Middle School Homeschool Curriculum Choices | 2020-2021

I can't believe my boys are in Middle School! This will be our second year homeschooling them full-time. They also had a taste of homeschooling for a couple years in early elementary school. Most of our curriculum choices are similar to what they did last year. The biggest change is that they won't be going into our public school for band.

CURRICULUM FOR MY 12 & 13 YEAR OLD

The boys are just 16 months apart and when they were young they did much of their learning together so they’ve always been on the same level. They learned to read and write at the same time. They learned to count and add numbers together as well. This has always helped the homeschool process with them because I’ve been able to do most of their curriculum together.

Math: Math U See~Geometry

When they attended public school, although in different grade levels, they both were able to walk up and do math together with upper grades, which was great since they both absolutely LOVE math! We started Math U See with Algebra 1 last year and the boys did great! They are able to do the entire program on their own by watching the video on Monday, then do their work all week, with a test on Friday. The teaching guide and answers are thorough so it’s easy to correct their work and help them if needed.

Language Arts: The Good and the Beautiful~Level 5

What I love about this program is that it’s all encompassing and is a well-rounded curriculum. This level also is very student led. With four kids it’s nice to have a few programs where my help is minimal. I do help with some sentence dictation and we read together as well. I like the checklist for the kids and the separate Companion book is full of great extras to help them in their daily tasks.

Writing: IEW~Fables, Myths, & Fairy Tales

We started this program halfway through the year last and I am loving it! The boys make outlines and use fairy tales/fables/myths to retell stories, summarize a reference, write from pictures, and more. IEW has great references and I love watching the boys dig through them to find great adjectives and ways to use their newly learned “dress-ups” in their writing.

Grammar: IEW~Fix It! Robin Hood

This is a short 15 minute daily lesson that focuses on grammar. They made corrections on a sentence each day, then rewrite it correctly, working their way through a portion of the book Robin Hood. There are grammar cards to aid them if needed. They also learn a new vocab word each day. I love the simple approach and that they are working with real text and get feedback and correction immediately.

Spelling: Spelling You See~Americana (D)

This is another quick, 15-20 minutes lesson. This program teaches spelling based on repetition and finding patterns in words. I wanted to try something new for my 13 year old since spelling is a challenge for him.

I always had a hard time teaching kids using the well-known method of memorizing a spelling list all week and having a test on Friday. This short-term word memorization failed me (oh—I got 100%, but I never learned any rules to spelling). I’ve seen students use this method in the school setting over the past 6 years--with the same results. I told myself very early on that I would not use this method on my kids. We did use Spelling You See a few years ago and I loved it (it spoke to my way of learning with all the rules and such), but it wasn't a good fit--lots of time and my kids did not enjoy it. We are only a few weeks in, and so far I am liking this change.

Handwriting: The Good and the Beautiful~Level 5 & 6

These are fun books, and we do just one page each day. It gives them some focused time on their handwriting (one boy needs to practice, the other just loves to practise). Every couple pages it will also have a fun small drawing to do, where you complete the picture or follow steps to make a drawing—something to change it up a bit.

Science: Master Books~Awesome Science: Historical Geography

This program is specifically geared towards 7thand 8thgraders. We will be learning about the National Parks in the Western US and their geological wonder. This is a Biblical, faith-affirming study that teaches how these places were shaped by the Genesis Flood. There is a DVD to watch for each site (13 total) as well as a few guides to read along with some of the parks. We are doing this as a family lesson, where we all (my husband, myself, and all the kids) watch the videos or read the book, and discuss the questions on the worksheets they have for each day.