I have been feeling the need to simplify our homeschool this year. You can read more about my decision to simplify things in this post. With that in mind, here’s what Carter will be doing for his seventh grade homeschool curriculum.
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Sonlight
For Carter I chose to go with History, Bible, Literature, Language Arts and Science F. He has done world history from ancient to middle ages over the past few years, so I wanted to stay away from the World History levels since he read most of those books recently. I thought about combining him in HBL D with Peyton, but the readers are pretty far below his reading level. I don’t feel like school needs to be super difficult or challenging, but I also don’t want to sell him short. HBL F seems like the perfect placement for him. Both of my boys are well travelled and have a well developed sense of adventure, so he will enjoy learning about the people and cultures of the Eastern Hemisphere.
Sonlight had a big sale back in March, so I decided to jump right in with the full grade package. When you order a full grade package from Sonlight, it comes with EVERYTHING. Since the packages are fully customizable, I will list what we chose for the skills subjects.
Math
Carter switched to Math U See half way through his sixth grade year, so he will finish up Zeta before moving on to Pre-Algebra. I’m estimating he will finish Zeta before our Christmas break and will start Pre-Algebra in January. I don’t push the boys to finish a math book by a deadline as I want them to truly learn math and not just get through a book. As long as they are working on it every day, I let them go at their own pace. Math is a subject we do year round so I don’t feel the need to hurry them through a math level.
Language Arts
Carter is using Sonlight Language Arts F. I hesitated to switch him away from Essentials in Writing because it works well for him, but he was ready for a change of scenery. We will see how it goes. I do like Sonlight LA, so I feel comfortable with him trying it out. Sonlight Language Arts is a completely different approach than the traditional approach of Essentials in Writing, but Carter adapts pretty easily. EIW has given him a great writing foundation that I hope to see carry over to his Sonlight LA.
Spelling
We chose Spelling You See. Spelling is his Achilles heel, so hopefully this will be a good spelling program for him. I am a natural speller so it’s actually a difficult subject for me to teach. Since I could always look at a word and then visualize the way it is spelled, I never really needed to be taught how spelling works. Carter does not take after me in this area. His learning style is very different from mine so it can be challenging to find ways to teach him a subject that comes naturally to me. We will keep working to improve in this area, but Carter is pretty good and adapting and finding a work around. Our motto is do your best, then spell check.
Extras
Carter is participating in a virtual options program offered through the state. He will be doing a Minecraft Steam class, LEGO Robotics Spike, and Guitar lessons. He is most excited about the Minecraft class. He usually only gets to play on weekends, so the idea of this being part of school is pretty exciting for him.
That’s all for Carter this year, hopefully. I am really trying to discipline myself to keep it simple and not add to our year. This is a challenge for me as I love to try new resources and have mostly pieced together our curriculum over the years. I am really looking forward to trying a boxed curriculum again and hoping the lack of planning frees me up to pursue some of my other interests (like this blog).
Do you have a seventh grader? I would love to hear what you are using for your seventh grade homeschool curriculum.
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