jea115 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 And what are your "and we hope to do..."? I think I might be getting too ambitious for next year! I want to do enough, but not overwhelm us. Next year will only be my second year homeschooling, and there are so many things out there I want to try! I'm curious to see what your opinions are of what is absolutely necessary for 7th grade and what other things you are doing on top of that. And for you seasoned moms, how did you do it all? Did you have certain subjects you did every day and others you did occasionally, once a week, etc.? I'm sure there will be lots of different answers, but that's good for me! TJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeegal Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 We're expecting baby #5 this summer, so I've actually been considering what our priorities will be next year and how much I can realistically expect to accomplish with a newborn in the house. ;) My essential, we WILL get these done regardless, list: Latin (My ds includes Greek here by his choice) Math Reading & Writing My should list, (I expect to get these covered unless it's an extremely difficult year): History & Science (If necessary we'll include history & science books during reading time and skip a formal curriculum.) Formal grammar Would be nice, probably should, but low on the priority list: Formal study of art & music Poetry memorization Piano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Primary goals: Math Writing Latin Logic Secondary: French History Nature study Tertiary: Greek Art Music and PE are outside classes, so we'll go to those weekly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 My dd is in 6th this year but I am heavily preparing for 7th grade. I think reading quality books (for history, literature, geography, etc) is very important and then using these books to apply writing skills, learning to pull important facts from them and outlining them, rewriting these outlines or portions of them, beginning to answer questions which compare, etc. I think a lot of emphasis on writing and grammar should be made in the middle school years. I also hope to work on logic, thinking skills, beginning to use science as an opportunity to apply some of these skills like learning to write science labs and reports. I'm sure more experienced moms will help out here. These are just some things that come to mind. Here is what we are doing in 7th if that helps too: Classical Writing Homer B with Harvey's Elem. Grammar and also Poetry for Beginners Chalkdust Prealgebra Botany Henle Latin French (still undecided about the program) History of Art Sculpture World History using Story of England, Story of France and Story of Europe American History using This Country of Ours and our notebook P.E. Geography-Book of Marvels Literature-many books such as English Literature for Boys and Girls, Bulfinch's Mythology, King Arthur, Little Women,etc Piano lessons and Composer study HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I'm curious to see what your opinions are of what is absolutely necessary for 7th grade and what other things you are doing on top of that. My goals for seventh (and eighth) grades are based on the thread High School Parents Looking Back, What Would Be Your Ideal 7th/8th Grade in the high school forum. We have no idea what the Nerd wants to do with his life. He likes to play board games and read fantasy novels. He has no direction. I'm hoping he can explore a bit before high school, maybe stumble upon something that lights his fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I'd identify my priorites as follows for my rising 7th grader: Absolutely necessary Math Language Arts* (spelling, writing, grammar, literature, vocabulary) History 2nd tier Science Japanese 3rd tier Logic Geography Bible Memory Work * My ds is a remediated dyslexic. A focus on language is necessary. HTH, Stacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staci in MO Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 My big picture goals for my dc are: to be proficient in math, to be able to read and learn for themselves, and to be able to express themselves clearly through writing. Everything I do ties into this goal. So, my essentials are (in no particular order): 1. Formal grammar (I agree with SWB that this is a key to being able to write well) 2. Writing - Outlining, dictation, narration, and other assignments in R&S (and probably Jump In for the oldest) 3. Reading good literature and nonfiction with lots of discussion. 4. Science will also fall under my essentials. Studying science will contribute to being able to read and understand, so it will be primary in that regard. I also suspect some of my dc will enter the science fields. Plus, you need science to get into college. :) I personally think that lack of early science instruction would be easier to fix later than 1 through 3 (and my degree is in a science field), but others disagree. 5. Bible Things that I think will contribute to this goal, but aren't primary: Latin Logic Vocabulary Things that I think make better people: Music Sports or physical activity Arts and crafts Art appreciation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Not there yet, but planning 7th now. Necessary/Daily Math Latin Greek English (grammar, spelling and vocabulary) *Religion Secondary/Regularly History Science Literature Geography Writing (done within all four secondary subjects) Tertiary/Planned, but skipped when pressed for time French Art Music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 (edited) DS will be in 7th grade next year. Before listing academic priorities, I want to pass on something from a HS friend with a 10th grader. I recently polled the moms of older students in our HS co-op what they wish they had done or done more of in the elementary and middle school years. I expected to hear something like more grammar or memorization. But the answer that struck me most was "I wish we had done more field trips." Once those kids get to high school they are not only working much harder and longer on more difficult subjects, SAT/ACT prep and college applications. They are involved in debate, sports, music...they babysit, go out with friends, take outside classes, work part time jobs. They only get more busy. If any part of your reason for homeschooling is to instill joy in learning, you might consider working in a few more field trips to spend time with your children before they move on. But, having said that, here's what I'm planning: *These must happen, no ifs, ands or buts. That doesn't mean though that we let the other subjects slide willingly, just that if these aren't done, school's not done. Daily *Math (finally giving up on Saxon--now LoF and Teaching Textbooks) Writing (Classical Writing Poetry FOB and IEW U.S. History Vol. 1) Reading (we used Omnibus II this year where it meshed with the WTM recommended reading for 6th and I plan to do the same next year) Memory Work 2x/week *Grammar (M-W--Abeka) Spelling (T-Th--Spelling Workout) Latin (beginning Henle next year so this may be daily-- not optional, but if we miss a day here and there it's no big deal at this stage after 4 years of it) History--(M-W--SOTW & Kingfisher per WTM) Science--Apologia General Science--co-op class Other French--My hopes of sitting around the table conversing in French flew out the window in 5th grade when we got bogged-down in time-consuming logic stage work (that kept us from getting around to French) and French spelling (which is totally confusing for a 10yo). So we chucked it until I came across Pimsleur. This is one of those things we get to when we get to it. I shoot for a minimum of once a week, but we usually manage more if you count practicing speaking to each other in the car, etc. We can listen to the CDs in the car, over lunch or when we just need a break from books. Fine Arts We have a fine arts time on our weekly schedule on Fridays when we do a picture study, drawing or listen to music. We don't always get it done, but over the lifetime of our homeschool I think we've done alright. Streamlining My first cut in an effort to streamline is to consider dropping Abeka. I'm generally happy with it, but there is just so much! We've never even tried to do all of the exercises. Part of my lesson planning is going through the book and circling which ones (or parts) DS is required to do. But we just really need to give more time to other things and I'm thinking of replacing this with Daily Grams and perhaps additional diagramming exercises. DS gets plenty of grammar in Latin and CW writing. Secondly I have considered dropping spelling. I'm happy with Spelling Workout. DS tests well on the Stanford. But I'm not sure how much of that is from spelling and how much is from reading. He was a poor speller until 3rd grade when he jumped to above average. His reading skills skyrocketed in mid-2nd grade. I tend to think the two are related. Oh, and I didn't mention Bible because while it's part of school time, it's not part of school exactly. We usually do something together (currently Drawing the Proverbs, Notgrass) and DS reads the Bible at bedtime. We also have daily memory work that includes scripture. If we miss one or all of these one day, which probably happens sometimes, it's more a habit than an assignment. Edited April 4, 2009 by Suzannah Edited to add Bible Study Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanaTron Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 I have a 7th grader this year, and I have a dd who will be in 7th next year. I'll say what next year's essentials/extras will be: Essentials: Math LA (writing, grammar, spelling) French Latin (Or I may let her drop this to do more art) Geography (taking a history break) Science Band Girl Scouts Extras: Literature study Art appreciation/art Music theory/appreciation logic I will say that we will get the extras done, too, because everything we do is pretty streamlined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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