Today I’m excited to announce our “Fun-Schooling For Every Grade” blog series. This is something y’all have asked for time and time again. We are delighted to be bringing this series to you this school year.
This will include what to expect regarding academic ability and developmental level every year. We’ll also look at common challenges in each phase and share tips. For each grade, we’ll discuss how to build a curriculum including what to expect for workload and schedule. Tips from other Fun-Schooling moms will help give you the POV of several people. The most popular journals for each grade and tips for using them will round out each post.
A big focus for us at Thinking Tree is letting kids be kids. You’ll see a lot of room for play, nature, and wonder in these plans. We want kids to have plenty of time to explore the things they love and soak up their childhood.
Remember– This blog series will be based on the average level for the grade/age. The bell curve is extremely important to remember throughout this series. Some children will fall outside of this average. We’ve chosen to homeschool for a reason- so we can customize our children’s education to their unique academic level and needs.
Students can go up or down several grade levels from these suggestions as needed. Virtually all our materials can be used by kids from reading age to teens (and adults!) For non-readers and early readers, we have level A-1 materials. Each student’s education is customized by choosing academically appropriate materials.
How do I know what grade my homeschooler is in?
The general guideline is- age in the fall minus 5 = grade. For example, my son is 12 this fall. 12-5=7
If he were in the school system, he’d be in 7th grade.
Sounds great, what’s the plan?
By far the top age we’re asked about it High School so we’re starting at High School and working our way down from there. Here’s the schedule for this series-
October ‘23- High School- College/ Advanced Academics Path
November ‘23- High School– Career/ Calling Path for those who will not need college
December ‘23- Middle School– emphasizing choosing a major (and why it’s ok if they change it!)
January ‘24- 6th grade
February ‘24- 5th grade
March ‘24- 4th grade– with an emphasis on the fact it’s often a step-up academically and in terms of independence
April ‘24- 3rd grade
May ‘24- 2nd grade– with a focus on fostering more independence
June ‘24- 1st grade
July ‘24- Kindergarten
August ‘24- Preschool
Eager to learn about a specific grade now?
Check out the grade-by-grade video series we did in 2022 in our Facebook group-
Concerned about gaps in your child’s education? Check out this post.
About the Author- Amanda Osenga is a Fun-Schooling mom in Columbus Ohio. She is also the social media manager and Virtual Assistant for Thinking Tree. Her family combines Thinking Tree books with the Charlotte Mason method using books from Ambleside Online and Wildwood Curriculum. In her free time, Amanda is an avid reader and loves to be outdoors.
