Okay lords and ladies, I am slowing working on plans for next school year and my oldest will be in 7th grade. Not sure where the time goes! There are zero older homeschool family mentors in my area (and none are CM anyway). I would love to hear things you plan to use or have used and liked for 7th grade.
At the moment here is where I’m at planning wise:
Early American History/Geography – (Module 5 time period, though not necessarily using the suggestions for Module 5). Oldest loves to read so living books for sure. I’m trying to find a family spine (my other kids will be 3rd, 2nd, K, PreK, and a few younger). I’ll be posting separately about that later… My oldest will do written narrations (notebooking) about what she reads.
Science – Apologia’s General Science. Happy with this, and she’ll continue nature study and reading about naturalists and other scientists.
Logic – The Fallacy Detective (I think!)
Now it’s your turn! What are your favorites for Module 5 time period in American history? What do you love for 7th graders?
Vocabulary – Something for greek and latin roots. So far I’m looking at Word Roots A1 from Critical THinking or English from the Roots Up.
Math – Math U See. Work for us.
Literature – Outside of history she’ll do at least 2 books. So far I’ve only got the following ideas: Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, or Anne of Avonlea. We also have read alouds still for our homeschool book club.
Language Arts – Keep working through Analytical Grammar at half speed. Spelling based on words she frequently misspells. Composition outside of written narration – ? Something.
Music – piano lessons. Need some composers – are there any in early american history?
Art – need artists – are there any in early american history?
Handicrafts – whatever she decides to do. This year so far she’s taught herself basic knitting and sewing, plus origami and jewelry making.
In addition, I am hoping to use Teaching the Classics as a guideline to put together a book discussion club for my daughter and some of her friends. I am hoping that if I lead the group a couple of times, they can then use the TTC guide to lead the group themselves.
For me, these middle school years are all about transitioning to being responsible for their own learning. I try to find things that give them enough of a framework to plan their own reading, projects, etc.
Your plan looks very similar to what my current 7th grader is doing! Her subjects:
MUS
Apologia General
Spelling Wisdom
Write with the Best and one written narration per week
Wordly Wise (daughter struggles with voc)
Current Events (Gods World News)
English from the Roots Up
SCM Module 1
Fallacy Detective
Analytical Grammar
Composer/Picture Study/Poet/Hymns/Family Devotional (1or 2 per day)
Literature
Family Memory Work
Piano lessons
Greek with dad, but currently not happening!
Spanish online currently not happening!
Any Novel Study Guide currently not happening!
She had all this on a one page list for the week. She likes this format because sometiines she’ll choose to work abead in order to have an easier day later in the week. It looks like a lot, but she does most of it independently, and several things don’t take long. HTH some:) Gina
Benjamin West was an American-born painter of that era.
Is Stephen Foster in that era?
You didn’t mention who you were going to do for poetry, so if you want to include some of that time period, Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley come to mind.
Looks like a great plan. The Fallacy Detective didn’t work out for us, but the cost is so little it is worth risking. It is a great product. He is just not logic-minded, and we needed something different.
He is STILL working through Apoligia Gen. Science (in 8th grade), but science is his least favorite subject and he is going slowly. Still, we’re getting there, about 2/3s through. I’m OK with this as we had planned to do Apologia Physicak Science for 9th all along. He will start it this summer though, b/c it does take him so long to get through a course. I plan for him to complete that one in 1 year.
We are using Rod&Staff for English. Book 7. It does the job for us. Spelling is like you said, isolating words he misspells, which for him is very rare.
We use the Critical Thinking Word Roots CD-roms. I LOVE them, and DS likes it. It is very good! It has greatly enriched his vocabulary. It seems like it wouldn’t work, but it really has for him. He is on A2 now, and I plan for him to go through B1 as well.
He is going to begin Algebra I soon with plans to finish it in 9th grade, which for us starts officially in July. I expect it to take him through December. I am seriously considering the Great Courses Alegebra I DVDs for this, and it is on sale through tonight at Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op. Not 100% certain but fairly certain.
We are using Module 5 this year. DS loves history and reading, so he adds a lot of books to the list I require of him. He can’t wait to move even more into modern times. He loves studying World War I the best. I don’t worry too much on history as it is favorite subject, but we will definitely continue with Module 6. I do follow the book suggestions closely, but often have DS read some of the grades 10-12 books (b/c of the aforementioned appetite for books and history).
I think I replied to another thread you started (History??), and what we’re referring to as modules are time periods to study in history listed in the Simply Charlotte Mason Curriculum Guide. There are six history modules, and you can find an overview chart listing them here.
If you click on any of the history module titles in the chart, such as Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation & Epistles, it will take you to a page that lists all of the recommended books for Family Reading and various grade-level suggestions. These lists of books are just suggestions, and you don’t have to read all of them in one year, especially when you consider that you would cover each module twice during the course of twelve years of education.