We changed up our 7th grade curriculum a bit this season. Jeffrey finished a few of his books and has moved on to new levels, but we also added some new curriculum! I’ll touch on what he’s doing that’s working and why we made some changes, as well as some new curriculum we are doing (spoiler: it’s AMAZING!)
You can also check out this post to see more pictures of each curriculum.
We are a few weeks into the New Year and full swing back into our homeschool schedules. As usual, Jeffrey was up and at 'em before anyone else on day one, plugging away at what he needed to get done.
You can also check out this post to see more pictures of each curriculum.
We are a few weeks into the New Year and full swing back into our homeschool schedules. As usual, Jeffrey was up and at 'em before anyone else on day one, plugging away at what he needed to get done.
CHANGES TO OUR 7TH GRADE CURRICULUM
I love taking a good look at what we're doing two or three time throughout the year to see if we're on the right track. This is more than just the daily or weekly check-in. Jeffrey is great at keeping one step ahead of what needs to be done and I can count on him to come to me if he has questions or needs help on anything—he does not want to ever get behind.
He is also my kid who is up most mornings before I am, and has half, or all, of his school work done before breakfast. Yes—he will work for 2-3 hours, focused and thorough, and be done for the day (minus what we do together as a family). That’s what motivates him and works best for him.
As I was saying . . . a few times a year I go through the curriculum with more of a fine-tooth comb and we have a mini conference, where each child and I talk about what's working and what’s not, what we want to change and what to keep the same.
We even dropped a curriculum choice complete after only TWO WEEKS into school this past fall!
I'm always open to changing things if they're not working.
He is also my kid who is up most mornings before I am, and has half, or all, of his school work done before breakfast. Yes—he will work for 2-3 hours, focused and thorough, and be done for the day (minus what we do together as a family). That’s what motivates him and works best for him.
As I was saying . . . a few times a year I go through the curriculum with more of a fine-tooth comb and we have a mini conference, where each child and I talk about what's working and what’s not, what we want to change and what to keep the same.
We even dropped a curriculum choice complete after only TWO WEEKS into school this past fall!
I'm always open to changing things if they're not working.
KEEPING
Math: Math-U-See~Geometry
Math: Math-U-See~Geometry
No change here. He is still plugging away at Geometry and loving it. He is over half way done and should finish the curriculum by the end of March. At that point we will have to decide if we want to go ahead and start Algebra 2 or do something a bit different for the spring and summer months.
Some things we've talked about are taking a financial math course or something through Dave Ramsey. There is no hurry to push him through all his Math courses, he is only 12 years old. He does love math so we defiantly want him to have something to work on that continues to foster that love in this subject area.
Some things we've talked about are taking a financial math course or something through Dave Ramsey. There is no hurry to push him through all his Math courses, he is only 12 years old. He does love math so we defiantly want him to have something to work on that continues to foster that love in this subject area.
FINISHED
Language Arts: The Good and the Beautiful~Level 5
Language Arts: The Good and the Beautiful~Level 5
He finished this before Christmas and we are taking a break from this curriculum. Maybe for good. It's a great all-encompassing curriculum, but for us, there are other things we use that fulfill much of what is taught in The Good and the Beautiful--such as the geography and writing portions. While the extra work wasn't overwhelming, it was unnecessary and I would rather he focus on each aspect of a subject that works best for him instead of using something just because it's conveniently included.
KEEPING
Writing: IEW~Following Narnia Vol. 1: The Lion's Song
Writing: IEW~Following Narnia Vol. 1: The Lion's Song
He finished IEW: Fables, Myths, & Fairy Tales right before Christmas and we are going to move onto The Lion’s Song, which combines the IEW writing styles while, at the same time, reading and writing about the first three books of the Narnia series!
To say I am excited about this is an understatement!!! I CANNOT wait to go through this with him! Heck, I may pull out my own paper and do the work right along with him! We will be starting this after Spring Break, in mid-April. I'll fill you in on why we're waiting so long when I share with you about our new curriculum below.
This isn’t Jeffrey’s favorite. He loved to write stories so he’d rather spend his writing time thinking and writing his own stories. I am hoping that having this be a unit study as well as a writing unit will make it more enjoyable for him.
To say I am excited about this is an understatement!!! I CANNOT wait to go through this with him! Heck, I may pull out my own paper and do the work right along with him! We will be starting this after Spring Break, in mid-April. I'll fill you in on why we're waiting so long when I share with you about our new curriculum below.
This isn’t Jeffrey’s favorite. He loved to write stories so he’d rather spend his writing time thinking and writing his own stories. I am hoping that having this be a unit study as well as a writing unit will make it more enjoyable for him.
KEEPING
Grammar: Fix It!~Frog Prince
He also finished his Fix It! book 2 and has moved onto the next Fix It! book, which is called Frog Prince, or Just Deserts. He was able to fly through Robin Hood, doing two lessons each week, but we are slowing it down to one lesson per week for Frog Prince. The passages each day are getting longer and there is more and more grammatical errors to find. It still takes him less than 15 minutes per day and I find this an easy, stress free way for him to keep learning grammar.
KEEPING
Science: Answers in Genesis~Heaven and Earth
We did a quick change to our science a few weeks after we started our schooling back in the Fall and Jeffrey chose his own curriculum. As expected, he spent quite a bit of time looking at all the options out there and once he settled on this he was anxious to get started. He laid out his own schedule and keeps on top of it all. There are some experiments he does, and some he goes over. There will be many hands-on science labs in the years to come so he does the ones that we have the items for, and just reads through the others.
Grammar: Fix It!~Frog Prince
He also finished his Fix It! book 2 and has moved onto the next Fix It! book, which is called Frog Prince, or Just Deserts. He was able to fly through Robin Hood, doing two lessons each week, but we are slowing it down to one lesson per week for Frog Prince. The passages each day are getting longer and there is more and more grammatical errors to find. It still takes him less than 15 minutes per day and I find this an easy, stress free way for him to keep learning grammar.
KEEPING
Science: Answers in Genesis~Heaven and Earth
We did a quick change to our science a few weeks after we started our schooling back in the Fall and Jeffrey chose his own curriculum. As expected, he spent quite a bit of time looking at all the options out there and once he settled on this he was anxious to get started. He laid out his own schedule and keeps on top of it all. There are some experiments he does, and some he goes over. There will be many hands-on science labs in the years to come so he does the ones that we have the items for, and just reads through the others.
KEEPING
Handwriting: The Good and the Beautiful~Level 6
Handwriting: The Good and the Beautiful~Level 6
This is a quick and easy time to focus on penmanship. One page a day, four days a week. It may not be his favorite time of day, but I still believe penmanship to be important, not only for the beauty of the written word, but also for the brain hand connection it focuses on. He has really nice handwriting and even if he groans a bit, I know he doesn’t mind too much. I have told him this will be the last level he needs to do unless he requests a handwriting book.
KEEP
History: The Good and the Beautiful~Year 2
History: The Good and the Beautiful~Year 2
We do this all together and are really enjoying curriculum. It’s a quick and easy open-the-book and go. Each year goes through the entire timeline of history focusing on different time periods and different historical people. I’ve never studied history this way before but it’s been fun and the kids all enjoy it. We finished Year 1 before Christmas and jumped right into year 2.
ABANDONED
Science: Master Books~Historical Geography
ABANDONED
Science: Master Books~Historical Geography
We changed our science curriculum only a couple weeks into the school year. The DVD's and the information presented is FANTASTIC! But . . . the worksheets and quizzes were super intense and he was spending most of his time digging back through the information in order to answer every single question. That much frustration and time is never our goal. We kept and went through the DVD's and the books since both are valuable resources and give such good information on how the Biblical record is factual and makes the most scientific sense.
And now for our . . .
NEW CURRICULUM
Language Arts: Total Language Plus
And now for our . . .
NEW CURRICULUM
Language Arts: Total Language Plus
This is a new curriculum for all of us. I looked at it for over a month before I decided to make the leap and try something new. We don't necessarily homeschool year-round, but we did do a few things all summer last year, and plan to do that this next summer as well. Therefore, I don't mind taking a break and trying out something different. If it pushes our other curriculum into the summer that's totally ok with me.
Each of the kids got to choose their own book from the selection available to them at their grade level. Jeffrey chose The Hobbit.
He was ready to jump in and read the entire book right away, but we talked about it and after looking through the curriculum decided it was best to stay with the schedule and read each chapter as it pertains to the unit he's working on.
He's already excited to dive into the Lord of the Ring series when he's done with this book. Since I am reading this right along with him, I am also looking forward to reading the entire series.
Each of the kids got to choose their own book from the selection available to them at their grade level. Jeffrey chose The Hobbit.
He was ready to jump in and read the entire book right away, but we talked about it and after looking through the curriculum decided it was best to stay with the schedule and read each chapter as it pertains to the unit he's working on.
He's already excited to dive into the Lord of the Ring series when he's done with this book. Since I am reading this right along with him, I am also looking forward to reading the entire series.
NEW CURRICULUM
Shakespeare: How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
Shakespeare: How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
I hesitate to call this curriculum. It’s not taking the place of anything formal or fulfilling a state requirement. This is just something fun and meaningful we added to our homeschool day. Shakespeare had a huge influence on our English language and knowing about him and the words he gave us can only be a positive addition to our homeschool journey.
This has been something totally new and different for us. We do this as a family, with all four kids. As I suspected, Jeffrey's memorization is quick. We've memorized the first three sections and he is usually the first to have it down.
This book starts with one of Shakespeare's comedies, A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is amusing and all the kids got quite swept up in the story from the start. We've read a handful of different adaptations of the story that are much simpler than reading the actual Shakespeare play. We've also watched a movie and all had quite a lot of laughter and enjoyed it thoroughly. We've also watched a few snippets of actual plays as well.
We're also learning about Shakespeare himself and the entire world of playwrights during his time, utilizing different websites and books. I'm enjoying this as well since I never had a Shakespeare class during my schooling.
This has been something totally new and different for us. We do this as a family, with all four kids. As I suspected, Jeffrey's memorization is quick. We've memorized the first three sections and he is usually the first to have it down.
This book starts with one of Shakespeare's comedies, A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is amusing and all the kids got quite swept up in the story from the start. We've read a handful of different adaptations of the story that are much simpler than reading the actual Shakespeare play. We've also watched a movie and all had quite a lot of laughter and enjoyed it thoroughly. We've also watched a few snippets of actual plays as well.
We're also learning about Shakespeare himself and the entire world of playwrights during his time, utilizing different websites and books. I'm enjoying this as well since I never had a Shakespeare class during my schooling.
Current Curriculum with Links
Math: Math U See~Geometry
Writing: IEW~Following Narnia Vol. 1: The Lion's Song
Grammar: IEW~Fix It! Frog Prince
Handwriting: The Good and the Beautiful~Level 6
Science: Answers In Genesis~God's Design for Heaven and Earth
History: The Good and the Beautiful~History 2
Language Arts: Total Language Plus
Shakespeare: How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
Also check out christianbook.com for curriculum.
For into on another curriculum changes this year check out these post:
Eighth Grade
Fourth Grade
First Grade
Writing: IEW~Following Narnia Vol. 1: The Lion's Song
Grammar: IEW~Fix It! Frog Prince
Handwriting: The Good and the Beautiful~Level 6
Science: Answers In Genesis~God's Design for Heaven and Earth
History: The Good and the Beautiful~History 2
Language Arts: Total Language Plus
Shakespeare: How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
Also check out christianbook.com for curriculum.
For into on another curriculum changes this year check out these post:
Eighth Grade
Fourth Grade
First Grade
0 Comments