2026 Fifth-Grade Curriculum Kit

We asked parents who used our 5th Grade Kit how long their student spent on "school,” and they estimated that their students spent 2-5 hours a day on their kit, working 4-5 days a week. That variation is likely to be impacted by how in-depth you take your child's studies, what your child's learning approach is, how distractible he is, and much more.

A full 5th grade curriculum covers math, language arts (reading, spelling, and writing), science, history or geography, logic, and art. In our kit, math moves into fractions and writing gets more structured. Classic kits focus on American history, while nonreligious kits go deeper into geography. You’ll also find STEM projects like stop-motion animation and a bridge-building challenge. The kit chart on this page shows exactly what’s in each kit level.

More than you might expect, though not all of it. Fifth grade is a great year to start handing over the reins. The Scheduler shows your student what’s next each day, and the math program teaches each new concept by video. Plan to stay close for writing, discussion, and anything brand new.

Not sure if it’s time to move up? Totally normal!

A great place to start is with our Placement Tests. We have complete tests for younger kiddos to show exactly where they are. For older students, you’ll want to focus on the math and language arts sections to get a good feel for their readiness.

Kids are usually ready to jump into the next kit, with maybe a few exceptions. If your child is heading into 3rd grade but places into 2nd-grade math, no problem! You might want to grab the 3rd-grade kit and simply swap out the math.

If a subject didn’t stick last year, now’s your chance to figure out why.

• Maybe your child just missed a few concepts (hello, summer review!).
• Maybe the curriculum didn’t click.
• Maybe math just isn’t his jam (yet).
• Or maybe he needs a little extra support, and that’s okay!

One of the best things about homeschooling? You’re not locked into a one-size-fits-all timeline. You can customize learning to fit your child and help them succeed at their own pace.

Ready to start exploring? We’re here to help every step of the way!

Nope, and that's totally normal!

Here's the deal: Accreditation is for schools, not curriculum. Your local school district might be accredited, but their textbooks aren't. Accreditation looks at things like teacher degrees and classroom hours, not the books or materials being used. And since Timberdoodle kits aren't a school (they're a collection of awesome learning tools), there's nothing to accredit.

If you see a homeschool program claiming to be "accredited," just remember: it's the school that's accredited, not the curriculum.

And don't worry: no state requires homeschool curriculum to be accredited. (Phew!)

What you really want to know is: "Will Timberdoodle meet my state's homeschool requirements?" In most cases, the answer is yes. We meet or beat what's needed! However, every state's rules are a little different, so we recommend checking yours. (We even have a quick cheat sheet to help!)

Still scratching your head? Reach out. We'd love to help you figure it out!

We've been honored with more than 40 awards from top homeschooling resources over the years. We're talking about the Practical Homeschooling Reader Awards, The Old Schoolhouse Excellence in Education Awards, and Cathy Duffy's Top Picks. Our Elementary Curriculum, High School Curriculum, Kindergarten, Middle School Curriculum, and Preschool/Readiness kits have all earned top awards. We've also been recognized for our Boxed Curriculum and even for being Most Unique. These awards are a testament to how much our customers love our kits! Winning them means receiving very high satisfaction ratings from YOU, our amazing homeschooling families. It truly shows that the time and effort we put into creating comprehensive and engaging curriculum pays off!

The Classic Handbook's suggested reading list includes Christian titles, and wherever the materials differ, each Handbook's instructions are written for the materials in its own kit. Not every item in the Classic kit will be faith-based. The specific faith-based items available in the fifth-grade kit are Jump In and America the Beautiful. The Nonreligious kit uses Daily 6-Trait Writing with Weekly Real-World Writing instead of Jump In, and, at Complete and Elite, Discover Social Studies 5 instead of America the Beautiful.

You'll also notice there's no Bible course in the kit. That's deliberate. We believe Bible study is too important to become one more subject to check off. What your family studies should flex with your children's ages, what they're wrestling with, and what your church is walking through this year, and a boxed Bible curriculum can't do that.

Faith-based items are marked with a "Faith-Based" praying hand icon and a "Faith-Based: Yes" in the details section, on their individual item pages.

We serve charter school families who aren't permitted to buy materials containing religious content, so make sure to look for the "nonreligious" labels when purchasing from a charter.

Most of it, yes. The games, building sets, readers, and hands-on tools are made to last, so they can go back on the shelf for the next child. What gets used up is the workbooks and some of the craft supplies.

You can see a list of the consumable items for this kit by clicking "View Details" on the 2026 Fifth-Grade Additional Student Kit (found just below Add to Cart).

Not unless you customized your kit to include one. Every Basic, Complete and Elite Curriculum Kit comes with the Math-U-See Essential Learning Set, which includes the hands-on pieces for that level, the Student Workbook, the Test Booklet, and the Math-U-See 1-Year Essential Plan Subscription Access card (which is where you'll find the lesson videos and the full instructor manual).

Your access code for the online plan is printed on the Math-U-See 1-Year Essential Plan Subscription Access card packed in your box, often tucked inside the manipulatives box or shrink-wrapped with the Student Workbook. Your year starts when you enter the code.

Our free placement test at tests.timberdoodle.com takes about 15 minutes. Your child does two short activities, reading and math, on screen or on paper, and you answer a few questions about spelling, language arts and thinking skills. Your child never sees a score, and you can stop and come back anytime. At the end, you'll see a Complete Curriculum Kit with your child's level already set in each subject.

When you customize your kit, each subject has its own grade level setting, so reading can sit at one level and math at another.

Between two levels? Some families start a little hard and ease in, and others start a little easy and race through. We've seen both work well, so go with what suits your child.

Still not sure? Email hello@timberdoodle.com with what your child is working on now, and we'll help you choose.