high school prep

Hi there – deep breath! I have a 7th grader who is quickly approaching high school, too. It is scary to have all the pressure on you to come up with a program that will work through high school and beyond.

First – the grammar thing. The whole reason we delay grammar is that it is a finite body of knowledge. And it is abstract, which means little ones don’t easily grasp the concepts. So the fact that you aren’t doing much grammar yet is perfectly fine!

My daughter has done programs where the grammar is ‘integrated’ in a more CM friendly way (like Queen’s). This year we are using a ‘gentle’ grammar – Our Mother Tongue. Starting in 8th grade, we will begin some real work in understanding grammar and diagramming.

The entire body of knowledge she needs to have in grammar can be learned in two years (or less). Most of it is acquired through the instinctual and contextual knowledge that reading great books will give her. In other words, even though we haven’t ‘studied’ grammar, I notice that she rarely makes grammatical errors in speaking or writing – because of the good books she makes a habit of reading. So, learning the rules is secondary to proper usage.

Writing is much the same. Reading good books gives the child an instinctual knowledge of how to write. Oral and written narrations do the same. Teaching the structure of, say, a research paper, is secondary to developing good writing skills.

We use a writing curriculum (Jump In, by Apologia). It is not CM to do so, but like you, I wanted my kids to have a background in the logic of writing and how to structure their writing for different purposes. They love it, and their writing has improved as a result.

There are numerous programs out there to teach writing skills- and many books that you could check out from the library which teach how to write different kinds of reports.

I plan on using writing more and more as an evaluation tool as my children proceed through high school. In my mind, there are few skills as valuable as the ability to communicate in writing.

Science! Well, I have to admit that once we reach 8th grade, I will probably defer to Apologia for science. Our science has mostly been Apologia and nature study, with living science books thrown in for good measure.

Last year, we used A Reason for Science just so that I could have experiments to do with all the kids. I am amazed at how much they know, without having really studied the concepts before. But then again, they have probably read about many of the things we are doing – I just didn’t realize it!

And the further we go in our homeschooling adventure, the more I am realizing the truth of Charlotte’s words:

“Self education is the only possible education; the rest is mere veneer laid on the surface of a child’s nature.”

Your job isn’t to have it all together – it is to awaken the love of learning and to spread the feast. Hopefully, their own love of learning will take them through high school and college, and beyond!

By the way, I will be using the SCM planning resource to give some structure to our high school days. Maybe it would come in handy as we round that corner leading to high school, too?

My oldest is in 7th (ds) and the next one down, 6th (dd). I have my ds doing Apologia Gen. Sci. next month (he’s just finshing the Apo. Anatomy). My dd is behind in sci. and is beginning the Zoology 1 w/notebook. She has never been interested in sc. beyond nature study, but she finally is interested in Apologia. She ahs been reading living nature books and science magazines her whole “schooling” life, so I’m thinkin’ that counts as a base.

My son has always read the Apo. elementary series for fun. For ex.,I will get him the new Chem. and Phys. one to read on his own.

She won’t begin Apologia Gen. Sc. until 8th. So that gives her another 1 1/2 yrs. to go through some of the elementary books, unless she can get them all in (she’s a voracious reader adn loes to write and do crafts, hence the notebooks) and then Gen. Sc. will fill in the gaps. I don’t expect to go to advanced sciences in HS, as I expect from my son.

I am having them be mostly independent since due to my dh’s health, I just can’t be there with them so much.

For math, so far MUS and LoF is meeting our needs. Again, my dd is behind, but she is catching up. She was a late-learner in math.

For grammar, they are doing R&S 5. They began last year. I am pleased with it. It covers both writing and grammar; I needed one thing to cover two topics. It is thorough.

Even though your state does not require testing, I do recommend that you give them formal, year end tests. I don’t have to do it but every 3 years and even those I don’t have to turn it; they are just for me. IMO, they need to learn how to just take a test, which is a skill even unto itself, that will probably be required eventually in tehir schooling career if they do anything beyond your home.

I did a non-timed test (PASS test) for two years in a row before moving to a timed-test. It has been a learning curve for them there too, since I don’t generally do tests, beyond math and another here and there. Each year they get better at the testing process, so that by the time they get older and may be placed in a formal testing environment, they won’t feel trepidation and will know how to perform.

After my son finishes Ap. Gen. Sc., he’ll move into Phys. Sc., etc; continue with R&S series for writing and grammar. I actually plan on using a lit. program for HS; I just haven’t settled on which. Looking at Excellence in Lit. and Epi Kardia.

They also started their 2nd. foreign lang. studies this week (already doing Mod. Heb., began Classical LAtin) and know that come HS (in two years), my son will move into Biblical Heb. (which isn’t much diff. than Mod.) and into Koine Greek as well. My dd, will do Bibl. Heb. , not sure about Koine Greek. yet.

If your children begin Latin, that will help with their English studies, too.

Additionally, we have:

Logic studies

Jewish and character studies

Economics

PLutarch

Jewish history, in addition to the regular history line.

Spelling (son does an extra spelling course, as it is more difficult for him; dd just SW – spelling is simple for her)

Lit. books and His. books

I’m sure I’m missing something here…

For poetry we are beginning the Micheal Clay Thompson series.

For Composer, just listening to VOX cd’s

For Art, not too much. My son won’t do any srtistic training course, my dd will do it on her own as an “elective” (she reads art books on her own). I think now through HS is a great time to start watching them develop their personal gifts, as well as strengthen their minds in areas that would benefit them in the future (like logic and economics), no matter what field or endeavor they embark upon.

I don’ t know if this is helpful; I’m sure I missed something. It’s a little scattered (it’s late).

I have to write a Big Picture plan yearly and that keeps me focused. What are their strengths? What do you expect or want them to finish with having studied? I ask myself a few questions in designing the big picture plan.

And the blog also says this:)

Of course, if a student is not science-minded and does not plan to pursue a career in a scientific field, then it’s no problem to wait until the eighth grade to begin General Science. You might even choose to spread General Science across seventh and eighth grades until the student is comfortable with the math skills required for Physical Science.