I realize there is an 8th grade planning thread on the K-8 board. Thought we needed one here, too, for those that pop in more on the Logic Board. We are jumping into a new co-op for 8th grade to spice things up a bit for ds. It's a STEM co-op, so I think he'll enjoy it. I'm also streamlining our choices this year as I hope to have a part-time job. STEM Co-op Fall classes: SCIENCE: Physical Science with Lab Handcrafting with metal & leather (fun) Beginning Programming/Coding (fun) MUSIC: Guitar I At Home: MATH: finishing TT Pre-Alg then move into TT Alg or Mr. D (Critical Thinking Co Middle School Math Games) ENGLISH: Essentials in Writing 8 with grading/ EIL 8? (there is only one novel scheduled, Night, so we will add more just for free reading, maybe adding in Boomerang guides for discussion: (still continuing with some Bravewriter Lifestyle activities) The Giver, Echo, Night, The Westing Game, Brightly of the Grand Canyon, Lord of the Flies(maybe), White Fang, Basher Five-Two, Lost on a Mountain in Maine Easy Grammar 8, Marie's Words, Word Root study HISTORY: Notgrass Civics Uncle Sam & You... D.C. trip and local field trips LOGIC: The Thinking Toolbox or Critical thinking resources BUSH CRAFT Club (organized by husband, 2x a month) PE: YMCA class ART: Masterpiece Art Society Ongoing Projects: '72 Ford Truck remodel & School bus remodel for teen hangout. Looks like a ton, but most is part of our lifestyle.

Just summarizing the last few threads GRIN... I've been reading these boards for awhile, and I've listened to several of my children's friends complain about their teachers' threats and complaints at the beginning of 8th grade, and I've concluded that it is perfectly normal to spend the entire 8th grade year struggling to begin to learn how to: -Write a short well-organized expository paper -Produce work that has a heading and date, is legible, has full sentences that actually answer the questions, and isn't half question marks -Use an assignment book to keep track of one's assignments -Make and use some sort of study guides -Show one's work in math (math becomes complicated enough that one needs to show the work now) -Type And it is normal to spend the rest of high school learning how to: -Use more adult reference material -Skim so one can sift through a greater quantity of material -Write a longer expository paper -Read at an adult level -To do research Eighth graders don't have to arrive at high school able to do the second list. It is ok to spend high school learning to do those things. High school is long - four whole years. Yes, it is nice to arrive knowing them, and lots of students do, but lots of other students' academic skills are slower to mature. They still will arrive there by college, when students do, indeed, need to have those skills in place. Lots of people say their children made huge leaps after the age of 16. So... if your 13yo isn't behaving like a 17yo, IT IS OK. DO NOT DESPAIR. They keep growing after 13 or 14. In fact, they grow tons, just like they grow tons between the ages of 2 and 6. Part of that growth is a new awareness of themselves and language and the world around them and their own reasoning powers. This awareness, unfortunately, also leads to some of the less attractive 13-15yo behavior. They are two sides of the same coin. If my own children and their friends are anything to go by, they themselves are horrified by some of their own changes and tendencies, and just as glad when they ease off later on. Growth isn't always easy, fun, and pleasant. Remember the terrible twos (or threes)? They were learning to be children then. Now they are having to start all over again and learn to be adults. Please, please give them lots of sympathy and tolerance along with bolstering their still immature self-discipline and judgement. And talk to them, lots. And listen to them, really listen, to the new person they are becoming, not just the old one they were. And mourn the child that is disappearing, because they are, too. And help them to look forward to the nice adult things, like being able to drive and being able to get together with friends more easily. And remember that they are still young. Hugs to everyone who is going through this. I'm going through it for the third time GRIN. HTH -Nan (I've left off various science goals, like learning to make observations, to draw, to design an experiment, to keep up with current discoveries in a field, and to use lab equipment because I haven't heard them discussed enough to be able to tell where the 8th grade/high school line normally lands.)

I was inspired by Polly's update of the 7th Grade Planning Thread to start a new 8th grade thread - I know we've had a couple, but I hoped we could use this thread to share our plans as they develop, and to talk about the skills we want our students to build in 8th grade and how we've chosen resources to build those skills. Plus, then we can all giggle next May about how far our plans diverged from reality! So, without further ado, here is our 8th grade plan as of May 2015: 8th Grade Synposis Syllabus Math 1. Algebra a. Finish Crocodiles & Coconuts, do Chuckles the Rocket Dog b. Khan Algebra 1 mastery for practice 2. Geometry a. TC Course Geometry: An Interactive Journey to Mastery b. Finish Understanding Geometry c. Khan Geometry mastery for practice 3. Probability & Statistics a. Khan for continued practice 4.Problem Solving – Skill Focus: Problem Solving a. Alcumus English 1. Rhetoric - Skill Focus: Essay Writing a. Writing With a Thesis b. Bravewriter Expository Essay class c. They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing 2. Creative Writing a. TC Course Writing Great Fiction Adventures in Fantasy: Lessons and Activities in Narrative and Descriptive Writing b. Screenwriting & Novel - personal projects 3. Literature – Skill Focus: Essay Writing a. Movies as Literature: The Music Man, ET, The Maltese Falcon, Rear Window, The Philadelphia Story, The Journey of August King, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Raisin in the Sun, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Chariots of Fire, Emma b. Shakespeare: The Tempest c. Science Fiction/Fantasy: Frankenstein, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The War of the Worlds, His Dark Materials 4. Grammar & Style - Paragraphs for Middle School Science 1.TC Course: Joy of Science - Skill Focus: Taking notes from lectures, discussion & critical thinking, short essay questions a. Science Matters b. What’s The Matter: Readings in Physics c. Nature of Life: Readings in Biology 2. TC Course: Science of Self - Skill Focus: Taking notes from lectures, discussion & critical thinking, short essay questions 3.Unit Studies – Skill Focus: reading to learn, taking notes from text, answering short essay questions a. Story of Science: Einstein b. Carbon Chemistry – McHenry c. Cells – McHenry d. Exploring The Way Life Works e. HHMI Evolution Unit f. The Brain – McHenry History of Science 1. Independent Reads w/ Reading Log – Skill Focus: Reading & Writing to Learn, Critical Thinking a. String, Straight-Edge & Shadow: The Story of Geometry - done b. The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, The Royal Society & the Birth of the Modern World – Edward Dolnick c. Longitude – Dava Sobel d. Curie in 90 Minutes – John and Mary Gribbin e. Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon – Steve Sheinkin f. Stargirl – Jerry Spinelli (IR) g. Black Hole – Marcia Bartusiak h. Uncle Tungsten: Memoirs of a Chemical Boyhood – Oliver Sachs i. The Disappearing Spoon – Sam Kean j. Napoleon’s Buttons – Penny LeCouteur k. Itch – Simon Mayo (IR) l. The True Adventures of Charley Darwin – Carolyn Meyer (IR) m. Remarkable Creatures – Tracey Chevalier (Mary Anning) (IR) n. The Double Helix – James Watson o. The Violinist’s Thumb – Sam Kean p. The Adoration of Jenna Fox (2009) (IR) q. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot r. The Dueling Neurosurgeons – Sam Kean s. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat – Oliver Sachs 2. Read Alouds w/ Discussion – Skill Focus: Oral Discussion & Critical Thinking, Big Ideas a. A Little History of Science – WF Bynum (read aloud w/ Morgan) b. The Story of Science – Susan Wise Bauer c. A People’s History of Science: Miners, Midwives and “Low Mechanicks†– Clifford D. Conner d. Science as a Way of Knowing: Foundations of Modern Biology – John A Moore Ch. 1-10 e. Voyage of the Beagle – Charles Darwin f. The Origin of Species – Charles Darwin g. Why Evolution is True – Jerry Coyne h. The Beak of the Finch – Jonathan Weiner a. Science as a Way of Knowing: Foundations of Modern Biology – John A Moore Ch. 11-22 Metacognition – Skill Focus: Critical Thinking, Study Skills, Logic, Metacognition 1. TC: How to Be a Superstar Student 2. TC: Your Deceptive Mind 3. The Demon-Haunted World – Carl Sagan 4. TC: The Philosopher’s Toolkit 5. A Rulebook for Arguments 6. TC: Meaning from Data: Statistics Made Clear 7. Letters to a Young Scientist – E. O. Wilson Spanish – Skill Focus: Vocabulary, Grammar, Oral & Written Expression 1. Easy Peasy Spanish 1 2. Finish Easy Spanish Step by Step 3. Finish Getting Started With Spanish 4. Duolingo PE – TBD Extracurriculars Horseback Riding Theater

In the next few days, we are deciding 13 yr. old sons schooling for this coming year. I could use some input from those who have been through a similar situation, especially those with this age or older. Here is the basic situation: I am mentally, emotionally, and physically spent. The past 2 years of homeschooling have been difficult---we had a death in the family two years ago and since then I've had an extremely tough time adequately (in my opinion) staying on top of all the academics and not becoming overwhelmed and/or frustrated in our day to day schooling. While I really would like to continue homeschooling all my kiddos, I am concerned that it will just be TOO much. I really want homeschooling to be a positive experience for my kiddos and I don't feel like the past two years have been due to other life stuff. Here is what we are trying to figure out: I'm definitely going to homeschool my 9yr. ds and my 6 yr. old ds---they DO NOT want to go to public school. I'm also going to finish up by 17 yr. old ds, since he will be ready to graduate high school next spring and is taking most of his classes at the local CC!! My 13yr. old has shown an interest in trying out public school (maybe straight to high school for 9th grade or go into 8th grade to allow for adjustment) but he is unsure. (expensive online classes, private school, christian schools are not in the budget!) He is also considering staying home for school. IF he would prefer to stay home, I'd like to do an "easy" year (easy for me and for him...somewhat) He is ready academically for high school level work so I was thinking maybe he could do some free (or inexpensive) online classes or Khan Academy stuff and maybe just a couple things with me...he loves computer programing so maybe he could have time during the day to do something productive with that? I'd love to hear 1.) what resources, online or otherwise, would be good to look into and 2.) Am I setting him up for a tough time academically in high school if he does an easy 8th grade year? (he may go to PS for high school...not sure yet on that...most of his academic records I would give them would be what he did this year) 3.) IF he prefers public school, any input on whether it would be best to go into PS 9th grade (where he is academically) or PS 8th grade (where he is age wise) We've visited both schools and both are open to whatever we decide. Sorry such a long post....hope it's clear.

Our DS did one online class this year (7th grade) in Latin, and will continue next year. But we'd also like to look into at least one more online class next year, for 8th grade. I'm sure this has been covered before, could someone direct me to a link for sources of online classes? I'd also appreciate any feedback and recommendations based on your experiences. I think part of why this year's online class was great was because I looked at many options before choosing -- we want another good experience this year. We do have most of the core subjects covered already at home. So we're not looking at "core" subjects necessarily. But we'd be interested in a special course in history, philosophy...maybe something even like programming or computer science? Electronics? He is very interested in technology and may well go into a field in this area. One caveat is that we'd like a well structured course that has a clear syllabus, this helps keep us on track. Thank you for any and all options!

I've been reflecting on great past posts by Nan and Lori D and others, and thinking about what my particular child needs to work on in 8th grade to be ready for high school. I thought it would be fun to discuss - I bet I'll come up with lots of new ones, reading others' lists! These goals are things that I hope my dd will be able to do by the end of 8th grade - so 12 months from now! 1) She needs to practice taking notes from a text. In 7th, I made study guides for some of the texts she worked through. Next year I'd like her to experiment with different strategies to come up with a way to take "unassisted" notes from a text. 2) She needs to practice taking notes from a lecture. She's never done this. We have a number of TC lectures lined up, I'm hoping one or more of them will be appropriate to learn note-taking from lectures. 3) She needs to practice taking tests. We've not done tests in anything but math. I feel like she needs to experience taking a test, under timed conditions. We do plan to do the NME next year, and continue doing math tests. Maybe I need to add in science tests this year? 4) Related, she needs to learn to answer short essay questions under time-limited conditions. I will have her do this once a week, rotating through our subjects. 5) She needs to pick up the pace a little bit with essay writing, and learn to juggle more than one writing assignment at a time. In 7th, I've had her working on one essay at a time - either in lit, or in history, and though I've generally shot for one paper a week, I've given an extra week if she needed it. I'd like to gently and gradually increase this so that by the beginning of 9th, she'd be able to handle a short paper per week in more than one subject. 6) Outside accountability? I'm not sure what this would look like, but if we're going to start DE in 9th, I feel like it's something we should practice somehow? What goals do you have for your student for 8th grade?