I know, I know. I am a little late in the year to post our curriculum picks. Mid-year is when a lot of homeschoolers choose to switch curriculum that isn’t working, so I think it’s still beneficial to tell you what we’re using.
Since my youngest son is in seventh grade this year, this is my second sweep through seventh grade. Since my kids are very different in their personalities and learning styles, it’s very rare that we use the same curriculum twice. This actually keeps things more interesting for me, as I am not teaching the same thing over and over.
Homeschool Co-Op
This year we are part of an academic co-op. We have done co-op classes in the past, but this is our first year participating in one that requires certain curriculum choices. The jury is still out on how this is working for us. The kids are enjoying it, but it is definitely a different way for us to homeschool. I will give it a fair chance this year, but I have a feeling this is going to be a one and done for us.
Trying Different Homeschool Curriculum
Being a homeschool blogger means that we get to try a variety of homeschool curriculum. This is a fun way for us to see what we like or what will be a good fit for us. We try out every resource I review, but we don’t necessarily continue with it for the whole year. While we like many homeschool resources, ultimately we use what works for us in whatever season of life we’re in.
Homeschool Math Curriculum
This year my seventh grader is using Math U See. We have tried different math curricula over the years, but the hands-on and visual aspect of the Math U See manipulatives really works for my youngest. We both really like the focus of completely mastering one topic at a time before moving to the next. At the present time, Math U See is working for him so we’ll continue using it.
Seventh Grade Language Arts Curriculum
This year we are using The Good and the Beautiful for Language Arts. I LOVE this for elementary age. We went all the way through level six of Master Books Language Lessons curriculum, and he tested behind a couple of levels in The Good and the Beautiful. This makes me a little bit upset about using Master Books, but it is what it is.
The Good and the Beautiful is thorough and covers geography and art within the Language Arts curriculum. While the curriculum covers every aspect of Language Arts plus other subjects, it is put together in a way that the lessons don’t take all day to do. The lessons cycle between writing and spelling, with social studies woven into the reading assignments. I really can’t say enough good things about this curriculum and wish I had started with this years ago.
Since The Good and the Beautiful covers several core subjects in the Language Arts curriculum, I don’t have a lot of separate subjects for my seventh grader. I like that our homeschool day feels a little more compact, for lack of a better word.
Homeschool Science for Seventh Grade
For Science we are also using The Good and the Beautiful. We really love doing science as unit studies. We spend a couple of hours once a week on science, and it works for us. I spend time working through science lessons with my seventh grader while my ninth grader is at his co-op science class. This is really making our science instruction smooth this year.
Seventh Grade Homeschool History
We began the year with every intention of using The Good and the Beautiful History. We actually started this last spring, as both of my kids had finished their Social Studies curriculum early. The Good and the Beautiful History is wonderful. It is exactly what I want from a history curriculum. My boys really enjoy family style studies, and really loved the added games and activities.
Then, we decided to join an academic co-op, and history is one of the subjects covered in the co-op. They are using the Master Books World’s Story this year. This is definitely not my favorite history curriculum. In fact, I really had to weigh the benefits of the co-op verse using this curriculum. This is a definite compromise as there’s no way I would ever choose this curriculum for my homeschool. While we are all different and have different preferences, this is not a history curriculum I recommend.
Homeschool Literature for Seventh Grade
Literature is covered to an extent in his Language Arts curriculum, but it is also one of his co-op subjects. Since he is getting literature instruction already, I am using the assigned co-op books as read alouds. They are also doing discussion and projects in his class, so he is getting plenty of literature instruction. Here are the books we’ll be reading this year.
Seventh Grade Homeschool Electives
Since our core classes aren’t too overwhelming this year, we can focus a little bit more on the extra or fun classes. Here are some of the elective type classes he is doing this year.
Exploring Technology
He is taking a LEGO building class through our co-op. He is enjoying class and I like that I don’t have to do anything for this one. He also has a KiwiCo subscription and he enjoys the projects from that.
Economics
He will also be doing an economics class with our co-op. They will utilize the Tuttle Twins books. I have never read these books, but have heard good things. Again, this is a class that I don’t have to teach, so it is pretty simple for me.
Music
He is continuing in his violin lessons this year. I love that he is learning a classical instrument. Violin is such a hard instrument to learn, but it is so beautiful once mastered. I am really glad that this was his instrument choice.
This is our seventh grade year in a nutshell. There are so many more learning opportunities we take on a daily basis, but this is the core of what we are doing.
What are your curriculum picks for seventh grade? Tell me in the comments.