I must confess I do not put as much research into planning for my youngest just because I have done this year before with his sister and I already have quite a good idea about which resources worked well and which ones we are going to avoid.

With my son he tends to do his Maths and English separately from his sister (although he often joins in and reads her English Literature books) and then with his Geography, Science and History we link up. I have found that when it comes to educating two kids it helps if everyone is looking at the same topic even if the activities they end up doing are a bit different. So for example we all read and watch documentaries about World War One together and then the kids work though activities based on their ages. So what is our basic plan for his Year 6?

Maths.

I have become quite a big fan of Twinkl’s Planit section for his Maths. I tend to download a whole section – eg Fractions and then I sort through which lessons and activities we are going to do. In some cases we work through lesson by lesson but in other cases we just select certain lessons. Anyway, which ever way we do it I find the PowerPoint Explanations handy and the fact that most of the Activity sheets have different levels really useful (plus they always include the answers which means the kids can check their work themselves). They also include a general plan which suggests what you need to cover for year 6 and they give you an idea of how long you could spend on each topic (like I said it is an idea – one that is handy to look at but we do not stick to it 100%).

I also have the full set of Schofield & Sims Understanding Maths range which I really like. Each page has a nice brief explanation at the top and then you get a few exercises. I find them handy as I like to make sure we get a wide range of questions with our Maths.

And a new one that I discovered last Year was the CGP Times Table book. Now my son is actually quite good at Maths but remembering the times tables was just not his thing. So last year I bought him both the Year 4 and Year 5 Times Tables book and he worked through them (a double page at a time – which is not long) and I have to admit his ability to remember the times tables greatly improved. So This year just to keep that going I have bought him the KS2 Maths: Times Tables 10-Minute Weekly Workouts – Year 6: ideal for catch-up and learning at home (CGP KS2 Maths)

English

Last year we used the CGP Grammar, punctuation and Spelling workbook and it actually worked really well so I am going to get the Year 6 version for him – KS2 English Targeted Question Book: Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling – Year 6 Foundation: ideal for catch-up and learning at home (CGP KS2 English).

Then because we like tying our English in with our other themes and because he really likes working through the Twinkl original eBooks we are going to cover a few this year. I have already selected – Code Cracking for Beginners and Percy’s Peculiar Plants. But Twinkl are always adding more to this range so I have no doubt we will find some new ones that interest us and do a few more during the year (the worksheets that link up to the eBook always include lots of Grammar practice and often some really good writing activities).

We are also going to make a point of reading some more of the condensed Classics. I want the kids to have a basic understanding of the classics in terms of the plot and the main characters and for this we really like the BIG CAT Books.

Then something a bit different but fun – we subscribe to the Night Zookeeper website. I love this site, it really is English but with a fun spin on it and my son ends up doing a lot more “work” on the site than he ever would if he was working through workbooks or worksheets.

History

This year the plan is it cover World War I and World War II. I will use his older sister’s History book with both of them (Technology, War and Independence) and we will use other books like these ones – The Story of the First Wold War for Children and The Story of the Second World War for children.

We are also going to cover Ancient Greece this year. Last year he used a few CGP Student book and workbooks for his Geography and he really enjoyed them so we are going to give their Ancient Greece books a go ( KS2 Discover & Learn: History – Ancient Greeks Study Book: superb for catching up at home (CGP KS2 History) and KS2 Discover & Learn: History – Ancient Greeks Activity Book: ideal for catching up at home (CGP KS2 History)).

Science

We often link his Science in with his sisters and actually he manages really well. This year I want to do a big section on Electrical circuits – he has a set that he loves using so he already has a good understanding on how it all works. We are also going to work through the Electrical Circuits topic pack from Oaka. Now this set is for KS3 ages and my son is still KS2 but he did some pages out of KS3 packs last year and he was fine (he does seem to “get” Science so I am also purposely going to challenge him a bit with Science this year).

And we also want to work through the Skeletons and Muscles pack and possibly the Solar System pack.

We also have all three of the KS2 Science board games from Oaka Books which I really like using and I know we will continue to play and learn with these games this year.

Geography

Again we will link most of his Geography with his sister in terms of topics. I know we are going to revisit Volcanoes, earthquakes and the Rock cycle (so I will probably get the CGP set for this KS2 Discover & Learn: Geography – Volcanoes and Earthquakes Study Book: superb for catching up at home (CGP KS2 Geography) and KS2 Discover & Learn: Geography – Volcanoes and Earthquakes Activity Book: ideal for catching up at home (CGP KS2 Geography)). And we are going to do some country studies. He really enjoyed working through the UK and Europe CGP Books last year so I think I am going to get him the American set ( KS2 Discover & Learn: Geography – North and South America Study Book: superb for catching up at home (CGP KS2 Geography) and KS2 Discover & Learn: Geography – North and South America Activity Book: ideal for catching up at home (CGP KS2 Geography)).

Art

My son is actually teaching himself how to draw and I am leaving it to him to do his own way. I actually did Art and I love drawing and painting but he does not want to be “taught” he just wants to be left to experiment and discover drawing by himself. And in all honesty he is doing an amazing job, he is always drawing and creating pictures and they are really good so I am leaving him to continue in this way and when he asks for help or advice I help him.

So that is our starting point. We always make changes and add in stuff during the year but I think it is a good point from which to start for his Year 6.

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