Middle schoolers

[freeindeed]

Seriously, do any of them enjoy school? And, if they do, please tell me about the curriculum. Thanks!

[8filltheheart]

Seriously, do any of them enjoy school? And, if they do, please tell me about the curriculum. Thanks!

 

Normally my middle schoolers are excited about school b/c I start giving them more control and influence in their education (which increases even more in high school.)

 

My current 8th grader and I designed a literature course around an annotated book and are working through reading all sorts of poems, novels, myths, and cultural influences that impacted the writing/world view of the author.

 

She has also made the decision to study 3 foreign languages (French, Latin, and Russian).

 

She selected her topics for history and science for the yr.

 

Math was really only a choice between 2 textbooks and she choose the one I expected that she would.

[heritagelearningacademy]

Mine is good once he gets started. LOL He loves MFW Exploring Countries and Cultures. It has been a huge hit this year. He loves the read alouds he does with them too. We are using Essentials in Writing and he likes that. He wanted to move from grammar some and do more "writing tips" type work to strenghten his work. He loves the Apologia General Science. Math....comes very easily to him....just doesn't like it. LOL That will probably never change.

[Just Jane]

My current middle schooler doesn't mind it. She loves anything related to science or math so she spends most of her school day working on them. Grammar & Spelling she just gets done. Writing is the subject she struggles the most in so I try to integrate it into her other studies - especially papers/summaries on science reading. History is done through reading and discussion and she loves to read even though it's not her favorite subject. :)

 

My last 6th grader was totally different though! He was very burnt out (and so was I) with so much structure in his younger years, so 5th and 6th were very relaxed and sort of unschooly-ish:tongue_smilie:. We only did Math and Latin formally. Everything else was interest based, before then it was just me making him do xyz and he saw no point in it. It developed his love to learn new things and how to learn them. :001_smile:

Edited October 25, 2012 by Just Jane
clarification

[5Wizards]

My 6th grader is actually have a very good year. She particularly enjoys Mapping the World by Art (McHenry), Exploration Education Science (Intermediate), and all of the literature that we read/discuss/etc... We read The Giver and Gathering Blue by the same author - she's working on a paper comparing the two books. She does not enjoy math or grammar (although she's good at both), but she never has, so that's not shocking to me.

 

I'm sorry that the year isn't pleasant for you so far. I really do hope that it improves soon!

[Kfamily]

My older daughter is in high school now, but she enjoyed her lessons in middle school. I do remember that age 11 was a very big transition year for her. She was a late bloomer in the reading independently area. She could read very well, but she did not choose to do it. This had a huge affect on both of our attitudes for anything related to our lessons. Around the middle of age 11, she finally (after responding better to less requirement by me and not more) found her passion for reading independently. Now she reads and reads and reads.:001_smile:

We used a variety of resources and like 8FilltheHeart I began to involve her in our choices. As long as the skills are being met, then the subjects like history, literature, science, geography and the arts can be flexible. We did have to try out a variety of different resources for math, grammar, Latin, writing and French. Once we found the ones we like the most we stayed with them. We follow our own curriculum path (one that has taken some time to evolve) but are all very happy with it.

[placeofgrace]

Seriously, do any of them enjoy school? And, if they do, please tell me about the curriculum. Thanks!

 

I'll join you in your misery. Mine doesn't like school, but it's not a new middle school thing. He never has liked it. Curriculum doesn't matter a lick with him. In his words, "He has better things to do." :001_huh: I have tried everything I can think of and it doesn't make a difference. So, I just make him do what I want or think he should do and when I'm finished torturing him for the day, he can do what he wants. :D

[elegantlion]

I also started giving more freedom of choice in 7th grade. Ds opted to study Asian History that year. It was a great year of history.

 

I think 7th and 8th grade are great times to allow some interest led subjects and teach foundational skills within those interests.

 

Ds is not a huge fan of school in itself, but when he enjoyed it more when he had choices.

 

This is my own personal opinion, not applicable to everyone. I think some people have their children working independently too quickly. At that age, ds was starting to form ideas and really need a lot of dialogue happening. He had a lot guided discussions that lasted an hour or more. I used Philosophy for Kids as a starter topic and let the conversation wander where he wanted and asked pointed questions. I gained much insight into where ds was at that time. It helped me tweak what we were doing or not doing to help achieve a better fit for his education.

Edited October 26, 2012 by elegantlion

[Kfamily]

This is my own personal opinion, not applicable to everyone. I think some people have their children working independently too quickly. At that age, ds was starting to form ideas and really need a lot of dialogue happening. He had a lot guided discussions that lasted an hour or more. I used Philosophy for Kids as a starter topic and let the conversation wander where he wanted and asked pointed questions. I gained much insight into where ds was at that time. It helped me tweak what we were doing or not doing to help achieve a better fit for his education.

 

:iagree: This is/was true for us too. She's a very auditory style learner and she also needs to talk about what she is thinking and learning. Conversations and interaction are/were very important to her.

Edited October 26, 2012 by Kfamily

[TengoFive]

Mine doesn't like school in general, but likes Teaching Textbooks. Oddly enough, he likes being graded at the end of every day. It's a competitive thing with him.

[Mandy in TN]

Seriously, do any of them enjoy school? And, if they do, please tell me about the curriculum. Thanks!

My newly turned 10yo says that basically if it's math he likes it and if it is language arts he does not. He also doesn't care for history.

 

He likes MUS Geometry and TT Algebra 2. He likes Rainbow Science (he is just reading through the text) and Science Daybook.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[Luckymama]

[quote name=elegantlion;4431483

This is my own personal opinion' date=' not applicable to everyone. I think some people have their children working independently too quickly. At that age, ds was starting to form ideas and really need a lot of dialogue happening. He had a lot guided discussions that lasted an hour or more. I used Philosophy for Kids as a starter topic and let the conversation wander where he wanted and asked pointed questions. I gained much insight into where ds was at that time. It helped me tweak what we were doing or not doing to help achieve a better fit for his education.

 

Dd enjoys her more-unenjoyed subjects (does that make sense? :tongue_smilie:) when we spend a good amount of time on discussion.

 

She helps to choose what she studies, which I think leads to increased enjoyment overall.

[Trez]

Ugh...yup my ds11 (grade 6) essentially doesn't like doing school work. He would much rather go for a walk (which we do every morning), go shopping, go on a field trip.....

 

Once I get him to work, he has no issues with it. He does get frustrated very easily. At the moment, he is enjoying writing Nanowrimo and he actually doesn't mind IEW writing (first time trying it this year). I see him gaining confidence in this area. The subject he dislikes the most is french.

[Chris in VA]

Mine loves it, but...

It's Public School.

 

Sigh. ;)

[TKDmom]

My 11yo now groans at pretty much everything--even the subjects she used to enjoy. She only seems to like piano, handwriting, and art. But the art isn't officially part of school anymore. She'd probably decide to hate it if it were. :001_rolleyes:

 

I recently switched her to a new math program that seems to be a really god fit for me as a teacher. When she told me she hated it, I said, " I don't care. You've hated every math program we've ever tried, and I like this one. So we're going to keep doing it." She likes her brother's math program (Beast Academy) but they don't have any books available for her level right now.

 

Mostly she wants to sit around reading books that she's read before, draw manga, and make things out of duct tape.

 

She seems to like some subjects better when I'm more involved in them. Like literature--she's getting in to more difficult, complex books and she enjoys them a lot more if I take the time to read out loud to her and discuss.

[LindaOz]

My 8th grader enjoys her schoolwork. She quite enjoys Saxon Math. We recently had a short foray into another math program, hated it, and she is happy to back in the Saxon fold. She also loves her Sonlight work for history and literature. Her reading hour is one of her favorite times of the day. And, amazingly, a science workbook that looked quite boring and dry has turned out to be a hit and she has spent quite a lot of time in the kitchen recently doing experiments with the kitchen blowtorch, which doubles as a bunsen burner, and various substances and chemicals.

[Wee Pip]

My 12 yo has never liked any academic subjects. Even when she was 6, she'd say her fav subject was lunch:( This year I am trying a rather light, interest led year, except for a few subjects. I'm really hoping that something sparks an interest for her. She may just not be an academic-y kid, though. She'd rather cook, scrapbook, play a game, or hang around being bored.

[NittanyJen]

Mine will announce he dislikes school, but once he gets rolling in a week, he actually enjoys it.

 

1. He has never liked change, and he wants reassurance that he will like the next topic as much as the last one.

 

2. He's a perfectionist and bright. What if we go so far I find out he dn't smart? I continually reassure him he is loved for his personality, not his brains. I tell him (would not do this with every child) I don't care about grades; I care about learning, so if we need to stop and repeat something, that's cool-- the ability o do that is one awesome thing about homeschooling, because nobody gets it all on the first try if they're being challenged enough.

 

3. His brother has some special needs and gets more of my attention. Although DS1 will tell you he thrives on independent work, he really wants some conversation too. He wants to discuss books and ideas and get help and feedback.

 

4. Some of what he's using: Life of Fred Beginning Algebra, History Odyssey 2 Medieval, IEW Medieval, Magic Lens level grammar/vocab/practice/poetics, Rosetta Stone, Fallacy Detective, Red Herring Mysteries, homemade biology curriculum, based around Prentice-Hall Science Explorer Series and plenty of labs, lots of literature, and some other stuff.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

This is my own personal opinion, not applicable to everyone. I think some people have their children working independently too quickly. At that age, ds was starting to form ideas and really need a lot of dialogue happening. He had a lot guided discussions that lasted an hour or more. I used Philosophy for Kids as a starter topic and let the conversation wander where he wanted and asked pointed questions. I gained much insight into where ds was at that time. It helped me tweak what we were doing or not doing to help achieve a better fit for his education.

 

:iagree: This is/was true for us too. She's a very auditory style learner and she also needs to talk about what she is thinking and learning. Conversations and interaction are/were very important to her.

 

Dd enjoys her more-unenjoyed subjects (does that make sense? :tongue_smilie:) when we spend a good amount of time on discussion.

 

 

This is true for us as well. In 5th grade we used a more independent path, and it was just OK. She did it, but something felt off. She certainly didn't seemed to be thrilled or engaged with the material.

 

We are using much more discussion and interaction this year. Big difference.

 

She's capable of working independently, and does so on extra-curricular work and some of her schoolwork, but I've decided that for us independence during middle school studies is not the holy grail. :)

[mommymilkies]

My 11 yo went from loving schoolwork to loathing it. This was after she chose most of what she'd do this year. :glare: I think it's hormones. She only enjoys piano, violin, and is only moderately grumbly about spelling. She used to be my hardworking schoolwork lover.

[momto2Cs]

My ds11 (6th grade-ish) is enjoying school. We're using:

 

Language Arts:

Soaring with Spelling; Word Roots (Critical Thinking Co.); Writing Skills (EPS); and the Brave Writer Lifestyle. I got him a book of fantastic prompts for [Friday] Free Writes, called "Unjournaling". He reads a lot too.

 

Math:

Life of Fred Fractions (then we'll do Decimals & Percents this year as well), supplemented with Math Mammoth, and soon Zaccaro's Challenge Math.

 

History:

Oxford University Press' World in Ancient Times; documentaries; a pictorial Book of Centuries; and some hands-on projects.

 

Science:

How Nature Works (biology), alongside documentaries and topical/living books as a read aloud. We throw in fun, random experiments too from a book called Totally Irresponsible Science.

 

Other:

Mythology studies - he's preparing for the National Mythology Exam - using D'Aulaires Greek and Norse Myths. Literature: we're studying Narnia and the works that influenced C.S. Lewis this year. We read short books on famous people and events, are reading The Book of Marvels by Richard Halliburton for geography (we look up every place he writes about on google earth as well), and I'll be adding in maps from Map Trek for ancient history. For art, we're using The National Gallery of Art: Activity Book and the Usborne Art Treasury. For music, we use the composer of the moth from classics for kids dot com.

 

ETA: Yes, he does whine about it sometimes, but once we get going, he's usually good!

Edited October 26, 2012 by momto2Cs

[ShellChelle]

I feel your pain! Until this year, DD12 has been a very easy-going kid who diligently completed all of her work without complaining, even math which she claims she dislikes.

 

This year, it's nothing but complaining! Bible--she groans that the outlining makes her hand cramp (!); grammar and spelling dictation (using Spelling Wisdom)--she whines that the lessons are too long; math--well, we've been through Thinkwell, AoPS, ck12, MEP, and Key to Algebra, all met with complaining and moaning until I gave up trying to please her and picked a curriculum that she MUST finish!

 

She loves art and creative writing, and I do give her plenty of time for those, but some days it is almost 3:00 before she gets around to writing or art because she spent most of the day griping about the other subjects.

[Samiam]

My oldest DS did not like middle school. Yes, he DID the work, and DID it fine, but that was so he could be done and get on with doing the things he wanted to do.

 

He never cared to pick out what he studied. Just give him the work and go forth. Sometimes he complained about certain things more than others. But there's no interest on his part to pick out and plan his learning.

 

Don't get me wrong, the kid is genius-like :tongue_smilie:, and all schoolwork was done with little effort on his part (except for comp. that was a trouble maker).

 

He's just not INTO school work for the most part.

[missmoe]

None of my kids will tell you they love school. But we work together on school each day and have pleasant days for the most part. I think the working together is helpful.

[NanceXToo]

Mine (6th grade) likes most of the things we do for school. We use Oak Meadow which is not textbookish, uses living books, hands on projects, interesting discussion, and creative writing assignments. We also use Story of the World and she likes most of the books and activities and so on we do for that. For math we use a combination of Teaching Textbooks and Life of Fred, and she likes both of those as well as someone can be expected to like math, since one is animated computer math and the other reads like a cute story. We also throw in grid perplexor puzzles for logic and she loves doing those, and we're on our third year of using the Kilgallon series and she actually likes it this year (Sentence Composing for Middle School) whereas she hadn't loved it the first year and tolerated it the second year. We've been slacking in continuing with Meet the Masters for art this year but she adores that, and "music" and "PE" are both outside activities (guitar lessons and judo), and we do quite a few field trips and so on, and much of the stuff we do together, so, yeah, for the most part, she really likes school.

[mothergooseof4]

My 7th grader hates school, but he always has. He picked most of his materials this year, and picked the electives. Having a say in the matter doesn't make a bit of difference in his attitude towards it. I could pick his favorite book ever, but if he thinks it is for school, he will hate it, too. It gets very frustrating because his attitude has rubbed off on his younger siblings.

[crazyfordlr]

My 6th grader is such a complainer!!!! OMG I think to myself, "If she opens her mouth one more time I'm going to put a sock in it!!!" And the eye rolling ... aye yi yi! I *have* said out loud, "I'll make those eyes roll right onto the ground!" Of course, I'd never actually do it, but ...

 

I think our problem is she wants to be more independent, but she's can't. She has LD's and she has to put forth great effort just to do the most basic things. She's bright, but can't produce. Her ideas are locked away somewhere and we can't find the key yet. Add in hormones, boundary testing, and general pre-teen junk and you've got a recipe for margaritas at 10am ;)

[Mom-ninja.]

My 6th grader enjoys lessons far more than my 3rd grader. That one just wants to build with legos all day.

[TKDmom]

I have to share a funny story from yesterday, that just so perfectly illustrates my 11yo's attitude. We were doing mental math. I asked, "what's 1.5 +1.6?"

 

dd: 2.1

me: no...Let's try thinking of this another way. Do you know what 15 + 16 is?

dd (rolling her eyes): It's 21.

me (writing down the problem): try writing it out. What's 15+16?

dd (in her most scathing, sarcastic tone): It's 21!! With a decimal point it would be 2.1! and without a decimal point, it's still 21!

me: You're wrong, and you're being really disrespectful. Just write out the problem.

(more eye rolling) I watch dd add 5+6, carry the 1, and then it dawns on her... and she looks really embarrassed and walks away without finishing the problem. I didn't know whether to :lol: or :banghead:.

[crazyfordlr]

Bonnie, we have conversations that go like that at least a few times a week.

[swellmomma]

I'll join you in your misery. Mine doesn't like school, but it's not a new middle school thing. He never has liked it. Curriculum doesn't matter a lick with him. In his words, "He has better things to do." :001_huh: I have tried everything I can think of and it doesn't make a difference. So, I just make him do what I want or think he should do and when I'm finished torturing him for the day, he can do what he wants. :D

 

my son is like that too. video games, lego, setting up wars and reading harry potter count as those better things he thinks he should be doing. It doesn't matter what curriculum or method it is, it doesn't matter if he picked out the curric and topics himself, he'd just rather not. Once he gets going he is usually fine, but it is getting him started that is an issue because he just doesn't wanna

[placeofgrace]

my son is like that too. video games, lego, setting up wars and reading harry potter count as those better things he thinks he should be doing. It doesn't matter what curriculum or method it is, it doesn't matter if he picked out the curric and topics himself, he'd just rather not. Once he gets going he is usually fine, but it is getting him started that is an issue because he just doesn't wanna

 

Yep, that's it exactly!!

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I have to share a funny story from yesterday, that just so perfectly illustrates my 11yo's attitude. We were doing mental math. I asked, "what's 1.5 +1.6?"

 

dd: 2.1

me: no...Let's try thinking of this another way. Do you know what 15 + 16 is?

dd (rolling her eyes): It's 21.

me (writing down the problem): try writing it out. What's 15+16?

dd (in her most scathing, sarcastic tone): It's 21!! With a decimal point it would be 2.1! and without a decimal point, it's still 21!

me: You're wrong, and you're being really disrespectful. Just write out the problem.

(more eye rolling) I watch dd add 5+6, carry the 1, and then it dawns on her... and she looks really embarrassed and walks away without finishing the problem. I didn't know whether to :lol: or :banghead:.

 

Bonnie, we have conversations that go like that at least a few times a week.

 

So do we. Bonniebeth, you describe our episodes perfectly--the scathing sarcastic tone, eye rolling, embarrassed look----all of it!

 

I can relate! :cheers2:

[Donna A.]

I have to share a funny story from yesterday, that just so perfectly illustrates my 11yo's attitude. We were doing mental math. I asked, "what's 1.5 +1.6?"

 

dd: 2.1

me: no...Let's try thinking of this another way. Do you know what 15 + 16 is?

dd (rolling her eyes): It's 21.

me (writing down the problem): try writing it out. What's 15+16?

dd (in her most scathing, sarcastic tone): It's 21!! With a decimal point it would be 2.1! and without a decimal point, it's still 21!

me: You're wrong, and you're being really disrespectful. Just write out the problem.

(more eye rolling) I watch dd add 5+6, carry the 1, and then it dawns on her... and she looks really embarrassed and walks away without finishing the problem. I didn't know whether to :lol: or :banghead:.

 

Just for fun, I just now asked my dd what 1.5 and 1.6 is. Her answer?

 

1.11 :eek: Wow. I said try again. What's 1.5 + 1.6? She replies....

 

 

2.1 :glare:

 

You are not alone, Bonniebeth. :tongue_smilie:

 

Then high schooler walks into the room and I asked her the same question. Thankfully, she answered it correctly. I think I'll let her graduate in another year. :D

[Moniksca]

I have to share a funny story from yesterday, that just so perfectly illustrates my 11yo's attitude. We were doing mental math. I asked, "what's 1.5 +1.6?"

 

dd: 2.1

me: no...Let's try thinking of this another way. Do you know what 15 + 16 is?

dd (rolling her eyes): It's 21.

me (writing down the problem): try writing it out. What's 15+16?

dd (in her most scathing, sarcastic tone): It's 21!! With a decimal point it would be 2.1! and without a decimal point, it's still 21!

me: You're wrong, and you're being really disrespectful. Just write out the problem.

(more eye rolling) I watch dd add 5+6, carry the 1, and then it dawns on her... and she looks really embarrassed and walks away without finishing the problem. I didn't know whether to :lol: or :banghead:.

 

This is my ds except that he just walks away without figuring it out after getting frustrated. Twice this week, I just want to cry.

[freeindeed]

We had a good week this past week! Finally! I think.hope.pray that my middle schooler is, at long last, accepting the fact that middle school requires more time, work, and effort than elementary school and that she'd better just learn to deal with it cheerfully. At least that's what I'm telling myself!;)

[TKDmom]

Just for fun, I just now asked my dd what 1.5 and 1.6 is. Her answer?

 

1.11 :eek: Wow. I said try again. What's 1.5 + 1.6? She replies....

 

 

2.1 :glare:

 

You are not alone, Bonniebeth. :tongue_smilie:

 

Then high schooler walks into the room and I asked her the same question. Thankfully, she answered it correctly. I think I'll let her graduate in another year. :D

 

:lol::lol:

 

I figured most of you would be able to relate.

[TKDmom]

This is my ds except that he just walks away without figuring it out after getting frustrated. Twice this week, I just want to cry.

 

:grouphug: We've had math books thrown across our schoolroom before (by various members of the family :blushing: ). Sometimes we just need to cool off and come back to the problem the next day with a fresh attitude.

[Moniksca]

:grouphug: We've had math books thrown across our schoolroom before (by various members of the family :blushing: ). Sometimes we just need to cool off and come back to the problem the next day with a fresh attitude.

 

oh tell me about, I'm guilty here as well. I've decided we'll be taking a break next week to complete a fractions notebook that we can use as a reference.

Thank goodness Halloween just passed, I'm off to have some chocolate.

[Chrysalis Academy]

We had a good week this past week! Finally! I think.hope.pray that my middle schooler is, at long last, accepting the fact that middle school requires more time, work, and effort than elementary school and that she'd better just learn to deal with it cheerfully. At least that's what I'm telling myself!;)

 

:hurray: Just remember, progress is not linear - and if there is some backsliding, it doesn't mean all is lost!

[freeindeed]

:hurray: Just remember, progress is not linear - and if there is some backsliding, it doesn't mean all is lost!

 

True! Good days and bad will always exist. I'm just so thankful for the good ones! They help me make it through the rest.:)

[armom]

I have two 6th grade students, that overall like school. They have always liked school. Their favorite part of our day for them is reading our Sonlight books.

[NicoleG]

lol it's fun to read everyone's experiences! I guess I'm lucky cuz my dd pretty much enjoys all of her schooling. She's always been a quick learner and likes to finish everything that she starts. Right now we're using the Seascape Private school 8th grade program and she really likes it. She requested specific subjects when we enrolled and they sent everything we wanted so it worked out perfectly. We plan to use their high school program next year and hopefully, she'll keep the momentum throughout the next fours years and into college! :001_smile: