May 31, 2006 2:53 PM
8th Grade Curriculum
As you all know, Maddy and I homeschooled this year.
I used the same curriculum I'd used with my older kids back in the early 90's. How unimaginative! And with such an imaginative girl......
Maddy loves Shakespeare and all literature - as well as history (even though we used A Beka, which tends to be pretty academic and dry).
Least favorite: math and science.
We used Saxon Math 87, which we will be finishing up over the summer and I guess moving on to Algebra 1/2 next year.
For science I am at a loss. I had the A Beka 7th grade science, but both of us found it dull and packed with information that would only be important to someone specializing in some branch of science later on. Too much memorization.
I don't know. When I started homeschooling, I was so structured and strict and academic. But having a couple right-brain kids in the mix has shown me that some kids have such gifts in the arts that it is almost impossible for them to get through the math and science other kids breeze through. Ben, for example, ended up only getting a standard diploma from high school and not the academic one that would have qualified him for state universities. But his art and voice (he studies opera with a goal of being a professional opera singer) take an enormous amount of energy and he is in a program to receive a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in Music.
Maddy is the same way. When they took the Myers-Briggs Personality tests, both of these kids came out with the personality type Entertainer. Interesting, isn't it?
Anyway, I really would like to find some imaginative and fun science curriculum for 8th grade. Any ideas?
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Comments
I tell everyone who will listen to use Apologia for Science. Exploring Creation With General Science would be first. Hope you like it if you try it.
Posted by: Monika | May 31, 2006 3:30 PM
As a homeschooled student, I loved, loved, LOVED Apologia's science curriculum.
I am a writing/literature lover too, and I didn't like math and science much, but I liked Apologia better than any other science books we tried.
Posted by: miller_schloss | May 31, 2006 3:38 PM
Yes, Apologia science.
Also, did you know that you can go straight from Saxon 8/7 to Algebra 1? The 8/7 book includes the material in the 1/2 book and some review of 7/6. I depends on whether or not Maddie understood the material in 8/7. If so, you can go straight to Algebra.
Posted by: Sherry | May 31, 2006 9:34 PM
I would also recommend Apologia. I teach science lab classes for homeschoolers as a professional Science teacher (and homeschooling mommy) and I teach only Apologia courses. She is probably ready for Physical Science if she is going into 8th grade.
The texts are written in a conversational tone directly to the student. They assume no prior knowledge or teacher intervention (although you'll want to since it's just plain fun!) The labs use household items. It has an unabashed Creationist viewpoint. They are very easy to pick up used.
Posted by: Kim in Austin | May 31, 2006 10:47 PM
I also vote for Apologia Science.
My kids were not real fond of science but
they enjoyed this course.
It also works really well in a co-op setting.
Posted by: Leigh | June 1, 2006 2:46 AM
