We are just a few weeks into our new school year and it’s hard to believe I have a 7th grader this year. He was a preschooler when we started this journey and now he’s almost as tall as me. Time flies seems like an overused phrase, but I really can’t think of better words to describe how I’m feeling as a homeschool mom.

This year, we’ve stuck with some familiar curriculum and also changed it up with some new-to-us curriculum. While it’s too early to fully review anything, I’ll share an overview of what we’re using for 7th grade. And if you have a younger child and are interested in what we’re using this year for my kindergartener, stayed tuned for a later post.

When I choose curriculum, I always keep in mind my desire for my children to be educated from a biblical worldview. There is endless noise and confusion in our world, and I don’t take granted the privilege to homeschool according to our Christian values.

A Note About Technology

I wanted to briefly mention the use of technology in our homeschool since we’ve made a few changes this year. Aside from short math video lessons last year and some occasional educational videos, we didn’t do much with screens in our homeschool. When we needed a computer we used mine, but with my son getting older and his coursework getting harder, I knew it was time to pivot.

Since my son is utilizing a little more video instruction for some subjects this year, we decided to get a school computer. And while this isn’t a post on Internet safety, I know the topic of screens can cause angst for many moms, so I just want to quickly share how we’re handling this transition.

We purchased a ChromeBook and a parental control router called Gryphon. It’s possible to do some basic parental controls on a ChromeBook, but it’s not sufficient for Internet safety. For that we have a Gryphon Router which came recommend by Protect Young Eyes. It has built-in parental controls that can be managed by my husband and I through an app on our phones. While it’s been a learning curve and we’re still ironing out some wrinkles, it’s helping us keep our son safe on an at-home computer.

With that said, here’s what we’re using this year!

7th Grade Curriculum Picks

• Math: Principles of Mathematics Book 1 by Master Books
• Writing: IEW Structure and Style Year 1 Level B
• Grammar: IEW Fix It! Grammar: Level 3 Robin Hood
• Literature: Assorted books, Not Consumed Middle School Reading Journal
• Spelling: All About Spelling Level 3
• Cursive: A Reason For Handwriting Level F
• Bible: The Word in Motion Old Testament by Apologia
• Science: Exploring Creation with General Science by Apologia
• History: American Faith: 27 Sketches From Winthrop to Wilkerson by Generations
• Civics: U.S. & Colorado Civics (K-12 Civics + History)
• Electives: Typing, CodeMonkey (Coding), Eureka Crates (Engineering), Cooking Lessons

Math

The past few years we’ve mainly used Master Books for math. My son finished the Math Lessons For a Living Education series in 6th grade and Principles in Mathematics is Master Books’ next level, designed for middle school math.

If you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you know that I love Master Books as a company because they share our Christian values. I find their math to be on the gentler side, so in the long-term I don’t think it’s the best fit for my son who is engineering-minded. However, middle schoolers are going through lots of emotional and physical changes, and I read a wise piece of advice in a homeschool handbook about how it’s important to not overwhelm them at this age. Of course, all kids are different, but my mama instinct told me to stick with a manageable-paced math curriculum this year.

I decided on Master Books’ Principles in Mathematics Book 1. It comes with a teacher’s guide and student workbook, so it’s a bit different in format if you’re used the MLFALE series for elementary grades. The teacher’s guide contains the schedule, worksheets, quizzes, tests, and answer key. The student workbook is the textbook with all the instruction for each lesson, designed for the student to read through and then complete the assigned pages. The textbook reading is also something that the parent could work through with their student together.

In addition, there’s an optional corresponding video course on Master Books Academy that’s we’re using. It has a video for each lesson and it basically covers the textbook material in the student workbook. My son watches the video first, then completes the worksheet and refers to the textbook as needed, and I step in to help him as needed.

The course can be taught in one year or at an accelerated pace in combination with Book 2. Depending on how this year goes, my tentative plan is to have him complete Book 1 this year and then switch to BJU for a full year of Pre-Algebra in 8th grade. I almost chose BJU for this year (we used it for 5th grade), but I wanted to wait one more year before moving to something more rigorous.

Writing

For a few years we were using WriteShop, which is a wonderful program, but decided to switch to IEW Structure and Style Year 1 Level B for writing this year. I’ve heard good things about this program, and I like that it has a longevity that can carry your student through high school. It also comes with video instruction taught by Andrew Pudewa who is a great teacher; he is very engaging and humorous. One of the unique things about the videos is that Mr. Pudewa is teaching the lessons in an actual classroom with kids, so your student gets to sit in on the lessons with them.

Depending on what package you choose, it comes with a teacher’s manual, student notebook, and access to video streaming. Being the organized person that I am, I appreciate how this program is laid out and walks you through exactly what to do.

It’s a 24-week program that we’re using four days a week. My son watches the videos for the week the first two days, and then completes the remaining work the next two days or however long it takes to finish the week’s work. I try to watch some of the videos with him so I can better help him and also because I like to learn. So far, it’s been a manageable combination of him doing some independent work and some work with my help.

Grammar

My son completed Master Books’ Language Lessons For a Living Education series in 6th grade (with one component being grammar), so it was time to move onto something else. IEW Fix It! Grammar: Level 3 Robin Hood has been the perfect transition for him and he’s building upon skills he’s already learned. The lessons are short, and just like the writing it’s very well laid out with clear directions.

It pairs together nicely with the writing program and I purchased everything together as one package. There is a student workbook and teacher’s manual, and it’s manageable for your student to do independently with help as needed. It also incorporates vocabulary and my son keeps a running list of vocabulary words with definitions on the computer.

Literature

We start each morning with Morning Basket, which includes a chapter book read aloud, and my boys love this time. I’m a believer that there should be space for kids to be read to simply for the pleasure of being read to–even in middle school. Some books we read simply for the joy of it, and other times we do follow-up work.

Since my oldest son in an avid reader with solid comprehension skills, my goals for him are to keep on loving reading and to keep exercising his skills. We’ll be reading several chapter books this year, some together and others he will read independently. He will use the Not Consumed Middle School Reading Journal to reflect upon some of the books he reads so that he keeps sharpening his skills. Also, by his age there’s a lot of reading comprehension woven into subjects like history and science, so he’s getting plenty of practice in those subjects as well.

Spelling

As I mentioned earlier, my son completed the final level of Language Lessons for a Living Education in 6th grade. This series includes spelling, however, I didn’t find it to be sufficient because it had very little teaching instruction for spelling. I tried to adapt it to bring in more spelling practice so that we didn’t have to add an additional spelling program. While this worked okay, it still left gaps in his learning.

Knowing that I wanted to focus more on spelling and filling in those gaps this year, I researched a few spelling programs and decided to return to where we started when he was younger: All About Spelling.

The levels aren’t based on their grade, but rather designed to move your student through the program at their own pace so that they have a solid foundation. There are 7 levels in all and each one builds upon the next. We’re currently working through Level 3 at a fast pace since it’s been easy for him, and once finished we’ll move onto level 4.

Cursive

I delayed cursive instruction for awhile since my son didn’t have much interest, and while it’s likely that he will be typing more than anything in the future, I still believe there’s value in teaching kids both manuscript and cursive.

We’ve been using the cursive portion of A Reason For Handwriting the past few years to help my son learn cursive. He’s doing the last level this year, A Reason for Handwriting Level F, to keep strengthening his cursive skills. I like that it’s affordable and incorporates writing Bible verses.

Bible

Since we choose curriculum that supports a Christian worldview, biblical instruction is woven throughout our days. We’ve also used a variety of resources over the years to help my kids learn the Bible.

But before I share what we’re using this year, I want pause and say this.

The past few years, I’ve been studying the Bible verse-by-verse in my personal time, and I can’t emphasize enough how life-changing this has been for me. The more His Word is hidden in my heart, the better I can share it with my children. With that said, it’s enough to open up the Bible and read it with your kids and have discussions. In a world full of abundant resources, which I use and can be helpful, it’s important to also remember that God’s Word is sufficient.

So now to what we’re using…

Last school year I came across a newer resource from Apologia and had intended to use it with both my boys, but with a lot Bible already woven into other curriculum, we really didn’t need an additional resource.

I pulled it back out for this year and we’re doing volume 1, The Word in Motion Old Testament. Volume 2 covers the New Testament. It’s recommend for grades K-8 and comes with a textbook, notebooking journal, and streaming video lessons. It can easily be adapted to make it work best for your family and I do it together with my boys during Morning Basket.

We watch the video (only a few minutes) and learn the new motions on Mondays, and then work through the textbook material the rest of the week. We aren’t using the notebooking journal that much, but there are some flashcards and resources in there that we will use.

One of my favorite parts is the hand motions paired with words to help with memorizing the order of the Bible. Even though my boys sometimes think it’s silly, it’s an effective tool and is helping me too.

We also work on memorizing Bible verses, and my son is currently working through some of the SCM Scripture Memory Verse Cards.

Science

After using Master Books for science the past few years, we’re trying Apologia again this year. I chose Exploring Creation With General Science which is geared at 7th-8th grade, and like with Master Books, I can be confident with Apologia that my science-loving son is learning from a biblical worldview.

The course is broken into 14 modules covering a variety of science concepts, so it circles back around to things my son learned earlier and covers new concepts as well. The basic set comes with a textbook, tests, and notebooking journal—and this is all you need. I chose the package that also comes with the streaming videos, but got it when they were running a sale.

It’s a very solid course, but it’s taking time to figure out how to best use the materials in a time manageable way. The videos cover what’s in the textbook, but not word-for-word, so my son refers to the textbook as needed when completing the notebooking pages. Even though the Notebooking Journal is bulky, I like that it’s in color and has a variety of assignments, including lab reports. In the front, it has a schedule for the student to follow and check-off as they complete each module. And while the workload can be heavy some days, I’m modifying as needed.

History & Civics

For History this year we’re using American Faith: 27 Sketches From Winthrop To Wilkerson by Generations. It teaches American history through the biographies of 27 men and women of faith, and comes with a textbook and student workbook. We are reading this together and at the end of the chapter my son works through the workbook pages. There are also tests and unit projects.

I’ve really enjoyed re-learning history alongside my son over the years.

To fulfill the requirement for civics, we will also be reading a book called US & Colorado Civics . While we haven’t started it yet, I plan to add it to our morning basket as a read aloud once a week. It’s set-up unit study style (one of my favorite homeschooling methods), so it has activities and additional book suggestions to pair along with each unit. I plan to begin it this year and keep using it until we make it through the book.

Electives & Other

• Typing – My son used Typing Instructor for awhile, but it was a little too game based and not as instructive as I had hoped. I’ll be looking for something different to have him use this year now that we’re getting more settled in routines.
• Coding – Being the STEM kid that my son is, I thought he would enjoy a coding class. We’re going to be trying CodeMonkey this year and using the levels for middle school.
• Engineering/Eureka Crates – My son has been using the KiwiCo crates since he was about five. There are various levels and he switched to the Eureka Crates about a year ago. We don’t get them on a monthly basis, but he will be doing a few this year so he can explore his love of building things.
• Cooking: I will be doing cooking lessons with both my boys once a month, just for fun and also to help them learn some basic kitchen skills. I love being in the kitchen, but am not as good about bringing them in, so this will keep me more intentional about giving them some opportunities.

We also cover some rotating subjects during our morning basket such as art appreciation, music appreciation, and poetry. Since this is something I do together with both my boys, I’ll be sharing our choices for that in a separate post at a later time.

Closing Thoughts

This year feels like a transition in many ways as my oldest son is growing up and becoming more independent in some subjects, but still needs me a lot too. I will also be introducing him to his own student planner at some point, but we already have a full plate with getting used to some new curriculum.

I’m thankful for another year and that we’ve made it this far by God’s grace.

Hannah