Bellamoon Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I know I do not post often here, just when I need things, LOL Anyways we always buy the next years curriculum with our tax money. Our taxes have been filed and we are waiting for the money to hit our account! So I will have 2nd grader a 7th grader and a 3 year old. My big kid. We will likely stick to Teaching Textbooks. We have been using it since 3rd grade and LOVE IT. He is an advanced reader but does not like to write (common preteen boy trait?) He loves science so I am thinking biology, but without evolution attached to it. I am unsure where that leaves us for English, science and history. We have been using drive thru history this year and both the kids are loving that. I just adjust the questions for my 7 year old. Even my toddler enjoys watching the shows. I think I want to do American history for my son though. I guess I am just looking for some help here. For 9th grade we are enrolling him into Liberty Online Acadmey and that Is going to be a very intense progam for him, so I need to find things that will help us bridge the gap from where we are to there. He HATES writing and I know that will be a huge part of the LOA excpet he will be expected to type his work out. HMMMM maybe that is the key, typing out his papers instead of having him phsyically write them. Thanks for all the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellamoon Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 and this is the wrong area to post this...oops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Tee hee. I have no advice on curriculum, but I'm astounded by the amount of people who don't know about the homeschool buyers coop, and wanted to mention it. You can save big moneys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellamoon Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 Money is not a huge concern for schooling. At this point we allot 1000 for the school year. But enlighten please what is the homeschool buyers coop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 So I will have 2nd grader a 7th grader and a 3 year old. He is an advanced reader but does not like to write (common preteen boy trait?) I rarely "blame" something on a child's age or gender. :-) Many children of all ages do not like to write. If you move from there (children not liking to write, which is fixable) instead of the other (common preteen boy trait, which is not) you'll be much more likely to find a solution. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellamoon Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 I rarely "blame" something on a child's age or gender. :-) Many children of all ages do not like to write. If you move from there (children not liking to write, which is fixable) instead of the other (common preteen boy trait, which is not) you'll be much more likely to find a solution. :-) The only reason I suggested that, is that my DD loves to write. She will write for hours, ODS has never liked to write. And being they are the only children I have ever taught, that is my assumption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 ... I will have 2nd grader a 7th grader and a 3 year old. My big kid... ... For 9th grade ... Liberty Online Acadmey and that Is going to be a very intense progam for him, so I need to find things that will help us bridge the gap from where we are to there... I just checked out the Liberty Online Academy... this is their scope & sequence for high school, which might help you "work backwards" as to what topics to cover in 7th & 8th to both prepare, but also fill in any "gaps" that might not end up covered in high school: 9th - English (poetry unit; 3 short stories; 2 plays; 1 novel; various excerpts) - Math = Algebra 1 - Science = Earth Science - Soc. Studies = World Geography (Health & PE; Bible) 10th - English (poetry unit; 3 short stories; 1 play; 1 non-fiction; 1 novel; various excerpts) - Math = Geometry - Science = Biology - Soc. Studies = World History (PE; Bible) 11th - English = American Lit. - Math = Algebra 2 - Science = Chemistry - Soc. Studies = American History (Foreign Language; Bible) 12th - English = British Lit. - Math = Pre-Calc. - Science = Physics - Soc. Studies = Government & Economics (Foreign Language; Bible) ... He is an advanced reader but does not like to write ... He loves science so I am thinking biology, but without evolution attached to it ... I am unsure where that leaves us for English, science and history. We have been using drive thru history this year... I think I want to do American history for my son though... ... For 9th grade ... Liberty Online Acadmey and that Is going to be a very intense progam for him, so I need to find things that will help us bridge the gap from where we are to there... ... He HATES writing and I know that will be a huge part... ... he will be expected to type his work out. HMMMM maybe that is the key, typing out his papers... 7th gr. Science ideas Since Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics will be covered in high school, you may wish to hold off on Biology as DS would be seeing it again in 3 years (10th grade) at LOA... The "usual" sciences in 7th grade tend to be General Science or Physical Science (overview of Chemistry and Physics topics). Would one of those be of interest? I note that LOA is Christian, so I assume you might like a Christian publisher? For a more "standard" or "textbook" science, check out - Apologia (6th/7th gr. = General Science, or 7th/8th gr. = Physical Science) - Abeka (7th gr. = design & order -- life science; 8th gr. = earth & space -- physics and astronomy) - Bob Jones (7th gr. = life science; 8th gr. = earth science) Or, for a more self-directed Christian program check out Rainbow Science (Physics and Chemistry is year 1, Biology with some additional topics is year 2). It is usually done in 7th and 8th, but can be done in just one year by an advanced student or one who is really interested in the sciences. It is largely self-directed, with quite a bit of hands-on. Not cheap, but you can often find the non-consumable portion at a used price, and then just purchase the consumable portion to complete it. For those above ideas, you'd get your non-evolution Biology in 8th grade (or second half of 7th if doing the 1-year plan) with of Rainbow Science, or in 7th grade with Abeka or Bob Jones... Another idea: this might also be the year to have a last science "fling" and explore a science area of DS's personal interest -- maybe something like forensics, robotics, astronomy, marine biology, oceanography, etc. Especially if you have a really great local hands-on option available to you next year, like Lego FIRST robotics, or a great co-op teacher, or... Or, perhaps PLATO (interactive courseware & online) -- and currently on sale at Homebuyers Co-op, or The Jason Project (interactive online)... 7th gr. American History ideas Since DS loves reading, and you're thinking of American History, you might want to check out Sonlight Core 100. While SL ranks that core for "grades 7-11", my opinion based on personal experience with the vast majority of those books is more like "grades 7-8, or a weaker 9th grader"... So, your strong reader 7th grader would fit well with the reading level of this core. The "spine" is the secular textbook series, History of US by Hakim, and the rest of the core is loads of historical fiction and some non-fiction on specific topics. If secular is problematic for your family, you might consider trying Notgrass America the Beautiful, for 7th grade, and then supplement the literature readings with a suggested actual Lit. program from below, and enjoy your Drive Through American History videos. I will add: we did the Notgrass high school US History, and while the History part is fine, the Lit. is VERY LACKING -- I would guess from looking at the Lit. selections to go with the 7th grade America the Beautiful program would have a similar problem... At your DS's age, and because your DS will be doing online high school, you really NEED a solid Literature program for the next 2 years to prepare him... JMO! My Father's World has an American History curriculum meant for gr. 2-8, BUT... the books in that program look way too lite and not nearly enough material and coverage for a strong 7th gr. reader... again, JMO! 7th gr. English (Literature & Writing) ideas First, I totally agree with you about the typing. I highly recommend getting DS fluent with touch-typing / keyboarding, so he can type quickly, and yes, this is the time to start switching over to typed papers rather than hand-written. For Literature, I suggest Lightning Lit 7 -- gentle intro to classic literature, and some of the works would match up with U.S. History, if you go that route (US authors in LL7 = Tom Sawyer, Helen Keller's Story of My Life, a short story by Stephen Crane, and some American poets) ... LL7 covers a variety of types of literature (poetry, short stories, novels, non-fiction), just as DS will see with LOA in high school, and he'll get a very gentle intro into basic literary analysis, which is much more of what he'll be doing in high school. While the program includes 8 VERY short writing lessons and a writing assignment at the end of each of the 8 units, LL7 is NOT enough for writing instruction! You will need an actual writing program to complete your English for 7th grade -- perhaps informal and written to the student, such as Jump In; or more formal, structured and step-by-step (with a little literary analysis included!), such as SWB's Writing With Skill. A program that is in-between those 2 "extremes", would be IEW's Student Writing Intensive level B i(gr. 6 - 8, with video lessons on DVD and the writing assignment instructions are written to the student), or Essentials in Writing (daily DVD lesson and assignment) -- because of the DVD "teacher lessons", these might be esp. good choices to help transition your DS into teachers with the online courses he'll have in high school with LOA. BONUS: For 8th grade, I strongly recommend getting DS ready for the kinds of literature and papers he is going to need to do in high school, either with IEW's Windows to the World (with the Jill Pike syllabus to include longer works), OR, Excellence in Literature: Intro to Literature. You may want to still include a separate writing program that year, as well... BEST of luck as you plan for 7th grade... and for your transition to online high school! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Money is not a huge concern for schooling. At this point we allot 1000 for the school year. But enlighten please what is the homeschool buyers coop? Homeschool Buyer's Co-Op is a place where you can shop for various curriculum with the buying clout of a school system, essentially. Just look on the website. You can sometimes get some amazing deals. http://homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 The only reason I suggested that, is that my DD loves to write. She will write for hours, ODS has never liked to write. And being they are the only children I have ever taught, that is my assumption. But there are children who are older/younger/different gender who never like to write, either. So now you know. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellamoon Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 Thank you so much! I was just so lost on moving from the easy elementry work into highschool. I cannot belive My baby will be in Highschool in 2.5 years!!! again I appreacte this so very much! I just checked out the Liberty Online Academy... this is their scope & sequence for high school, which might help you "work backwards" as to what topics to cover in 7th & 8th to both prepare, but also fill in any "gaps" that might not end up covered in high school: 9th - English (poetry unit; 3 short stories; 2 plays; 1 novel; various excerpts) - Math = Algebra 1 - Science = Earth Science - Soc. Studies = World Geography (Health & PE; Bible) 10th - English (poetry unit; 3 short stories; 1 play; 1 non-fiction; 1 novel; various excerpts) - Math = Geometry - Science = Biology - Soc. Studies = World History (PE; Bible) 11th - English = American Lit. - Math = Algebra 2 - Science = Chemistry - Soc. Studies = American History (Foreign Language; Bible) 12th - English = British Lit. - Math = Pre-Calc. - Science = Physics - Soc. Studies = Government & Economics (Foreign Language; Bible) 7th gr. Science ideas Since Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics will be covered in high school, you may wish to hold off on Biology as DS would be seeing it again in 3 years (10th grade) at LOA... The "usual" sciences in 7th grade tend to be General Science or Physical Science (overview of Chemistry and Physics topics). Would one of those be of interest? I note that LOA is Christian, so I assume you might like a Christian publisher? For a more "standard" or "textbook" science, check out - Apologia (6th/7th gr. = General Science, or 7th/8th gr. = Physical Science) - Abeka (7th gr. = design & order -- life science; 8th gr. = earth & space -- physics and astronomy) - Bob Jones (7th gr. = life science; 8th gr. = earth science) Or, for a more self-directed Christian program check out Rainbow Science (Physics and Chemistry is year 1, Biology with some additional topics is year 2). It is usually done in 7th and 8th, but can be done in just one year by an advanced student or one who is really interested in the sciences. It is largely self-directed, with quite a bit of hands-on. Not cheap, but you can often find the non-consumable portion at a used price, and then just purchase the consumable portion to complete it. For those above ideas, you'd get your non-evolution Biology in 8th grade (or second half of 7th if doing the 1-year plan) with of Rainbow Science, or in 7th grade with Abeka or Bob Jones... Another idea: this might also be the year to have a last science "fling" and explore a science area of DS's personal interest -- maybe something like forensics, robotics, astronomy, marine biology, oceanography, etc. Especially if you have a really great local hands-on option available to you next year, like Lego FIRST robotics, or a great co-op teacher, or... Or, perhaps PLATO (interactive courseware & online) -- and currently on sale at Homebuyers Co-op, or The Jason Project (interactive online)... 7th gr. American History ideas Since DS loves reading, and you're thinking of American History, you might want to check out Sonlight Core 100. While SL ranks that core for "grades 7-11", my opinion based on personal experience with the vast majority of those books is more like "grades 7-8, or a weaker 9th grader"... So, your strong reader 7th grader would fit well with the reading level of this core. The "spine" is the secular textbook series, History of US by Hakim, and the rest of the core is loads of historical fiction and some non-fiction on specific topics. If secular is problematic for your family, you might consider trying Notgrass America the Beautiful, for 7th grade, and then supplement the literature readings with a suggested actual Lit. program from below, and enjoy your Drive Through American History videos. I will add: we did the Notgrass high school US History, and while the History part is fine, the Lit. is VERY LACKING -- I would guess from looking at the Lit. selections to go with the 7th grade America the Beautiful program would have a similar problem... At your DS's age, and because your DS will be doing online high school, you really NEED a solid Literature program for the next 2 years to prepare him... JMO! My Father's World has an American History curriculum meant for gr. 2-8, BUT... the books in that program look way too lite and not nearly enough material and coverage for a strong 7th gr. reader... again, JMO! 7th gr. English (Literature & Writing) ideas First, I totally agree with you about the typing. I highly recommend getting DS fluent with touch-typing / keyboarding, so he can type quickly, and yes, this is the time to start switching over to typed papers rather than hand-written. For Literature, I suggest Lightning Lit 7 -- gentle intro to classic literature, and some of the works would match up with U.S. History, if you go that route (US authors in LL7 = Tom Sawyer, Helen Keller's Story of My Life, a short story by Stephen Crane, and some American poets) ... LL7 covers a variety of types of literature (poetry, short stories, novels, non-fiction), just as DS will see with LOA in high school, and he'll get a very gentle intro into basic literary analysis, which is much more of what he'll be doing in high school. While the program includes 8 VERY short writing lessons and a writing assignment at the end of each of the 8 units, LL7 is NOT enough for writing instruction! You will need an actual writing program to complete your English for 7th grade -- perhaps informal and written to the student, such as Jump In; or more formal, structured and step-by-step (with a little literary analysis included!), such as SWB's Writing With Skill. A program that is in-between those 2 "extremes", would be IEW's Student Writing Intensive level B i(gr. 6 - 8, with video lessons on DVD and the writing assignment instructions are written to the student), or Essentials in Writing (daily DVD lesson and assignment) -- because of the DVD "teacher lessons", these might be esp. good choices to help transition your DS into teachers with the online courses he'll have in high school with LOA. BONUS: For 8th grade, I strongly recommend getting DS ready for the kinds of literature and papers he is going to need to do in high school, either with IEW's Windows to the World (with the Jill Pike syllabus to include longer works), OR, Excellence in Literature: Intro to Literature. You may want to still include a separate writing program that year, as well... BEST of luck as you plan for 7th grade... and for your transition to online high school! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I know I do not post often here, just when I need things, LOL Anyways we always buy the next years curriculum with our tax money. Our taxes have been filed and we are waiting for the money to hit our account! We are still six months away from the fall. A lot can change between now and then - your kids may be more advanced or behind than you expect, new curricula will hit the market that you will want to have, your interests and opportunities can change. I would stash that money and wait until late summer to make a final decision. In the meantime, make a spreadsheet to map out different possibilities. Download & print samples and test out some lessons. Do forum searches for anything you're thinking about (use a google search with [site:welltrainedmind] and the name of the product). See if anyone around you is using the programs you're interested in and will let you have a look. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people buy really early and then switch everything out before they start. Take the time to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellamoon Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 we have been buying in early spring since we have been homeschooling (1st grade for oldest) It works for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenninMN Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I believe that Liberty Online uses Switched on Schoolhouse. You might want to check SOS out for a subject or two. Here is a site with samples: http://www.odysseyacademy.com/contact_thanks.htm?PHPSESSID=4a9a757e0a4686c7f8e9c2aee036a7b6 I am planning to use A Beka's 7th grade science next year. It will cover life science. I will be using the answer key and tests from Christian Liberty Press. I will have my son read the section and go over the section review with me orally. He will only have written work for the tests. This will keep his enjoyment of the material high while letting me have some measure of what he is retaining. It looks like you enjoy visual materials. Time4Learning has an interactive 7th grade American history. I am considering it for my son, but it will be pricey over the year for just one subject. I also like T4Ls Language Arts, so I might use that as well. The lower level science isn't as colorful and interactive, but it looks like the middle school science is. ETA: Here is another site I'm considering for American history. http://education-portal.com/academy/course/us-history-middle-school.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hearts4homeschooling Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Money is not a huge concern for schooling. At this point we allot 1000 for the school year. But enlighten please what is the homeschool buyers coop? :blink: I did a double take when I read money is not a huge concern for schooling. You are most fortunate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellamoon Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 :blink: I did a double take when I read money is not a huge concern for schooling. You are most fortunate. we are fortunate to get back a pretty decent tax return each year that we allot to our homeschooling. There is just no other way to get around it. Ask me again in a few years when my oldest is in Highschool, my middle girl in Middle school and my baby in elementry. I will probably be singing a different tune then. This is what works for us right now and for the last 7 years of homeschooling. If we did not get a good sized refund each year we would be looking into mostly free ideas. People do not go into the Army for the pay, but we do well enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We do the same as you - purchase curriculum in the spring with our tax refund money. :) Mostly because it's the only way for us to have the amount we need ( ;) ) and also because I would just rather get it all ordered and done with before summer. I don't like the idea of ordering in summer when everyone else is, having longer shipping times, etc. Plus our homeschool conventions are in spring and early summer, and I want everything bought before then so that I can just focus on picking up some supplemental stuff cheap at the used sale. anyway... as far as helping you out goes, I don't have any as old as your oldest, so I don't really have any suggestions! Just was following along - we're not far behind, time flies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellamoon Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 We do the same as you - purchase curriculum in the spring with our tax refund money. :) Mostly because it's the only way for us to have the amount we need ( ;) ) and also because I would just rather get it all ordered and done with before summer. I don't like the idea of ordering in summer when everyone else is, having longer shipping times, etc. Plus our homeschool conventions are in spring and early summer, and I want everything bought before then so that I can just focus on picking up some supplemental stuff cheap at the used sale. anyway... as far as helping you out goes, I don't have any as old as your oldest, so I don't really have any suggestions! Just was following along - we're not far behind, time flies! Thank you for understanding. I was not trying to say money is never an object. I do try to get the best deals for our stuff..but that is only possilbe because of our tax return Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I just wanted to say that we do the same thing with some of our tax money. We allot about $1,000 each year for schooling related purchases. I still bargain hunt for used materials when it's necessary and warranties or return policies aren't a concern. I also wanted to note that since I buy so far in advance I have switched out things only a few weeks after we get started because it was something new we were trying. ALSO.....I've purchased only weeks before our schooling was set to start and ended up switching as well. I think if you do the research you need it's not going to matter how far out you purchase. That's my personal opinion though. I was trying to fix what wasn't broken in the curriculum world of our journey and it back-fired. The other negative was we moved from FLL4 and right into the suggested Rod & Staff English and we all can't STAND it!! BLEH!!! I too don't like ordering all the curriculum in the summer as we school part-time during the summer and I like to do any prep or planning about 2 weeks before our new school year is to begin. We also do take 2-3 weeks off for summer break and I want that break too! ;) The oldest grade I'm planning for this upcoming year will be 6th so I'm not of much help! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellamoon Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 I guess i should add that we do school year round as well. Our school week is m-t and we take a week off every other month, but other than that we school all the time. The reason is that with my oldest having ADHD if we take more then a week or two off then the whole next month trying to get back into routine is not fun for anyone. I love having our stuff a few months before we are ready to start it. It saves me from having to rush to get it all put together and looked at! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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