7th and 8th Grade in One Year

[mycalling]

I posted my reasons in the High School section, but this is the place for middle schoolers, so I'd love your opinions.

 

My plan is to get my DsD through 7th and 8th this year to prepare her for High School level work the year after so she will graduate before 18. I do not think she will care to continue on to graduate after she becomes an adult.

 

What knowledge do I need to stuff into her this year?:tongue_smilie:She is not advanced but loves to read. I was thinking of teaching her how to take notes over the summer then setting her free with lots of TTC courses and books and asking for notes as her main output since she could get through more material that way. Any ideas?

 

She will also be doing a thorough Pre-Algebra course which will include LoF:F and D&P, Hands-on Equations, and filled in with ChalkDust lessons. She's not great at math so I'm trying to limit the CD.

[Ellie]

You don't have to think of it as doing 7th and 8th in one year. You just think of it as getting your dsd ready for 9th. That will mainly be her math skills, so she can do algebra in 9th. It sounds as if her reading skills are good, so that should't be a problem. You could do one big push for grammar--my recommendation would be Easy Grammar Plus--and you could get her going in writing (Writing Strands, or Wordsmith--not a whole big thing like IEW); you might even consider a writing course directed by someone else; WriteGuide looks good.

[MicheleinMN]

I did this with my rising 9th grade son, but I opted to just skip 7th grade and moved him from 6th to 8th with the understanding that if he could not keep up with the work it would become 7th grade instead of 8th.

 

He did very well this last year, and I hope is prepared for high school level work starting this fall.

 

HTH

[Wildiris]

Why not just have her do Chalk Dust alone. It is more than enough for math and the DVDs help a huge amount if you are not up to teaching the finer points of pre-algebra.

 

Besides note taking, I would get your DD writing and reading literature beyond reading for enjoyment. Find a literature program that teaches literary element--Lightening Literature is on the lighter side so you might want to look at the high school book selections. Excellence in Writing also has a literature program. (I'm not sure of the name, but if you go to the IEW site and look around you'll find it.)

 

Are you planning to use the Teaching company for history and science?

 

From experience, letting kids go at their will at this age is a recipe for disaster. You may find that when you thought your DD was doing work, she was playing around and got nothing done, and months are lost. If you can set up a schedule and due dates it would help your DD not get lost in too much freedom.

 

Best of Luck,

Iris

[JennW in SoCal]

I couldn't decide on which board to answer, so here I am.

 

I don't think you are crazy at all, by the way. It seems reasonable to try to give her the best education you can before she heads out into the world. My suggestion, to add to all the suggestions you are getting, is not to think in terms of grade level, but to simply lay out a 5 year plan. What classes do you want her to cover in order to consider her a high school graduate? Are you including some life skills among those courses? Keep in mind, too, that as she matures her skills and abilities will naturally improve. 13 and 14 can be brutal ages when it seems they are regressing, so just keep plugging away with that 5 year plan in mind, knowing that a 16yo is a far different creature that the 13 yo.

 

An example of classes to plan for:

Math: pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, personal finance and ?

English: basic grammar, lots of reading each of the next 5 years with the goal of being able to write clearly both a basic essay and good business letters

Science: 3 high school science courses

History: geography, world history, American history, civics

 

foreign language: 1 or 2 years at the high school level. SOS is great, complete and all on the computer

electives: fine arts: theater, music, art; home ec: sewing, cooking; computer skills: word processing, power point, spread sheets; PE -- almost anything can be an elective.

 

While you are planning, consider what the graduation requirements are in your area. In California the minimum number of classes needed to graduate is 21 -- just over 5 subjects a year. And PE is part of those required classes.

 

As for this year, some more thoughts. The Teaching Company DVDs that are aimed for high school students might be a better fit while she is younger. The regular courses are typical college lectures which my kids weren't ready for until they were 15ish. I've heard the high school American history course is very entertaining, for instance. There are many great documentaries on DVD. Scour Netflix and your library.

 

Plug ahead with math using whatever you are most comfortable with. Review grammar, and work on writing. You don't need a "program", just start with narrations. Have her write summaries of what she reads -- not everything, mind you, but a couple per week, and mix up the subjects. You can start working on real essays next year.

 

May I suggest Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything for a terrific science overview? It is a fun read, and a great listen, if you enjoy audio books (try to find the unabridged version if you go for audio).

 

Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings might be a great fit. Not only do you get to read all of the Lord of the Rings, but there are lessons about literary elements, unit studies that explore Beowulf and King Arthur and the English language. There are vocabulary worksheets and essay prompts. If you buy this, you probably only need the teacher's guide as it has everything already.

 

Hope that helps!

[mycalling]

Great advice everyone! Thank you.

 

I love the 5yr plan idea. I'll sit down with her and discuss it. She and I had a long discussion the other night about homeschooling vs PSing and how to achieve her goals. She is being pressured to go to Middle School by her best friend...who hates it there, says she learns nothing and is teased mercilessly. She just wants company there and for my DsD to try out for their soccer team.

 

DsD now understands why her dad and I have this plan instead. Now to get her on board with planning a 5yr plan. She understands it's all in what she's willing to put in. I'm going to try to find a recruiter that will speak with us and what we hear there will help develop our plans.

 

I'll check out Easy Grammar Plus, she worked on grammar a lot last year but we have a ways to go. She did work on Literary Elements last year also and enjoyed it. I think she would be an amazing author and have talked with her about being able to do that while pursuing anything else she'd like to do.