Honestly, he completely shuts down when writing, because he cannot seem to get back basic sentences, "My dog is big. I went swimming. I loved to go to camp." He doesn't seem to have the critical thinking skills to use all the wonderful verbs, adverbs, adjectives etc. to make a "colorful" paragraph, let alone a whole paper. His writing is very dry and his sentences are very short. On the grammar side, I noticed this year he was getting a lot of basic grammar wrong and eve asked me at one point, "what is an adjective again". I thought BJU would be good on the basic side, but until he has that down, I wasn't sure what to do about the writing.

My son is technically in 7th grade now and we have done a lot of 6th grade work. We are struggling with grammar. I am going to forego most writing next year, aside from journal prompts and focus on Grammar. I found a great deal on BJU English 6. What other programs would you recommend for a child who struggles with basic grammar and sentence structure?

Thank you all so much! One other question. A mom I know who has homeschooled her kids for many years tells me it is required that a student take one full year of American History and a full year of World History in High School. Is this true? If so, I may want to wait an introduce American History in high school. She says if my student takes it now, it won't count? This mom also tells me that my student will also need to take Government and Economics in High school as well. I am so confused. Are there standards for home schooled kids who will not be going back into traditional schools. I am in California and am not sure what is required.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I apologize. I did not have my settings to receive email notifications. I've fixed that now. Although a Christian worldview is important, it doesn't have to be too heavy. I am new to homeschooling, and am just trying to find my way. I started out the year with Story of the World, but my daughter has gotten bored with it. I feel we need something more, and since most 7th grade public school kids (as well as Christian school kids) are taking American History, I thought I would squeeze that in. But, since ATB is a full year course, I may want some other ideas as to what to do for history for the rest of the year. What type of history has your child done in 7th grade, and what have then done in 8th grade. Sorry. I am such a newbie and don't want to be overbearing.

I am going to begin American History with my daughter after the first of the year. I am looking at Notgrass' America The Beautiful. There appears to be a lot of texts that I will need to purchase. The entire kit is quite expensive. We are a one income family right now and I work a very flexible full-time job. Are there other American History curricula that you could recommend? My daughter is a good reader, but doesn't like to read, anything that is just black and white on a page will not motivate her. We love texts with lots of pictures and even don't mind a crossword puzzle or two or other added supplements to help keep her motivated. Thanks for your help!