Year 5 and Year 0: In Review

It's been over a month since we finished our homeschool year and now I'm in the planning mode and ready to reflect back on the previous year.

Whenever I plan for the next school year, I normally assess what works and didn't work for us, what we need to omit or add for the next year. I do this every year and there are always changes, ALWAYS! But the good thing though, it's always for the better of my kid's education.

Each year is different and the past year is a baby year for us with the coming of baby # 3. So, we kind of slow down on some subjects as we are all adjusting.

I'm glad that my eldest did most of the school work independently because I had a hard time catching up on him. On the other hand, my second son was in preschool, so we still have short lessons for him.

As you know, we are following the Ambleside Online Curriculum for both Year 0 and Year 5. So, our booklist came from them. We don't have a complete copy of free reads this year, but we have almost all the academics, including some ebooks.

Year 5

Keeping Notebook

My Year 5 started a common notebook for Bible, History, Biography, Science, and Literature. It contains drawings, maps, dates, and any information that my 12 yo wants to take note.

We have a separate Map for Of Courage Undaunted and some Map Drills.

He still put weekly entries in his Book of Centuries, Nature Journal, and Art Appreciation. We don't have a Timeline this year but I'm planning to start one for the family.

Language Arts

We're doing daily Copywork, we are using Antique Spencerian for cursive and Tangerine for the manuscript.

We're also continuing Dictation and weekly Grammar using First Grammar Lessons, and written narrations 2-3 times a week.

Foreign Language
We are still using Latin and Spanish.

Math
We are finishing Singapore Math, but next year I'm planning to transition to MEP since it's a free curriculum. I also realized we don't have an Oral Math for my 12 yo, so I might add Rays Arithmetic.

Year 0

My preschooler has his own common notebook. It serves as Word Bank, this is where he put all the words he learned, some Art Appreciation drawings, and Nature Journal all in one. Here are some of his works:

You can view our preschool curriculum picks in this video:

We are also tracking our completed free reading books using a reading log.

Here's a video of our Homeschool 2019-2020 Portfolio:

*   *   *   *

This year was a bit challenging because I started homeschooling two boys plus the new baby. But I learned certain principles which have helped me in the process.

Let me share it with you.

Take a break when needed. There will always be disruption, every now and then. Taking a break will not hurt. It actually lifts the pressure of ticking the checklist.

Extend grace to you and to your kids. I need a bucket of grace every now and then. Sometimes I felt guilty whenever I am not at my best. I realized I need to extend grace because sometimes either I'm too tired and too exhausted about all the things at home. There were good days and there were bad days.

Boil down to essentials. There were days where we don't really finish all assigned for the day, so I just do what we need to do and just the necessary stuff.

It's okay to fall behind. We can always catch up later, perks of homeschooling. We can pick up on where we left. Besides, we are independently homeschooling, so no pressure on deadlines whatsoever. We have the flexibility and we can always switch gears.


Here is our End for Year Picture with their favorite reading for this year:

Year 5/7th Grader:

The Story of King Arthur and His Knights

Rifles for Watie

Oliver Twist

Across Five Aprils

Anne of Green Gables

Treasure Island

Indio Bravo

Year 0/Preschooler:

Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers

Jemima Puddle-Duck

After doing exams, we had a simple celebration as we wrapped up our year. Pizza, and ice cream treat from Dad!

We closed our last day of school with a short Stop Light sharing. Yellow Light - continue doing, Green Light - start doing, and Red light - stop doing, headed by our Dad.

What a challenging yet rewarding year we had! All praises to God alone!