This fall will be my second time through sixth grade. I have a plan made of our block layout and thought I would share for anyone else getting ready to start planning sixth grade. This is only one way of many ways to do this, of course, but perhaps it will stimulate some of your own ideas as well.
This is what I am planning on doing:
Physics – 4 weeks
Geometry – 3 weeks
Business Math – 3 weeks
Roman History – 6 weeks
Christmas Break
Medieval History – 4 weeks
Astronomy – 3 weeks
Medieval Africa and Japan – 3 weeks ( an out of the box block!)
Mineralogy – 4 weeks
European Geography – 3 weeks
Update 10/2016:
We started with Astronomy
We are now in Mineralogy
We will do two to three weeks of European Geography and integrate ourselves into Rome and do Roman History
Winter Break
Medieval History (including Africa and Japan)
Business Math
Geometry
Physics
How is your planning coming along for fall? If you get your start dates, end dates and vacation dates planned, you can start planning out your blocks and how long you think they may last. Then you can start getting resources and digging in to the flow of a block!
Many blessings,
Carrie
The Parenting Passageway 
Hi Carrie
I’ve been reading your blog and following your journey through education
I just recently decided to homeschool my daughter for 5th grade next year. I have no ide where to begin!! I’d really like to follow your lead because I think it would suit my daughter.
Would you be willing to share which blocks you taught in 5th grade? I see you are about halfway through…I have not been taking notes on what you have been doing in 5th grade because I was really just reading out of interest without knowing I was going to homeschool next year.
Would love to see your lesson plan if you’d be willing.
Thank you!
Hi Cristina, Congratulations on your decision to homeschool.
There are a lot of back posts about fifth grade from the first time I taught it… I am going through it the second time now. I suggest to check under the “Homeschooling” tab and choose fifth grade from the drop down menu for more detailed posts from my first time around through fifth grade. My plan this year was botany, Ancient Civilizations (Ancient India, Ancient Persia and Ancient Mesopotamia), math including the Ancient Americas, geometry, Ancient Africa, Ancient Egypt and Ancient China, Greek Mythology and Greek History (not all Waldorf people agree with putting Greek history here; some put it in sixth grade); metric system block with Canada and North American Geography. It is a full year! If you go through back posts, I detail very much how I plan. Feel free to check back in as you go along.
Blessings,
Carrie
I haven’t even begun to plan other than what I think we may need to do in the summer months. Can I ask, what is your medieval Japan and Africa block from?
Hi Brooke!
There is no one resource – I have quite a few resources regarding Africa. One Waldorf source on Africa I can recommend is Betty Staley’s “Hear The Voice of the Griot!”. There is a decent mainstream book called “African Beginnings” that could give you a brief overview of some of the African kingdoms in different time periods and then you could flesh that out. For Japan, I looked for resources regarding Japanese society during that time period, samurai, etc. Really anything you get at the library, read yourself and digest can allow you to make presentations to your child on these subjects. Hope that helps.
Many blessings,
Carrie
Carrie
I love seeing what you are planning! I haven’t even begun! I am not quite there yet as we are addressing some right-now needs, but I admit, I cannot believe I will have 6th and 3rd graders next year. I feel like I just had 3rd and kindy! I think this is the warp-speed stage of childhood.
Hi Carrie, I love all the wonderful and diverse subjects that you will be covering! I was wondering if these subjects are all from the Waldorf curriculum or have you taken subjects from mainstream highschool and will be teaching them using the Waldorf method? Hope that makes sense! I just do not remember studying quite a few of these subjects in my school days.
Hi Francesca- No, these are all traditional Waldorf sixth grade blocks except the one I added about Medieval Africa and Japan.
Cheers,
Carrie
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Do you include any subjects outside of main lessons such as handwork, woodworking, math skills, spelling, creative writing..? If so, what do you include?
HI Vanessa! Typically in a Waldorf School, there would be practice sessions on things such as math skills or language arts classes, in addition to foreign language, plus choir, orchestra, handwork, eurythmy, handwork, woodworking, team sports. So, in the home environment, I think it might be either what you are capable of bringing at that middle school level or what you would be able to find outside the home. Creative writing, black and white drawing are usually worked into sixth grade main lesson blocks, but yes, the practice of language arts and specific math skills would be run more in track classes outside of main lessons periods a certain number of times a week. I personally had zero time to make up math practice problems or grammar examples solely for practice so tended to use mainstream products along with many games for math and grammar. Other things I often outsourced or were extra community based things such as more art (we did do art in main lesson blocks obviously), other handwork (puppetry making or seasonal projects), choir and orchestra and band were community based, we did horseback riding also community based, 4H etc. Now is the time to figure out what your community’s strengths are. Most of us with multiple children of different ages absolutely cannot bring it all by ourselves ,and the goal certainly shouldn’t be to replicate a Waldorf School! Look at the child in front of you- what do they need for balance? What do they need to develop? What do they need to work on or improve? You can always email me at admin@theparentingpassageway.com in order to talk about your specific situation. Blessings, Carrie
Thanks Carrie. 🙂