Homeschool Curriculum: 7th Grade & 5th Grade

See all prior curriculum picks and reviews here.

This has such a weird year to try to plan. We usually begin our year in July, and here we are heading into August with the girls at camp, a living room full of moving boxes, and the knowledge that we will be quasi nomads until our new home is complete (hopefully late October).

This year Hailey will be in 7th (mid-middle school?!) and Kaitlyn will be in 5th grade (last year with a child in elementary- sniffle). I’ve kept our unorthodox start to the year (being nomads, moving to a new area, making new friends) in mind with my selections. I want our lessons to be effective but also realistic for our few months of chaos.

Additionally, it’s been an emotional past year for me and most of those complex emotions that come with turning 40 and preparing to move. I am channeling these emotional waves into being as present as ever with my family. It’s been a little challenging in the chaos of preparing the house, listing, packing and all, but I feel ready to start our school year soon and can not wait until we are settling into our new home and creating our new rhythms together.

My mindset this year is moving further away from “check the boxes and get it done” to thinking through how we are spending our time together. I want lessons to be engaging. I want us to feel free to take off down rabbit trails. I want our personal relationships to flourish just as much as our academics. I want this year to stretch us a bit, but also allow time for life things, like setting up a garden and chickens, hiking dates with new friends, and whatever else might come our way. I’m going to check back in a few months and revisit these intentions to hold myself accountable.

With all that in mind, and after spending hours upon hours pouring over options, reading reviews, and thinking through what our next 12 months will look like, I finally have selected our 2024-2025 homeschool curricula! ::Throw the confetti; it was quite the feat::

Homeschool Curriculum: 7th Grade & 5th Grade

Hailey (7th Grade Homeschool Curriculum)

Math: Saxon 7/6 to Saxon Algebra 1/2 with Nicole the Math Lady

Hailey tested really well in math this year and our proctor recommended we skip the next next Saxon math and move ahead to Algebra. We will finish the 7/6 book then proceed with that recommendation. I also upgraded our membership with Nicole the Math Lady and now the girls will have online grading. I’m excited to have this help on grading and immediate feedback for the kids.

Language Arts: Clear Water Press Cover Story Creative Writing / Fix It Grammar Robin Hood / Reading

After doing two years of IEW Style and Structure. I wanted to switch things up for Hailey with some creative writing. She loves writing stories on her own and I’ve heard great things about Cover Story. I think it will be an exciting mix up in routine for her and she’ll really enjoy getting to be creative (they make their own magazine in the process).

Science: Sabbath Mood Homeschool Weather / Sabbath Mood Homeschool Physics (co-op)

Until now, we’ve mostly done interest-led sciences or Gather Round units, so this will be a new-to-us science experience. I’m grateful to be doing it with the support of our co-op.

Geography: Beautiful Feet US Geography

We’ll be picking back up on this from where we left off last year when we switched to study US Government, since it aligned nicely with election year).

Extras: Plutarch (co-op), Handicrafts (co-op), Shakespeare play (co-op), piano, Synthesis, bible study with mom, cursive practice

Kaitlyn (5th Grade Homeschool Curriculum)

Math: Saxon Math 6/5 to 7/6 with Nicole the Math Lady

Language Arts: All About Spelling / Brave Writer Arrow / Reading

Kaitlyn thrived using the All About Reading program and her reading really started clicking over the past 6 months. Her spelling leaves a bit to be desired though, so I’m committed to using All About Spelling to sharpen her skills.

My wild card curriculum pick for the year is Brave Writer. I’ve followed the creator, Julie Bogart, for years and appreciate a lot of her insights into homeschooling (read her book for more). I believe Kaitlyn will enjoy this literary-based approach and will benefit from the narration and copy work aspects.

Science: Sabbath Mood Homeschool Astronomy/ Sabbath Mood Homeschool Simple Machines (co-op) / MEL Science Kits

Kaitlyn is our hands-on science enthusiast and I haven’t found more legit at home science kits than MEL Science. Highly recommend.

Geography: Beautiful Feet US Geography

Extras: Plutarch (co-op), Handicrafts (co-op), Shakespeare play (co-op), piano, Synthesis, Bible Study with mom, cursive

As you can tell with Science and “extras,” we have joined a co-op in our new town. I am excited about this, as the group of families seems really great, but I’m also a little nervous because it’s a step up in commitment for me (from assistant Spanish teacher to leading Form 2 science) and appears a bit more demanding academically for the kids. Our prior co-op (that I adore!) was more focused on extracurricular subjects, like art, PE, and Mystery Science lessons. They are graciously allowing us to join in once we are settled into the new house.

Another switch up I’m trying this year is shorter lessons. I’ve dived into the world of Charlotte Mason and there are aspects of it that are really appealing to me. While I certainly consider myself a purest, I do feel like shorter lessons for better attention and switching between mentally demanding subjects and less demanding subjects will bring a fresh rhythm to our days. This feels new to me so I’ll let you know how it plays out, but for now, we will begin out year with this schedule: