As we begin our 2026 homeschool year, I decided early on that this year will be perfectly curated. It was important to me as the principal educator of our now 10-year-old daughter that our year be filled with academia, athletics, community, and most important, joy.
If your new here my name if Liv Muller, I am a wife, mom, and passionate our family. I love all things good, true, and beautiful. We decided to homeschool five years ago and have never looked back.
Today, I am going to share how we schedule and how I laid it out for fifth grade. If your child is not in the fifth grade you may still find some if this information useful, as it has taken me five years to land here.
Have you ever heard of that phrase that says “Follow the rule until you can break them?” Up until this year I have followed the rules and ultimately it has worked out. I have followed the Ambleside schedule and book list. They are a Charlotte Mason based philosophy curriculum. This year I have decided to take a step back and listen to the prompting that is telling me to scale it down.
Prior to this year I was building our daughters compacity to learn. The curriculum we use has a tall order of books per year alongside the enrichment teachings. Let’s just say the schedule is packed! Packed with wonderful books! However, I felt like we were behind. Also feeling like we did not have time to walk our dog mid-day. I mean that is not how I pictured homeschooling.
I do not think our days should be Easy Peezy but I do think its important to slow things down and make the day count.
Since I have scaled things down this year and only added what its important, I have found our daughter is processing what she has learned. I see it her creating! She has time to create, build, color, draw, pick up books on her own and ask wonderful questions.
If we focus on the compacity, how much can they learn? It is like the brain shuts down. It’s truly overload.
There will always be more to learn, more to do, I don’t think we will ever feel like we have prepared our kiddos enough. We are their parents and want the best for them but the good news is God loves them more! Our job is to guide them and teach them daily. Every day is a learning opportunity.
So, here is how I laid out our fifth grade:
- I keep a log book – I write each day the night before, I use the Ambleside Online schedule as a guide. I use the looping scheduling method, ensuring I hit each subject equally.
- I selected the books for term one. One book for each subject. I have two for history but I might pull one, we will see how it goes. Depending on the book we read sometimes 4 pages, ½ chapter, full chapter. It depends on how challenging the book is. If we don’t finish the book in term one, I will push it to term two.
- The Bible, Shakespeare, and Plutarch’s Lives we will keep as a constant, these stores are meant to be read and reread. We always start our day with the Bible, as it is the most important subject. We read it and talk about what we read. I also have a commentary Bible incase there it something I want to understand better. We do not have any added fluff; the Word is enough.
- Community is important. I count church as part of that. One day a week we attend church and serve. On Fridays we are part of a homeschool group. Two days a week our daughter plays sports. One is recreational, the second is organized. Both are important. Lots of teaching in developing a discipline.
- Music – piano class once a week and practice at home 4-5 days a week. I don’t set a time limit to practice; I just make sure she practices.
- House choirs – a tidy home, cooking, hygiene all of this is important. Dignity.
This may seem like a lot to some or a little to others but ultimately it is what works for us as a family. The best schedule it the one that works, that helps your children grow and learn at a healthy pace.