Middle School Curriculum Choices 2015-2016

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Isaac is our 8th grader this year. Probably the biggest difference for him will be the level of work we expect. 8th grade kicks things up a notch in order to transition to high school level work by the end of the year. Our Middle School Curriculum Choices 2015-2016:

8th Grade Curriculum Choices

• Ancient Studies– Using Quest for the Ancient World by WinterPromise
• Pre-Algebra & Beginning Algebra– with Life of Fred
• Biology– with a combination of Christian Kids Explore Biology and other resources we have on hand. This will include an extended study of the human body which will encompass health requirements. My certification is in biology, so I’m ready to go!
• English I– Literary Lessons from The Lord of the Rings. We started it in the last quarter of grade 7 and he’s enjoying it enough to continue in 8th grade. This is my second time through, but it’s a fun program. He will also be working on writing using The Writer’s Jungle.

Implementing Middle School Curriculum

Isaac will be working on more than those four pieces of curriculum would suggest. Art and music are part of his program along with some project areas. His learning time will consist of the following in addition to the four main subject areas above:

• RC Plane Flying– He is a member of the local flying club and has three planes he flies and maintains. Two of them he can fly at the park behind our house and the other one is large enough to need an air field. That’s his newest acquisition and he’s quickly becoming an expert.
• Model Rocketry– Isaac builds his own rockets from kits (some are more ready to fly than others) and launches them.
• Daily Reading Aloud– Both as the reader and the listener. We read The Lord of the Rings together and take turns reading. Additionally, we read as a family.
• Speech Practice– He has a history of severe apraxia and we are working on trimming up his R sounds. He gets weekly one on one speech therapy for articulation. I think he’ll be dismissed by summer’s end, but practice will continue. The sounds are there, but they require great effort from him.
• Reading– Lots of reading is in store. Right now he’s immersed in a 14 book series by Robert Jordan called The Wheel of Time. In fact, his older brother and sister and his dad are all reading the series.

Other Middle School Posts at Blog, She Wrote

It’s hard to believe that, although we have one middle schooler this year, we are parenting and homeschooling three teens right now. Here are a few posts on homeschooling middle school.

Teaching Middle & High School Language Arts– Resources and information on how we approach language arts for our secondary students.

Homeschooling Middle & High School Fine Arts– Music and art in middle school

Homeschooling Middle & High School Math– We are Life of Fred users especially for upper level math. Learn about our strategy for teaching math in middle school.

Literary Adventures– Book fun for middle school or any age. Find a fun book which challenges your middle schooler and get started!

The Snake Project– This was our daughter’s 8th grade science two years ago and it was a fabulous example of what happens when you let a project develop and challenge a student.