[2019-2020 8th grade planning]

I'm still playing around with everything so this will most likely change:

Science - Physics, I have no idea what we'll use for this We just signed up for the Clover Creek Physics class. DD is excited about this. 

History - Maybe Roman Roads

English - Patterns for college writing we are going to shelve that and do Bravewriter help for high school and Lively Art of Writing along with a Shakespeare study and maybe add in Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings

Math - Geometry with Mr. D

Spanish with HSA

Robotics class, python class, and dance 

[9th Grade for 2019-2020!]

I can't believe I'm planning 9th grade. My first high schooler. I'm not done planning but this is what I have so far...

English - Patterns for College Writting, book study on American Lit

History - Oak Meadow World History

Math - Mr D Geometry

Science - Chemistry, I'm not sure what we will use for this 

Language- Homeschool Spanish Academy

Stem classes based in CAD, Piano, Art and maybe dance although I'm a little worried this is too many activities so it may change.

[Red-shirting an accelerated learner]

My twins were born 9/30 and the cutoff is 9/1 now in CA due to recent changes. I had planned on keeping them back before I knew the cut off had changed. I just wanted to give them more time to be little and play. It didn't seem right starting at 4 turning 5. I don't regret it at all so far but they are still little. One twin is more advanced than the other and he will be starting BA3 in Sept but he will officially be 1st grade. I figure we have time to really delve into things and dig deeper or slow down if we want to. I have no plans of holding them back academically and we will go according to their pace. There are so many options for homeschoolers in high school including dual enrollment, early graduation or technical certificates so if they are still ahead by that point we will probably look into one of those options depending on what they are interested in. Most likely dual enrollment or spending time really studying what they are interested in. I'm sure we will figure it out when we get there. It's only one year difference and we will never get the younger years back. 

ETA: I just re-read your post and realized it was for an 11 yo not a 4 or 5 yo. I would keep him at his grade level and decide later. It wouldn't be hard to add an extra year if you decide to do that or maybe you will feel differently at that point and want to graduate him. 

[Hysterectomy VS Ablation?]

I'm done having children so that's not an issue. I'm considering one if these for bleeding reduction. My doctor wants me to go in for a sit down meeting to talk but so far all he's mentioned is a hysterectomy. I assume that's due to my families history with cancer. I have had a few people mention an  ablation so I've started looking into that. 

54 minutes ago, Katy said:

 

Have you confirmed that the family members that have cancer have the gene?  I ask because we have a strong history of Breast, Ovarian, and Colon cancer in my family but none of those who have it have a BRCA 1 or 2 mutation. There must be a different gene at play.  It's led a few of my aunts to have preventative surgeries.

I've never considered this. Two of my Aunt's who had uterine cancer have not checked for the gene. We've just assumed they had it. Actually the three that have checked were all related to colon cancer but we were told the mutation also causes uterine and ovarian cancer. 

[Hysterectomy VS Ablation?]

It sounds like an ablation is the way to go. I think the reason my doctor was also talking about a partial hysterectomy was due to my families history of ovarian and uterine cancer but were have a genetic factor in my family that causes it and I don't have that gene (they checked) so I'm pretty sure that means my cancer risk is not any higher than a person without any family history if it. 

[Hysterectomy VS Ablation?]

I was wondering if anyone else had to make the choice between these two. Which one did you choose and why? Also do you regret you decision or wish you had opted for the other option? I'm back and forth but I want to make my decision soon. I'm hoping to get one or the other done early summer. 

[HS'ing several...how do you keep up with grading work?]

We're supposed to be grading ??...........

In all seriousness I only check math. It gets corrected as I spot wrong answers on the spot. I go over grammar immediately and writing is only finished once their checklist are complete. We teach to mastery so grading isn't necessary. 

[Dystopian Books]

6 hours ago, Lori D. said:

 

 

Okay, all of this helps a lot. :) However, as a result, my response is: No, I don't think you can attain ALL of those goals with this particular genre choice. lol. Sorry! Just my opinion, but while most Sci-Fi and Dystopia is competently written, it is focused on philosophy and ideas -- which makes it very "discussionable", but you don't often also get an author who writes with beauty and creativity of language. But I think that's true whenever we are building a Literature unit around a particular topic. Again, just my opinion! :)

Agreeing with Tanaqui that you can get a lot of worthy discussion out of YA dystopian works, even if they are not the best-written works. Of the YA titles I suggested above, IMO, House of the Scorpion dances on the edge of poorly-written but the setting, characters, and premise are so unique, and the questions it raises are also unusual and new, that it makes a worthwhile inclusion to a Literature study. The other YA titles I suggested range from competently-written to better-than-average in writing, and again, they are worth including in a Literature study for discussion about topic, theme, and creativity -- not necessarily for a high writing style. You can certainly get some great prompt questions for writing assignments out of this literature, whether it is "well-written" or just "competently written". ;)

But, if you want to do writing imitation from well-written literature, then go ahead and do Anne of Green Gables or other classics known for their beautiful writing style. You don't have to make ALL the literature for the ENTIRE year revolve around a single theme or genre ;) -- for example, you could alternate a dystopian book with a beautifully-written work that you want to make sure you cover in middle school. You could even try  doing the year-long study on Anne of Green Gables (Where the River and Brook Meet Anne of Green Gables) and intersperse dystopia for lit. discussions... Just a thought! :) (That's also a good idea to mix in lighter or positive-themed works when doing Dystopia, as that is typically a very dark and brutal focus for an entire year.)

For a history study on political thought and different types of government, some Literature that would tie in:

• Animal Farm (Orwell) -- Soviet Communism & western Capitalism
• The Time Machine (Wells) -- starts with Victorian monarchy; the Time Traveler sees how the future went towards Socialism, which ultimately failed and, coupled with Evolution, the far future results in two primitive "devolved" groups of peoples -- the underground Troglydite people (descendents of laborers) and Eloi people (descendents of the soft, pampered wealthy)
• Watership Down (Adams) -- shows several different types of societies/gov't types
• Below the Root (Snyder) -- utopia (although, it becomes apparent that it is utopia for one group at a cost to another group of people)
• The Giver (Lowry) -- dystopia
• The Pushcart War (Merrill) -- how wars start; humorous book
• The Day They Came to Arrest the Book (Hentoff) -- censorship
• possibly even The Book Thief (Zusak), although the focus is not explicitly on Nazi-ism you do see the results
• possibly even The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Tolkien) -- although the major themes in the book are not about politics or gov't, you do see self-governing Hobbits with an elected Mayor (the Shire), several "city-states" with Lords (Rivendale and Lorien), monarchies with Kings & Queens (Rohan and Gondor), semi-orderly/semi-chaotic gangs with "boss" leaders (orcs), a "libertarian" (lol) very minimal gov't (Fangorn Forest), and a totalitarian dictator (Sauron the Dark Lord of Mordor) -- your students are at a great age for doing the year-long Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings study, and the trilogy is beautifully-written, which would give you loads of opportunities to incorporate some of your writing with the trilogy

BEST of luck in finding the balance of Lit. that you want and that your students want this year! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Thanks so much for the list! We actually are only doing dystopian for the first semester and we will finish off the year with Lord of the Rings. Or we will flip flop that. I'm still in the begining stages of planning so nothing is really set but I was having a hard time finding books that I thought would work. I'm currently reading the time machine and I like it! We might use that one.We won't use all of the books for writing assigments but so maybe some can be used more for discussion and some for writing. My oldest is 8th grade so I really want to make the most of her last year before high school when we loose a little bit of freedom. I would LOVE to do all our lit around Anne but she's not intersted in the least. 

[Dystopian Books]

5 minutes ago, Tanaqui said:

 

Well, that's fair, but a lot of modern dystopias - even of the YA variety! - are plenty "meaty". (And some of the older ones are not as well-thought-out as all that.)

 

 

I guess I should rephrase and say I want well written books. They don't need to be old but I do want idea's that are well thought out. We are incoporating some of our writing with some of the books and I wouldn't want them to base their writing assigments on badly written books. 

[Dystopian Books]

5 hours ago, Lori D. said:

Is there a reason you don't want "modern" books? Because even the 3 you listed were all published in the mid-20th century (so, 65-75 years ago), which seems pretty modern to me. ;) And there are some pretty brutal parts in all 3 of those books. (Protagonist in Fahrenheit 451 turns a flame thrower on his captain and incinerates him; kids kill two fellow shipwrecked kids in Lord of the Flies -- one by rolling a boulder onto a kid, and another where the group beats a boy to death; and Animal Farm becomes a police state in which the ruling pig takes a mother dog's puppies away, trains them into vicious guard dogs and turns them onto animals who disagree with the leadership to tear them apart.)

Not to nit-pick with you (lol), and it's just my opinion, but I personally don't see any of the 3 books you listed as being "pure dystopia". Lord of the Flies (1954) has a strong contemporary setting and shipwreck survival story focus, and maybe it's just me, but I see the major theme not so much being "dystopia", but more about showing how fallen man's sinful nature comes out when the controlling element of civilization is removed -- the shipwrecked boys devolve into barbarism. Themes that stand out to me in Fahrenheit 451 (1953) are loss of literacy and what happens when a society starts losing its Literature foundation, plus the book ends with a very sci-fi theme of a type of Apocalypse. For Animal Farm (1945), the author himself called it a "fable" (a moral or cautionary tale), and it's very closely connected to specific real-life figures of the Soviet Communist regime of the 1920s-1930s, plus overall condemnation of both Socialism and Capitalism... On the other hand, I guess the Wikipedia definition of dystopia as works of fiction that explore social and political structures does apply to all three works -- it just looks different than what we've come to expect dystopian works to look like from the more recent spate of dystopic novels. (:D

For the most part, the Dystopia genre is a pretty recently developed genre -- 1960s-70s and esp. the recent boom in the last 25 years -- with only a few older sci-fi titles such as Nineteen Eighty Four and Brave New World also overlapping and exploring dystopian ideas, so you're not going to find a lot of older books that fall squarely or only in that category. This short Wikipedia article on Utopian and Dystopian Fiction provides good background info. The Time Machine is sci-fi, but because it explores social and political structures, it is considered to have elements of dystopia. You might look at Jack London's The Iron Heel  as an early dystopia that explores a totalitarian government, or We (1921) by Yevgey Zamyatin -- but I honestly don't know how interesting they would be, esp. to middle school ages. And things like The Handmaiden's Tale (Atwood) and A Clockwork Orange (Burgess) are much more adult.

Some ideas -- although they are "modern" (1970s or more recent) and not necessarily "older classics", they are appropriate for middle school (or may want to wait till high school, as noted)

• The Giver (Lowry) -- published in 1993 (25yo) -- very much considered a Young Adult classic and is squarely in the dystopia genre
• Below the Root (Snyder) -- published in 1975 -- utopia/dystopia
• When the Tripods Came (Christopher) -- published in 1988 -- strongly sci-fi, but a dystopic element of "what if the aliens from HG Wells' War of the Worlds conquered Earth"
• House of Stairs (Sleator) -- published in 1974 -- dystopic world where teens are being experimented on with behavioral modification techniques
• House of the Scorpion (Farmer) -- published in 2002 -- depends on your student, may need to wait for high school
• The Hunger Games (Collins) -- published in 2008 -- depends on your student, may need to wait for high school

If you're willing to stretch your book unit parameters a bit, or explain what your goals are, I'm happy to try and suggest more books to help you achieve those goals! :) BEST of luck in putting together your unit! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Lord of the flies is probably the lowest out of the three on the list. I'm iffy on animal farm also. One of my daughters asked me if she could read Farenheit 451 next year. She's read all of the maze runner series, hunger games and the giver so I know she likes dystopian. I also think as far as the violence, maze runner and hunger games were pretty violent so I don't know that farenheit 451 would be much worse than human eating zombies. I was fine with her reading those books on her own but if we are going to do dystopian for our literature I wanted something with a little more meat? I was planning on doing a history study on political thought and different types of gov. I am hoping to tie it into our literature studies. I'm looking for dystopian that go into goverment gone wrong I guess? I actually wish we were doing this study in high school so I could incorporate Brave New World and 1984 but I promised my girls they could actually choose there lit., science and history topics so I'm trying to go with it even if they choose topics I wouldn't have picked. I was really rooting for Anne of Green Gables but they both really want dystopian. 

[Dystopian Books]

I'm planning a dystopian book list for my daughters next year but I want to stick to classics not modern books. My two favorite dystopians, 1984 and Brave New World, are not really appropriate for a 7 and 8th grade so I've been trying to find some others. I have Fahreinheit 451, Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm. Does anyone have any other classic dystopian novels that are appropriate for middle school? I've been searching online and Time Machine popped up but that seems more Sci-Fi?

[Writing curriculum to write across the curriculum]

1 hour ago, underthebridge said:

Thanks for your reply, it’s so helpful to hear your experience. I suspected it involved a good bit of scaffolding, and I can imagine how much planning is involved in threading it through every.single.subject. I don’t know if I’m up for the task, but I’m going to read the book and give it a whirl this summer. 

My plan for writing across the curriculum is to rotate subjects. We might start with an expository essay in science for example, and work two weeks in that. Then we could move to a narrative about history for another couple of weeks. Then write a persuasive essay about an issue from literature. So we would cover different subjects but not all at once. It would help us dig deeper into subject while working on writing so I think (I hope!) It will actually lighten the workload a bit.

[Writing curriculum to write across the curriculum]

59 minutes ago, Tanaqui said:

It's been recently republished.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1119364914/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's a MUCH more reasonable price, LOL! Only $22.40

 

This looks, good thank you! I think I really need to just study more myself and I will just teach them based on what I've learned. 

1 hour ago, Another Lynn said:

It's not really what you're asking for, but you could listen to SWB's talk on writing and then make assignments across the curriculum.  But how to do a persuasive, narrative, research, compare/contrast would all have to come from you.  

You might look at a workbook series called Writing Skills by Diana Hanbury King.  You might be able to pull out lessons about different types of paragraphs and essays from it.  

 

I was just looking at those talks. 

More and more I'm realizing the key to teaching my kids is making sure I have a strong grasp on the material and tossing most of the curriculum. Nothing is every going to fit our needs since every child is different and every homeschool is different. 

 

 

[Writing curriculum to write across the curriculum]

I would like to incorporate writing next year into our literature, history and science studies. I want something that gives a basic how to for different types of papers like a persuasive essay, research paper, narrative essay, compare and contrast etc. I have LToW and WWS1 and 2 so I'm thinking about throwing something together myself but but I feel like but would be hard to do part of any of those curriculums without having worked through the entire book first so I was thinking maybe there was something that  outlines how to write different essays and maybe some exercising on writing a thesis statement, intro, conclusions? 

[Classical Curriculum in a Community setting?]

I've done this but not all subjects and I might do it again next year. Something's to consider are the abilities of the families that are participating. Are they more relaxed? Will they do the work? Will they help out, can they offer much help? I tend to research a lot and in the past I've felt like I was pulling all of the weight with little return. I would rather invest that time into only my kids and sometimes I feel like the discussions are better as a family than as a group. But with the right set of families I think it could be great. Smaller groups with kids closer in age is easier. You can also break the group up by age range and have parent working with each group. 

[Roman Roads Media's Fitting Words]

Has anyone used this curriculum? It looks interesting but there are not very many reviews. It's geared towards 9th grade and above. 

[Lightning Lit 7 for an advanced 6th grader?]

My 6th grader has used it this year and it's mostly felt like review of stuff we've already done. Not difficult at all. 

[Nervous about adding fourth student—moms of more than a few chime in]

Something I also do when figuring out our curriculum is make sure and pick a few things that I know can be self directed or done independently. I love having discussing about literature and history so I plan to have time set aside for that. Everything my olders do can't be teacher intensive because I can't sit with them all day long. Also I will sometimes have one of my girls play with one of the twins while I work with the other one. It helps to have one on one time without any other kids there and my twins tend to stick together so distracting one helps. 

[Jack of all trades master of none?]

20 hours ago, Lori D. said:

And, as a complete side note to "what should I do about DD" ... I am STILL a "jill of all trades", decades after middle school/high school. It's hard-wired as part of who I am. By pursuing different interests at different stages of school, and into college, and long after, while I'm no concert pianist or masterpiece artist for having focused on any one thing, because I can do many things competently, I have had success in every job I've ever had, and I have continued to enjoy learning new things and putting different skills together in different ways. So here's to the "jills of all trades" of the world! <insert clinking beer mugs together emoticon> :)

 

Thank you for this! I read another article last week about getting into Ivy's (not our goal) and how the schools want focused interest. I really need to let go of my fears and let her be who she is. 

On 3/22/2018 at 2:44 PM, serendipitous journey said:

 

But: what about you?  If you need to simplify things a bit, then yes, it may be a good idea to scale back the childrens' activities (or the activities of one particular child -- SWB says she allowed one outside activity per child, for her own sanity).  Remember that you are a precious, unique person in your own right. 

 

In finding a good balance, I sometimes imagine myself as my own grown child.  If one of your children were grown and in your current situation, what would you want for her?  What would you suggest as a balance between her children and herself?  Don't know if that sort of thing will help you.  But: do try to take good care of yourself.  :)

What I've been trying to do is sign up for classes with friends so that we can carpool. I really do struggle with balance and I'm dropping some of my commitments next year to try and have more time off. 

[Google Classroom- Who is creating their own online courses?]

I had no idea this existed! I'm going to try this for next year. We tried one note this year but one of my files was corrupted and I was never able to fix it. I've been wanting a place that my kids can log in and see all of the work and notes I have for them. This sounds like it will be perfect. We already use google drive and google docs. I've also considered planning using google task so this would hopefully integrate well with that. 

[Anyone up for a discussion about the latest Classical Teacher ed? (Links to articles inside)]

3 hours ago, Penelope said:

Kind of a rabbit trail, but there is an interesting article by David Hicks (author of Norms and Nobility, that kind of helped start the Classical Christian school movement) saying that he doesn’t believe it is possible to give children a classical education in the modern age, which goes along with what you said, and I agree, that I can’t give my kids a true Classical education (though for different reasons than Hicks states in his article). And he isn’t talking about homeschooling specifically. https://www.circemagazine.com/blog/possible

This talk is sort of along the same vein but the OP specifically requested to not go in that direction so I'll post the link and leave it at that https://youtu.be/gPWP0iovewI

 

[Anyone up for a discussion about the latest Classical Teacher ed? (Links to articles inside)]

14 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

I don't agree with the concept of orderly as it came across in the article.  Do my kids know that school is our top priority on school days?  Yes.  Do I set a clock and say school is starting? No.  Do we have a routine of what subjects are done in what order? No. Are we dressed, sitting at a table?  That is a huge NO.  Most of the time my kids get up and start school on their own.  I might be driving their brother to work and they are doing their work when I get home.  They are in a recliner, sitting on a sofa, laying on the floor in the pjs most of the time.  

We can sit outside on a porch swing.  We can curl up on the sofa. We can be taking a walk in the woods and have a philosophical discussion about literature and allusions. I absolutely do NOT believe we need to be sitting at a table (code for desk??) 

 

 

I don't really have an issue with people doing school at a desk but I don't have an issue with them not doing school at a desk either. I think what is irritating is the way the author wrote it making it seem like the only way to do school is in a school at home enviroment. Sometimes my kids sit at a desk, sometimes they sit on the patio, at the couch, at the kitchen counter, it doesn't really make a difference or make their education classical. If I built a greek forum in my backyard that wouldn't mean I was giving them a classical education. The same goes for routine and schedule. I do prefer a routine, schedules like managers of their homes promotes drive me crazy but I know that for some people these work great. To promote the idea that this is the only way to homeschool is really missing the whole idea of classical education. There is no possible way to completely recreate a classical school in our home. It's just not going to happen and if you completely disregard the fact that we are mothers teaching our children in our home you miss some of the greatest benifits or homeschooling. Seeing our children as individuals who have likes and interest, igniting a passion or just allowing them to go off on bunny trails is one of the greatest joys or homeschooling IMO. 

I feel like many curriculum companies that are trying to promote classical education are stumbling around trying to find a formula to recreate this grand idea that will create a well rounded individual and still somehow mesh that idea with what society has deemed as core material, high school requirements and what homeschoolers want. Along with making material that doesn't require a master teacher and is completely independent. In the end often time what they create looks a lot like public school. 

[Nervous about adding fourth student—moms of more than a few chime in]

I added in my twins this year and went from homeschooling 2 to 4. I thought I could homeschool the twins together but that didn't work out. I work with one twin then the other twin and then work on math with my 6th grader. We break for lunch and after lunch I see if my 7th grader needs any help. I have my older kids working on independent work first thing in the morning. They know they have time with me and not to interrupt when I am working with another child. I have realized that I need work that can be assigned for my older kids. I try and not have too much that needs to be taught one on one.  If a subject is very teacher intensive it needs to be balanced with another subject that can be done independently.

[Anyone up for a discussion about the latest Classical Teacher ed? (Links to articles inside)]

In the first article I'm not really sure how she feels the schools are child centered. I know they have taken some steps to create group learning, like arrange desk in groups rather than aisles and AR test where they can select any reading material to test on, but as a whole I would not call public schools child centered. It sounds like she's maybe talking about being more authoritative vs passive and how that can be a problem in both schools and homeschool. In general I agree that the parent needs to be the parent and ultimately makes the final decision and that having order in the house is good for everyone. I don't agree that students should have no say in their education. Some of our richest conversations have come from rabbit trails. Taking that freedom away would lead for very dreary days and removes some of the greatest benifits we have as homeschoolers. 

In the second article he says that content matters not just the learning how to learn but what content? The memoria press content? Ultimately the highland school must adhere to state standards in some form so  is that the content they are talking about? Also it states: Sayers does not try to explain what classical education is in her speech. That is not even remotely her purpose. And her audience would have associated classical education, not with anything new she was proposing in her speech, but primarily with the reading of the Great Books in their original languages, and secondarily with the mastery of the liberal arts. 

So he dethrones Sayers and puts in Adler? Because the great books approach is much older.... 

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