I wrestled with this issue of science this summer, and while I have a plan now for this year, I still wrestle with whether this is how I want to do it this year. I found out so many things AFTER we started the school year that I wish I had known BEFORE. Like how much beefier the science has become in our core curriculum (Trail Guide to Learning: Paths of Settlement - TGTL) compared to last year, when it was too little for my boys' ages. Like forgetting that TGTL was doing earth science this year and physical science next year, and that it would have made much more sense to expand on what was there already than inventing my own course. Like noticing that middle school textbooks combine physics and chemistry into the same year and call it physical science because at this level, they don't need to go so deep as to spend an entire year on just one of the 2. And now that we ar e9 weeks into the school year, and some of my choices were too much for the boys, I wondered if I should scrap it all and follow the TGTL science after all! But when I talked to the boys, they wanted to continue with the physics and weren't so excited by earth science. So maybe breaking earth science up like my original plan, doing astronomy this year with physics, and geology next year with chemistry, will help them get some of earth science without spending a year on something they don't enjoy so much. I have the BFSU book, but my boys are so much older than its targeted audience AND I work full time during the day, so it would be very hard for me to figure out how to use BFSU. I need stuff that they boys can do 95% independently. From what I could tell with public school textbooks, all of elementary school science is integrated - they do a little from each of the branches every year. But middle school typically divides it up into Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science, usually reserving Physical Science for 8th grade, with the first 2 being somewhat interchangeable for 6th and 7th grades. This summer, I read some articles about how science builds on itself in real life and how the normal US sequence in high school is actually backwards. The high school sequence is dictated by the math required, not by the development of the science itself. I recall having a difficult time in AP Physics class as a high school senior and then physics in college relating the real-life parts of physics to the math problems in the textbook. I was very good at math. I could do the calculus easily. But trying to figure out how to go from the problem/scenario/physics side and convert that into the math problem boggled my mind. I believe it was because I didn't understand the actual physics itself enough - I couldn't picture what was happening in real life and the focus of my 2 physics classes were on solving problems with math. But my dh had a WONDERFUL high school physics experience based on having fun with the real-world stuff, playing with ideas and scenarios, and almost no math involved and to this day, loves talking about mechanical advantage, Newton's laws of motion, etc. So I thought that maybe if I spent the last 2 years of their junior high science getting them exposed, in a more fun, hands-on, interesting way, to physics and chemistry without all of the math, hopefully giving them more of dh's experience than my experience, then that may keep them from dreading/disliking high school science so much when it gets so "math-y". I figured that if they felt comfortable with many of the physics and chemistry concepts now, before high school science comes along, then even when they did approach the math parts of science, they would have no problems because they weren't wrestling with the concepts AND the math at the same time. So far, my plan is: 7th grade: middle school physics and astronomy, focusing on concepts and hands-on experiences 8th grade: middle school chemistry and geology, again, focusing on concepts and hands-on experiences (maybe a real good chemistry kit, if those exist) 9th grade: I haven't totally decided on this. Originally it was to be biology. But I am thinking that we can start out maybe with the parts of earth science that we haven't done yet (since we would have covered astronomy and geology already) and then move into biology either 2nd semester in 9th continuing through 1st semester 10th, or wait until 10th grade. 10th grade: Do last semester of biology (depending on 9th grade choice). Starting in 10th grade, either 1st or 2nd semester, we can either follow the traditional order of high school chemistry and physics, or let them pick what areas of science they are most interested in and focus on more specialized science tailored to the individual. There are so many to choose from - zoology, botany, ecology, marine biology, anatomy/physiology, cosmology (ie, Stephen Hawking, et al), biochemistry, and on and on. I would support them choosing an area in which to focus and we would create a course together to cover that, deciding if it should be only 1 semester or 2. So far, those are my plans. Of course, they will inevitably change, I am sure!

Another really easy and cheap (FREE) program check out Progressive Phonics. It's online at http://www.progressivephonics.com. I also think it would complement RR quite nicely if you wanted to do that.

This was my concern when I saw how HO Level 2 was done. I am really new to WTM and I am just now reading through TWTM for the first time, but now at least I know why HO Level 2 is using the Kingfisher book - it was recommended in TWTM (2nd edition)! When I was reading how TWTM defines logic-stage history, using the Kingfisher for outlining practice and the other things it recommends, I felt like it was missing something. My kids don't do well with "overview" or "survey" courses where they cover a lot of stuff very superficially, have to try to memorize a bunch of names and dates, and don't get to immerse themselves in the subject. I much prefer lots of "real" books, maybe not quite as much as SL uses, but still interesting, whole books, for covering history topics. We used Trail Guide to Learning: Paths of Exploration last year and are using Paths of Settlement this year and really enjoy focusing on specific areas of history for longer periods of time, reading a selection of biographies, non-fiction, and historical fiction. We plan to continue with this program through 8th grade to finish the US History series, but then in 9th grade, I kind of wanted to start a 3-4 year cycle of world history using similar time periods as TWTM uses. So I was reading TWTM with the hopes of getting some ideas on how to approach Ancient History in 9th grade, but found that I am not liking either the Kingfisher-approach from logic stage, nor will my boys be ready for the Great Books from the rhetoric stage of TWTM. So I guess I will be on my own - unless Trail Guides to Learning continues with their intent to do world history for 3 years after this US History cycle!

:iagree:

:iagree: For my boys, I didn't notice this until the last month or so. They turned 12 at the end of June, and I have one son who has started to become quite emotional and moody of late compared to how he used to be. It has been really strange and I am finding that I have to show more compassion than I used to just so he doesn't break down crying over little things. :001_unsure: The other son has been on a behaviorial and emotional roller coaster since he was about 2 years old due to his psychiatric issues, so it's harder to detect any changes with him right now. So far, his medicine is still working for his more major issues. :thumbup:

:iagree: My boys are 7th-graders, and after trying to use all "living books" the first 9 weeks of school for "middle school physics", I am finding that we prefer a textbook as our "sprine" or "anchor" for science. It gives us a framework to use and branch off from for other readings and interests. So we just started this week with a Science Explorer module/book that I picked up from eBay, and we will still supplement with plenty of other books, biographies, and of course, we are doing at least 1-2 "labs" each week. The next thing I have in store for them is to start keeping a science lab notebook that contains everything they are doing during their lab time and for collecting their data. We are not, for various reasons, up to the point of doing a formal lab report every week, but that is the direction I am heading.

What kinds of videos for science do you all use for upper elementary and middle school? My boys love Mythbusters and Time Warp (when it was on), but don't watch much else. Though I must say that they learn TONS from Mythbusters, including how to plan experiements, how things don't always go as planned, and how to revisit experiments to further pursue the question. Of course, their favorite parts have to do with flash, bang, and kaboom! LOL!

I have never heard that! At most, I would say *maybe* 9, if you separate articles out of the adjective category, but otherwise, those are the parts of speech. It sounds like the other terms you are using - determiners, nouns as modifiers, etc. - are not parts of speech, but rather describe HOW that particular word is being used in the sentence. But if you look up words in a dictionary to see what parts of speech they can be, you won't find "determiner" as a part of speech. Though I can see how in your example, "eagle" would be confusing as it is usually a noun, and sometimes a verb (as in your golf example). I don't know if you would ever see it listed as an adjective in the dictionary, but it also wouldn't be listed as a "modifier" or such. So maybe it needs to be labeled as a noun in the sentence you used, but understanding that it's FUNCTION is to modify another noun. Or call the phrase "eagle chick" a compound noun or some such thing.

What is W&M as in W&M Utopia? What is MC as in MC 4+? Thanks!

This was my understanding, also. It is what I was taught in my high school AP English classes years ago - when I first heard what a thesis WAS! :D

We used Paths of Exploration last year and have just started Paths of Settlement. We love it! My boys are 7th-graders, so this year we have started using the additional Middle School Supplement, which really ups the reading levels and writing/researching tasks. It's a great program, well thought-out and thorough. In fact, I think the difference between Paths of Exploration and Paths of Settlement is more of a jump than I anticipated, and so some of the things I was going to add this year have really been unnecessary! :)

My son is just about finished with Pre-Algebra 1 after having completed the Fractions and Decimals/Percents books. He won't consider any other math program, even though he has had to work at figuring out a couple of chapters. And one chapter which was showing how to balance chemical equations, I had to sit and work with him for about 10 minutes. But then he was off and running. We will be doing Pre-Algebra 2, probably starting just after Halloween, and will probably start Beginning Algebra in the April-May timeframe. However, with Beginning Algebra I am definitely getting the Home Companion guide for extra practice and small chunk lessons. Right now, I have him working for 30 minutes/day instead of one lesson/day. When he was in the previous books, sometimes one lesson/day meant he only did math for 15 minutes! I told the boys that I would soon be upping their math time to 40 minutes/day (4 days/week) since they are 7th-graders now. I may just tell this one to do one lesson/day regardless of how long it takes - even if it takes an hour! That should prepare him better for the Beginning Algrebra book.

Has anyone heard of or used this? What are your thoughts and opinions on it for middle school writing instruction?

We are racing through Sentence Island, having completed Grammar Island this year so far, trying to get to the Town level stuff so we can work on real writing of paragraphs. Do you think Paragraph Town will properly prepare my boys for Essay Voyage? They have never done any full, multi-paragraph writing before now. I am lucky to even get a full paragraph from a written narration from them! (We have focused mostly on remediating reading up to this year. This is our "year of writing instruction"! :D)