we work to determine our path forward for middle school.

There are many routes you can take for reflection. I like to follow a simple framework and outline what worked, what didn't work, and what I'll do differently in the future. I'm sharing my reflections here because I believe we can all learn from each other's successes and mistakes, and reading about someone else's journey can help you feel less alone in your experiences.

Torchlight

We've been using Torchlight as our primary curriculum since kindergarten, and level 3 proved to be another good choice for us. Torchlight's pacing, quality of novels, Socractic approach, and inclusive philosophy have been a great fit for us. My daughter can sit and listen to a story for a long time, and we both love that the focus is on deep discussion, not comprehension questions.

Beast Academy

This year also brought us back to Beast Academy Online. We did Singapore Dimensions last year, and it was a good stepping stone for us after her school experience basically wrecked her confidence with math, but this year we decided to return to Beast Academy, and we couldn't be happier. It's the right level of challenge for her, and the fact that they present one problem at a time helps limit her overwhelm (she has had a hard time in the past with programs that ask her to do a page full of problems). We both appreciate that the program reinforces learning by introducing skill sets that build on each other rather than through unnecessary repetition.

Mint and Bloom

We've been using Curiosity Chronicles since first grade because it's an integral part of Torchlight. As we approached the era of United States history, though, we opted to go deeper with Mint and Bloom. It's funny, creative, and provides a diverse array of perspectives that complement the cohesive narrative provided in Curiosity Chronicles quite nicely.

Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities have been another huge boost to our homeschool experience. Karate has been phenomenal for her self-confidence, commitment, and perfectionism. Piano and voice lessons have helped her learn how to practice, stay committed to a goal, and persevere. She even had her first "bad" recital — an important experience that helped her learn that she can survive embarrassment and continue to enjoy an activity even when things don't go perfectly. And THEATER! She got to play Miss Argentina in Beetlejuice: The Musical, and she loved it. It was really interesting to see how she thrived with a group of older kids!She's looking forward to being in Mamma Mia! next.

Our ALE! What was a wonderful program for us in 4th grade was no longer a fit in fifth. It was a good reminder that when we choose something, even if we think it's the best fit for our child, we aren't deciding their future. We're making the best decision we can FOR NOW. As our child changes and grows (and we change and grow!), we continue to evaluate what works for us. With this program, the focus shifted from "Look at all the wonderful things you're doing! What a well-rounded education!" to "Okay, thanks for telling me about the essay you're writing, but you haven't said anything about the curriculum we sent you — how's that going?" And I understand this, I really do, but it is not the message I want my daughter receiving about her passion projects or education in general. So we withdrew from the program mid-year.

We also decided to leave behind Hearth & Story. It was fun at first, but eventually started to feel like busy work (although we may keep going with spelling — kid seems to like that). It's a relatively advanced curriculum, but it's not written with gifted kids in mind. I'd say it can work for the variety of gifted kid that is academically motivated and a high achiever, but for the kind of gifted kid who finds comprehension questions insulting and doesn't need a lot of repetition? The aesthetic appeal wears off very quickly. It really is an attractive and thoughtfully laid out curriculum, but very much guided by standards. We prefer to use the standards as guideposts rather than explicitly focusing on each one of them regardless of mastery level. I also noticed that when we'd work on grammar, my daughter was still using Michael Clay Thompson's language to explain the concepts. So, that's where we are returning in the fall.

That actually is a perfect bridge into what we will do differently: Michael Clay Thompson is key :). We're also trying out Syllabird this year for time management and tracking, and so far it's working well. It's easy enough to set up (once you understand how to create repeating assignments use patterns), and it's really easy to adjust as you go.

We're also circling back to Blossom and Root for science. Their level 6 is a mix of chemistry and biology, and it totally won me over! We're going to try Mint and Bloom's geography workbook, too, since TL 5 has more of a geography focus.

Our big focus for sixth grade, though, is going to be staying on-point and focused with academics so we can be more invovled in extracurricular activities. In other words, we don't want to do any extraneous or boring academics. I want to be sure my daughter has plenty of opportunities to meet and connect with other kids who share her interests because growing her circle of friends is at the top of her list for what she wants out of sixth grade. In addition to karate, piano, and theater, which she's done for the past two years, we're looking into a cat project with 4H and possibly roller derby. She did derby camp last summer and it was such a good fit for her, it's just taken a while to work up the courage to officially join.

I have a feeling that this is going to be a year full of growth and expansion. I'm excited (and kind of wish we were starting before Labor Day). How about you? How is the year ahead looking for your family?

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