8th Grade Curriculum Choices for 2019/2020
As much as writing about our choices for Cal’s 6th Grade Year made me feel old, Emma being in the 8th grade makes me feel straight up ancient.
It’s been so fun though to watch her grow and mature through the years and I just couldn’t be prouder of her than I am!
And this girl is such a beauty, on the inside and the out. The boys are starting to notice too so Nick will definitely have his hands full in the coming years, I am sure.
This year after a lot of praying and debating we decided to stick with Classical Conversation again this year. In the end we decided to stick with CC and Emma just started her year in the Challenge B leve.
A lot of her curriculum is what they have chosen however the majority of it is not specifically a CC resource meaning that even if you are not part of Classical Conversations you may glean some of these resources from here and decide to use some of them with your kids.
That being said, here is what we are using:
Writing: The Lost Tools of Writing
Emma used this book last year as well. It seems to be a wonderful program however, we got a little busy last year with travel and felt like we got a bit lost in the program (see that pun? lol). This year we are gearing up to use the program again and I am trying to get a better handle on understanding the program so it will be smooth sailing all year long.
History: Story of the World, Volume 2: The Middle Ages
I dislike that Classical Conversations does not have an actual history program beyond the 6th grade. While I understand that they use literature to facilitate discussions involving history, I think there needs to be an intense study when the students are older about the cultural and psychological changes that take place among people and entire populations of countries surrounding the timeline of events. I find that to be something that is both fascinating and important in understanding the world.
To compensate for that we will be using The Story of the World. While this is really basic for Emma I think it will serve as an easy read that can them propel us onto deeper reading if time allows or at least to create opportunities for deeper discussion.
So we will be using the softcover chapter book by Susan Wise Bauer (the history reads like a story which we all LOVE!) and the Activity Book. There is an audio book of this available as well as tests. We don’t use either of those materials though.
Latin: Henle Latin, First Year
In true Classical Education fashion we will be doing Henle Latin for the second year. We started doing year one last year and will go through it again this year. Last year I felt like we started with a good base of knowledge based on doing Latin before we joined CC but as the year progressed we started knowing less and less as it got harder and harder. It was very graceful for us to know that we will be studying the same material this year, hopefully understanding and learning more through this second time around.
We will be using the paperback book, the Grammar book, and the answer key.
Typing: Jump Start Typing
This is an older program. Honestly I think I may have purchased it from a Scholastic Book Order when Emma was in preschool (gulp!) but it is still available. It works really well for us and is game formatted which both kids have enjoyed.
Science:
We will be following the CC weeks of Science and adding materials in that pertain to each week.
We will also continue with Kiwi Crates because the kids love doing those. So excited to do experiments with our kiddos who LOVE science! We are so blessed. Allow me to just randomly interject that little statement.
Geography:
We will be following the Story of the World’s maps as well as tracing maps that go along with Cycle 2 of Classical Conversations.
Math: Saxon Algebra 1/2
In total mom confession mode here I am going to share with you that I hardly ever do math with Emma. Maybe once a week. She gets it, her homework problems show that, and reading the work herself proves to help her understand the information better than me reading it to her or working it out with her.
However, we are starting to get to the point where I am going to have to actually do it with her. She is starting to have questions that for the most part I’ve been able to look at the book and figure it out but I can see that I am standing on the edge of the land where that just isn’t going to cut it anymore.
So this year I am planning on doing math with her. Sitting down and doing it myself. We homeschoolers call this “redeeming our education” meaning that we are relearning things that, let’s be honest, no one wanted to learn the first time around.
Other Activities Emma will be in:
Youth Group
Ballet
Piano
We will be adding in unit studies as we can and nature studies here and there as we have time.
So I’m curious. What are your curriculum recommendations? I love having new ideas so comment below!
I hope you have a lovely school year. Give me all of the coffee is what I’m feeling like right about now towards school, lol.
PIN TO SAVE
