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Raising Scholars: An Overview
Raising Scholars: The Grand Plan
Raising Scholars * Phase 1: Foundation & Fun
Now that these young scholars have a firm foundation
in their academic journey,
they are ready to establish roots.
During this phase, they slowly and gradually evolve into independent scholars.
This occurs in three stages:
The Journey Settles In: Sending Roots (grades 4 – 5)
The Journey Transitions (grade 6)
The Journey Seizes Joy: Roots Take Hold (grades 7 – 8)
The Journey Settles In:
Sending Roots (grades 4 – 5)
What a wonderful phase this is!
The young scholars have learned all the basics of reading, writing, and math. They’ve attained an overview of world history and a foundation in American history. They’ve gained a broad knowledge of animals, plants, and astronomy, and they know how to type adequately and play simple pieces on the piano.
Now they are ready to send their roots of learning deeper. They will not only expand their knowledge but will learn to think critically about what they are learning. By doing this, they gain a greater understanding of the world around them and their place in it. They will learn to write with more style and structure, using more sophisticated vocabulary.
Because they can read proficiently, they become more independent in their tasks this year and much less dependent on the parent-teacher. Learning is defined less as “fun” and more as “interesting.” The young scholars look forward to exploring new things, reading engaging books, and thinking deeply about all they are discovering.
As in the early years (and described in the previous section), I try to intertwine subjects whenever possible and eliminate superfluous or “busy” work.
In all academic decisions, the tasks must meet the criteria of being
challenging, enriching, and inspiring.
These young scholars truly are settling in,
ready to embrace the pursuit of knowledge.
Faith & Character:
Seeing God’s story in the context of world history was important to me. Growing up, Bible stories were always separate from my secular world history education ~ I wanted biblical history to be intertwined for my young scholars.
So, alongside our study of world history, we read a detailed Bible story book (we used Egermeier Bible Story Book), discussing world history and Bible history simultaneously.
For example:
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- As we learned the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, we were also discussing the Israelites’ enslavement there.
- As we discussed the Xerxes in the Persian empire, we were also reading about Esther and the Jews in exile.
- As we studied Nero, we were following Paul and the persecution of the Jews.
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You get the idea.
As we moved past Bible history, we began reading biographies of Christians who used their faith to impact the world such as David Livingstone, Gladys Aylward, and Mother Teresa.
Memory verses from the Bible are also introduced at this age. I had my favorite verses of inspiration, comfort, and peace, so we began with these. A new verse was written on our white board each week.
At this age, manners and social skills become important as our young scholars increasingly interact with others in the outside world, sometimes on their own.
When studying the Middle Ages, we used a book called Squire and the Scroll along with corresponding Life Lessons guide to discuss character qualities integrity, honor, courage, and compassion, to name just a few. This book and guide use boys’ natural intrigue with knights and adventure to inspire admirable character in them. (Though this one is for boys, there is a counterpart for girls called The Princess and the Kiss. However, the lessons and focus are significantly different.)
Introduction to World History:
In the beginning years, the young scholars experienced a survey of world history. During these two years, they immerse themselves in cultures, civilizations, empires, kingdoms, and countries all around the world from ancient to modern times.
They will absorb accounts of far-off villages, the rise of city-states, the many wars that altered the boundaries of power, influential men and women who forever changed history, and the rise and fall of great civilizations and nations. As parent-teachers, you will probably learn a lot as well.
We used Susan Wise Bauer’s Story of the World Volumes 1-4 along with the Activity Books which contained comprehension questions, maps, literature suggestions, games, and projects for each chapter.
These books contain minimal pictures, so we supplemented with the picture-rich Kingfisher’s History Encyclopedia as well as the Living in series (Living in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome).
For fun and for a slightly different perspective, we read Child’s History of the World during our together time — my children always looked forward to these short historical summaries which often tied past events to modern day.
In the car we listened to the CD Geography Songs: Sing Around the World, a fun way to learn world geography. This CD comes with a reference book containing the lyrics and maps.
With our study of world history combined with the literature and writing they did (see below), my kids had more knowledge of history than I did when I graduated high school.
SO HOW DID WE SCHEDULE ALL THIS?
On the first three days of each week, my young scholars read two to three chapters from Story of the World, answered the corresponding comprehension questions, and studied the associated parts of Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. (Though you can read the Story of the World together, reading these short chapters independently helps these young scholars on their road toward academic independence.)
On Thursday, together we reviewed what they had studied, went over the comprehension questions, completed the maps, added relevant dates to a history timeline, and read Child’s History of the World. (Thursday was our heavy “together” day for history).
On Friday, they would take the quiz and/or type a paragraph of what they learned that week in history. This summary paragraph had two purposes: one was to reinforce the knowledge they had gained, the other was to increase their ease with writing as well as improve their typing skills. (See more below about writing/composing.)
Reading & Literature:
As the young scholars consume their readers and the whole family enjoys the read-alouds, almost everything centers around the study of history, expanding and enriching their knowledge about the historical events and culture of that time period. Many of the books are historical fiction, though some are engagingly-written nonfiction and biographies. Many tout prestigious awards.
Your young scholars are proficient readers by this time and can handle a wide range of reading difficulty levels, so relatively easy books are intermixed with more challenging ones. Too many challenging books can squelch their enjoyment of reading, but too many “easy” books do not stretch their capabilities.
Discussion of the independently-read books verifies the books have actually been read and allow an opportunity to focus attention on the most important historical points. Elements of a story can be taught and discussed in the context of some of the books. However, the parent-teacher should be careful not to fully analyze all the books as this could make the young scholars dread reading because they know a full dissection is coming. The goal is to ease the young scholars into thinking about the books they are reading and absorbing the historical implications, all in a nonthreatening way.
Writing/Composing: (This section is long – be prepared!)
By this time, the young scholars are proficient at handwriting both in print and cursive form. They have learned to form letters and words and are becoming quicker and neater in writing them. While some handwriting is still practiced especially in doing math, answering short comprehension questions, and completing tests, more and more “writing” is typed on the computer.
From this time forward, any handwriting that is done
is expected to be neat ~
any sloppy work is returned to be rewritten.
In the latter part of “Laying the Foundation,” young scholars learned to string sentences together into free-style paragraphs in order to increase their ease with putting their thoughts into words.
In this stage, these free-style paragraphs
take on a more sophisticated style and structure.
Simple, overused, or boring words are replaced with more interesting and descriptive vocabulary. Adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases are added to increase specificity.
Paragraphs also develop some structure as the concepts of topic sentences, concluding sentences, and supporting sentences are introduced. In the second year, simple paragraphs are expanded to 3-paragraph essays/reports or, for the ambitious young scholars, 5-paragraph compositions.
In addition to adding more sophisticated style and structure to paragraphs, different types of paragraphs are introduced beyond the free-style “what do you remember” or “what did you learn” paragraphs from the last phase.
DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPHS can be written about different scenarios in history (e.g., exploring the pyramid tomb of a pharaoh, living and going to school in ancient Athens, being on the ship with Magellan circumnavigating the globe). “Paint a picture with words” is the goal in writing descriptive paragraphs. The reader should be able to see in his/her mind the scene the writer is describing by the use of rich details, descriptions, and words that involve all the senses.
INFORMATIVE PARAGRAPHS can be written about any number of topics as well, though these can be especially useful when you want your young scholars to learn more about a particular individual or event in history. As they gain increased confidence with their writing skills, they can conduct some outside research either online or at a physical library about a particular topic on which to report.
OPINION PARAGRAPHS can be written about any number of topics – just pick a topic from the history study or a book the young scholars recently finished and ask them to write their opinion or reaction to the topic or book. After stating the opinion or reaction, examples should be provided to support or back up their main thesis. (These paragraphs are a gentle introduction into thesis and persuasive essays in a few years.)
NARRATIVE SUMMARIES are similar to book reports except they are more specific in structure in that they include descriptions of the setting and characters, identification of the conflicts and climax, and discussion of the theme. If the parent-teacher and young scholar have been discussing the readers for several years in the manner described, this is the next step in presenting those elements in written form.
Having a structured writing program can assist the parent-teacher in teaching these new writing skills. We used the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) program that teaches both structure and style as described above. The core program Teaching Writing: Structure and Style teaches the teacher how to teach these skills with the use of instructional DVDs and a resource book. Empowered with this knowledge, the parent-teacher can use any subject as prompts for compositions that fit perfectly with our goal of overlapping subjects. History, literature, and science became topics for compositions and analyses both during this phase and in future phases.
IEW also has theme-based programs which systematically walk the young scholars through learning structure and style (all the skills described above). Thankfully history-based programs were available. So, while studying world history, my young scholars worked through the writing lessons for ancient history, medieval history, world history, and American history. Using these theme-based programs with the lessons already prepared lightens the workload on the parent-teacher.
My ultimate goal for my children was to have them be able to to be able to write well and with ease. So they completed the IEW theme-based writing lessons along with periodic short compositions specifically about what they were reading or studying in other subjects. With all compositions, providing specific feedback of both what they were doing well and what needed improvement contributed to continual progress in their writing skills.
The young scholars’ writing abilities expand tremendously during this stage. Learning these skills does not need to be intimidating if each skill is taught in an incremental and nonthreatening way, a little at a time.
By the end of these two years,
the young scholars will be composing a variety of paragraphs
with structure and style (even if rudimentary)
without even knowing what a feat they have accomplished!
The more writing they do, the easier it becomes.
Grammar, Vocabulary, Word Roots:
Now that the young scholars have learned the fundamentals of grammar and punctuation, they put those to use in their compositions. The IEW writing program discussed above naturally incorporates parts of speech as the young scholars learn to “dress up” their writings with interesting adjectives, strong verbs, and -ly adverbs. Punctuation is also naturally reinforced as it is used and corrected. The young writers get to see that learning grammar and punctuation has a purpose.
The vocabulary-building and word roots study that began in the last phase (The Journey Continues: Laying the Foundation) with Wordly Wise and Word Roots continues these two years using the same schedule as before.
Monday: Word roots and new vocabulary are discussed.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Exercises are completed.
Thursday: Finished work is reviewed. Quizzes are taken.
Though no ready-made quizzes were available for the Word Roots book, I created my own wherein the young scholars had to identify the meanings of all the roots, prefixes, and suffixes as well as use this knowledge to decipher words containing those parts. As my young writers’ vocabulary increased, so did the expectation that they would use these words in their compositions – for the most part, this happened naturally for which they were consistently praised.
Latin:
Some consider Latin study to be a waste of time because it is a “dead” language. However, Latin shows up everywhere, in the English language, in science and medicine, and as the foundation of the Romance languages (e.g., Spanish, French, Italian).
Latin for Children is a well-organized and understandable program designed for children of this age. The program includes instructional DVDs, CDs to learn the vocabulary and grammar, a consumable student book, answer key, and reader. Optional activity books are available though we found these redundant.
This complete program was quite thorough and allowed the young scholars to increase their vocabulary, more greatly understand sentence structure and parts of speech, and actually read passages in Latin. English grammar as it related to Latin was incorporated into the program. These two years we used Primer A and B (Primer C is used next year).
Between Latin and compositions, grammar was thoroughly covered.
Math:
These two years conclude the Singapore elementary math series with Primary Mathematics 5 and 6. This program is amazing! The way it presents complicated concepts and complex word problems in understandable ways astounds me.
Just like the previous years, we utilized the Textbook, Workbook, Intensive Practice, and Challenging Word Problems resources.
By the end of these two years, the young scholars will have learned:
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- addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers, fractions, and decimals,
- calculation of ratios, percents, rate, and speed, and
- basic geometric operations such as angles, area, and volume.
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In addition, they will have been introduced to basic algebraic expressions and operations.
Though some of the topics in level six were fairly complex for elementary school, they were taught in a visual way that made them understandable.
Completing all the resources for the sixth level may not be possible the second year. We would frequently roll over some of the intensive practice and challenging word problems to the next year (see The Journey Transitions). This program is considered advanced compared to other programs for this age group, so taking a little more time to solidify and master the concepts is time well spent.
If the young scholars master this Singapore math program, they are well prepared for Pre-Algebra, though some go straight into Algebra.
Science:
These were the last two years of the Apologia Young Explorer Science series which we loved so much, and we saved the most challenging books for these later years:
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology
and
Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics
The format was the same as previous books in this series with engaging text, comprehension questions, and projects and experiments.
The main change from previous years was that the young scholars, being competent readers, read the text themselves and typed short summaries when prompted in the books. We would review the chapter and do the projects/experiments together.
The “What Do You Remember” questions at the end of the chapters were used as written assessments of the knowledge they acquired.
Piano:
By this time, the young scholars had worked through several levels of the Bastien series of piano instruction, had learned how to read music, and were able to learn simple pieces by themselves.
In this phase, we finish this instructional series with Levels 3 and 4 of the four books Piano, Performance, Technic, and Theory.
By the end of this series, the young pianists have learned all the fundamentals of music theory and performance, and the path from here is enjoying playing a variety of music genres in increasing difficulty.
As we were concluding the Bastien series, we gradually integrated easy classical and jazz pieces by some of the master composers of the past. Part of each day’s piano practice included scales (2 octaves), chord progressions, and arpeggios for all the major and some of the minor keys. We began with the simple ones and gradually increased in difficulty.
There is an abundance of piano music (just do an internet search for “easy classical piano” and “easy jazz piano”) from which to choose. A good starting place is a compilation of music from a variety of composers.
We used Easy Piano Classics (selected/edited by Bastien) at this level.
Simply Joplin has this famous ragtime composer’s masterpieces.
These are just two of many many choices.
We started with the easiest pieces (simple keys, basic rhythms, minimal hand movement) and progressed to more difficult ones as their skills improved. My kids’ favorites were the ones that were fast! The slow expressive ones, however, allowed them to communicate emotions through their music.
As they became more confident in their piano playing, I would encourage them and give them opportunities to play for others. The elderly in nursing homes especially were so appreciative of the young ones playing for them.
Art:
Art was an aspirational goal for my young scholars in providing them with a well-rounded education. The reality was that I as parent-teacher was more of a musician than an artist.
That having been said, they did take a few art classes, and we used the program Drawing with Children which produced some remarkable results for beginners.
While they did learn the fundamentals of art expression, only one developed a personal interest in pursuing art which he did in the form of drawing human figures in motion.
LOGISTICS:
Just as academic work becomes semi-independent during this phase, so does planning and scheduling the academic day.
At the beginning of each week, the young scholars were given a chart with their morning responsibilities and academic goals for the week, divided by day. Next to each subject was a box to check off when the task had been completed.
Knowing what was expected for the week helped guide these young scholars to take more ownership of their education and helped them learn how to organize their day.
On Monday morning of each week, we would sit down together and go over the academic goals for the week, discuss the writing assignment(s) and the books they would be reading, and talk about any upcoming activities. Then, the young scholars would plan out their day and week.
As long as all assignments were completed, I did not impose on their plan ~ they seemed to feel empowered by having this control over their schedule and is one of the reasons they loved “homeschooling.”
Once a day, we would have “together time.” This was a time to read our faith and character-building books, enjoy literature, discuss new math concepts, review completed history and science, and go over any vocabulary, Latin, or word roots.
We would usually do this together time in the mid or late morning as a break between independent activities. The best part about our “TogTime” was spending that quality time together. We especially liked if the weather was nice so we could enjoy TogTime outdoors. These times together with my children are and will always be cherished memories of this phase of my life.
EXTRACURRICULAR:
During the younger years, we participated in many different activities and explored many interests such as art classes, community theater, a local PE group, parkdays, children’s museums, field trips, wilderness programs …. the list goes on.
By this age, however, my sons’ interests had honed, and two extracurricular activities emerged as primary: Boy Scouts and martial arts.
Both programs were not just fun but provided an opportunity to learn important and life-saving skills, develop leadership abilities, build friendships, serve the community, and engage in some amazing experiences. Some of my boys’ closest friends came from these organizations.
Both programs took about six years to achieve the highest ranks of Black Belt and Eagle Scout.
FIELD TRIPS~ROAD TRIPS:
Towards the end of the second year of “The Journey Settles In: Sending Roots” when we were studying the 1800s, we took a road trip through the Midwestern United States on our Midwest-Pioneer Tour exploring the sites related to the cattle drives, Pony Express, early pioneers, prairie and plains, frontier forts, Oregon and Sante Fe wagon trails, and so much more.
The young scholars were old enough to relate what they were seeing to what they had been reading and studying. While there were some museums on this trip, there was also plenty of active outdoor fun as well. We picnicked where the Oregon Trail started, where the Pony Express riders rested, and next to a spring where the pioneers camped. Experiential learning at its best!
** Midwest-Pioneer Tour (2 weeks) **
RESOURCES USED & BOOKLIST
RESOURCE LIST ~ “Establishing Roots: The Journey Settles In – Sending Roots”
EXAMPLE ~ Weekly Academic Goals (2-5)
The Journey Transitions (grade 6)
This is a transition year, concluding “lower-level” studies in history, science, and math, and preparing the young scholars for more advanced studies in these subjects.
During this transition year, history takes a less prominent role, allowing more time for other areas of study. Logic as a separate study is introduced in a casual and fun way.
Each year the parent-teacher encourages the young scholars to take more ownership of their education, and this year they are provided with an outline of weekly goals for the entire year, an outline from which they can plan their days and weeks.
This transition toward academic independence also fits with the transition into adolescence where they desire more personal freedom, independence, and control (see Parenting with Purpose). My young scholars thrived with this newly-afforded freedom and responsibility.
Faith & Character:
In previous years, these young scholars heard many stories of God’s people and the many Christians who used their lives to travel all over the world to share His message and His love with others.
This year, they encounter apologetics for the first time with A Case for a Creator and A Case for Christ, and hear the evidence for the validity of Christianity based on secular facts and external historical information. Evidence for Jesus is another apologetics option. While I don’t believe faith comes from reading books like these, these works do illuminate how the Bible (or biblical knowledge) intersects with and is validated by other historical information.
Toward the end of the year, we read true stories of two young boys’ life-changing personal encounters with God.
This transition year academically mirrors their transitioning from children to teens, and it was the perfect year to nurture their character and teach them gentlemanly manners.
While many resources for this exist, we enjoyed the GentleManners series How to be a Gentleman and 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know to teach these lifetime etiquette skills. How to Raise a Gentleman is the parent’s version.
Similar books are available for young women including How to Be a Lady and 50 Things Every Young Lady Should Know.
Additional books in this series address apparel, entertaining, and appropriate responses.
U.S. Government, Economics, State History:
As stated earlier, history is not as prominent and demanding this year as other years, and much of what is done is accomplished together. In the fall, young scholars get introduced to U.S. government and economics, and in the spring they explore their state’s history. For us, this was Texas history.
U.S. Government & Economics:
Some thorough but fun and interesting resources make government and economics accessible and understandable to even tweens.
Short and colorful books discuss branches of government, responsibilities of the government and its citizens, the Constitution, Presidential elections, and other things. These are all listed in “Resources and Books List” at the end of this stage.
What Ever Happened to Penny Candy? along with the associated Bluestocking Guide is a fascinating introduction to economics. This is read and discussed together along with Capitalism for Kids, and Commonsense Business for Kids.
Little written work is done, though final written assessments/quizzes are completed to ensure the young scholars learned important information.
To make government more real, you can visit your State Capitol, sit in on a congressional session, and observe court in session be it county court or the state Supreme Court. Talking to you’re a local judge or state representative can make an impression on your young scholar – ours are very friendly and love talking with youth.
This is an age where the young scholars might be interested in starting their own little business such as babysitting, lawn care, or dog-walking; these economics books provide some helpful information for getting started in business.
State History:
For state history, every state is different. Ours is Texas. I purchased an award-winning textbook as a resource on our state’s history. This was used as a reference.
We discussed the geography of our state, and its history
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- from the early Spanish explorers to the six flags that flew over our state,
- from the early Spanish missions to the fight for Independence from Mexico,
- from the early days of being our own country to ultimately joining the United States.
- from the early Spanish missions to the fight for Independence from Mexico,
- from the early Spanish explorers to the six flags that flew over our state,
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At this point, our state’s history melds with U.S. history, but we still discussed important people and major events, and current culture and commerce of just our state.
The highlight of this study was the state history “field trips” where we went to see
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- the Spanish missions,
- the Alamo,
- old Spanish forts,
- the site of the final battle of our fight for Independence from Mexico,
- the building where our Declaration of Independence was signed,
- and the site of the early government of the Republic of Texas.
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We toured the USS Texas battleship, the Texas State Capitol, and the State Cemetery where many statesmen and heroes are buried.
Actually seeing these sights made history so much more memorable and real. They may forget the words on a page, but they won’t forget these trips.
See TEXAS HISTORY TOUR for more information about our state history field trips.
Reading & Literature:
A few books about state history may be available that your young scholars can read alongside the state history study. Our state capitol book store had quite a few options.
However, for the most part we took advantage of this time to read award-winning and classic literature that didn’t fit into our other historical studies ~ some we read aloud and others they read independently. Seeing my young scholars enjoying great literature was priceless.
Casual discussions of the books challenged them to recognize characterization, setting, plot sequence, point-of-view, symbolism, and allusions. A complete list of literature for this year can be found in the RESOURCE section below.
NOTE: Though I do believe it is important to expose boys and girls to all types of literature and some literature appeals equally to both genders, it did not escape me that my boys enjoyed certain books (like Adventures of Tom Sawyer) more than others (e.g., The Little Princess), and to a certain extent I catered to their interests as long as the books were quality.
“English”: Vocabulary, Word Roots, Grammar, Composition, Analysis:
The first half of your young scholars’ academic career has yielded amazing gains in the ability to write words and sentences, and to put those together into cohesive, interesting, and convincing paragraphs and essays. Though still neophytes in composing, they have a firm foundation on which to build, a foundation not only in writing skills but also in grammar and punctuation. Their vocabulary also continues to grow with their study of Latin and word roots.
This year, they build on what they have learned with a comprehensive “English” curriculum called Pahlow’s English. While this program has an English program from elementary all the way through high school, we only used English 2, 3, and 4 since the other levels were redundant with what we already were doing. These complemented and enhanced our independent academic pursuits. We were fortunate to be in a location where the author actually taught these classes, but the same program is available online at pahlowsenglish.com.
This year, the young scholars completed Pahlow’s English 2.
In the fall, they reviewed and continued practicing taking notes in an outline form, writing sentences with descriptive nouns, strong verbs, interesting adjectives, creative adverbs, and prepositional phrases, and composing well-structured paragraphs.
In the spring, they learned how to analyze elements of a short story and identify types of poetry, poetic plots, and poetic tools. They also had the opportunity to write their own poetry and short story.
Throughout the year, the young scholars practice identifying errors in punctuation and enhance their vocabulary by studying over 150 common Latin and Greek roots and English words using those roots. The best part of this program was the competitions and games!
Since the academic demand this year was lower, we took this opportunity to solidify the young scholars’ understanding of grammar through diagramming. Some like diagramming, some do not. However, I find that the visual representation of the various elements of grammar brings a whole new level of understanding to the young scholars. We used Grammar & Diagramming Sentences which gives a brief description of the grammar topic/part of speech then depicted it with increasingly difficult diagrams. We made a game of it by diagramming on the whiteboard. I think the kids’ favorite was when I would diagram incorrectly and they had to find the mistakes and correct them. What could have been boring “schoolwork” ended up being fun time together.
(A NOTE ABOUT PENMANSHIP: Though much of the academic work is completed on the computer, whatever work was handwritten was expected to be neat. If work was turned in with sloppy handwriting, it was returned to be redone. The young scholars learned that it was in their best interest to turn in neat work the first time. “Neat and complete” was frequently repeated.)
Latin:
Study of Latin concludes this year with Latin for Children Primer C using the student book, instructional DVDs and chant CDs, readers.
This more advanced level of Latin contains more complex topics, elusive grammar, and difficult verb conjugations, so I didn’t expect memorization of all the details. I did expect my young scholars to learn the vocabulary, recognize the new information, and understand the general content of the readers.
Math:
This transition year also includes transition in the math program.
Elementary math concludes with any unfinished work from the Singapore Primary Mathematics Level 6, especially the Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems. This last level bridges the young scholars to pre-algebra and algebra.
While some go straight into an algebra program, we enjoyed this more relaxed year reviewing concepts related to fractions, decimals, and percents, and studying pre-algebra. My dear children enjoyed the Life of Fred series related to these topics; they are so entertaining my young scholars actually read the books and worked the problems for fun – go figure!
However, if mastery of a rigorous program such as Singapore math has not been completed, I cannot say if the Life of Fred series would adequately prepare them for a demanding upper-level math program.
(Side Note: One of my math-oriented scholars completed the Life of Fred series through high school Trigonometry including the books with extra problems and was unprepared for college-level math. While fun, interesting, and conceptually sound, it did not provide the college-prep foundation needed.)
Science:
During this year, the young scholars can choose to complete another Apologia Elementary Science “Young Explorers” course, or they can move on to the intermediate science courses (my children wanted to do the latter).
If you do choose to move on, your young scholar will begin high school science courses in 8th grade.
Exploring Creation with General Science is the first of two intermediate science courses. This course consists of reading the text, completing “On Your Own” comprehension questions and experiments throughout the module, and wrapping up the module with an end-of-chapter Study Guide, fill-in-the-blank Module Summary, and Test.
The young scholars can do most of this course on their own, with review and discussion of the material prior to the module test. This is the first introduction to being a true scholar, where self-motivation is key to pursuing the knowledge contained in the text and completing the work independently. This course is an ideal one for this since the text is easy to understand and the review/study questions are built into the structure of the modules.
My young scholars thrived with this new experience of academic independence.
Logic:
As the young scholars are learning to actively think about what they are reading and increasingly using logical processes in more advanced elementary math, this is an ideal stage to introduce the concept of logic in a fun way.
Several times a week during together time (or even during downtime because these were so fun), we would work through mental puzzles using two series recommended to us: Mind Benders and Red Herring Mysteries. Sometimes we would even do these during our mealtimes!
Mind Benders presents various clues from which you use deductive reasoning to identify relationships in order to solve the problems.
Red Herring presents puzzling (and sometimes seemingly impossible) scenarios (one page each) from which you have to think outside the box to solve the mysteries.
Though not part of our regular academic time, Brain Benders also had some interesting mental puzzles.
Piano:
This year the young pianists continue learning increasingly more difficult classical and jazz pieces, and more advanced technical exercises with scales, chord progressions, and arpeggios.
Musical theory is reinforced naturally in the context of music these young pianists are learning. Though still needing some instruction and direction for the more difficult parts of piano pieces, these young pianists are able to self-teach the basics.
This year also sees them learning how to improvise accompaniment for folk songs and popular music. Melodies of well-known songs would be used whether they were played by ear, printed off the internet, or found in songbooks, then appropriate chords would be played with the melodies. As this simple melody/chord process became easier, the young pianists learned to embellish the melody and accompaniment. Online resources and videos can be very helpful in learning different methods of improvising. Alternatively, you may pursue finding a music instructor as your young scholar advances in his/her musical abilities.
Art:
As the young scholars need less instruction on the piano, more time is available to continue developing art skills.
We finished the Drawing with Children book and practiced drawing using the lessons on the website Drawspace.com (this is an amazing resource!!). This was usually accomplished on Fridays.
Our goal was just some foundational art knowledge and skills which these two sources provided (the scholars studied Art History in high school). A more complete advanced program would be needed for those desiring more than these fundamentals.
LOGISTICS:
This transition year begins the young scholars gaining greater responsibility and control over their academic schedules. In the past, they have been given daily academic goals a week at a time in chart format.
This year, the growing scholars are given
an outline of weekly academic goals
for the entire year.
They can then decide
how to accomplish these weekly goals.
Some prefer to work extra on four days and have long weekends,
some choose to do a little of each subject each day,
still others elect to focus on completing one subject at a time.
To guide and mentor these young scholars in learning this new skill, in the beginning I as parent-mentor would ask them at the beginning of their week what their plan was for the week. Likewise, at the beginning of each day, I would ask them what their plan was for the day. This was to teach and train them to make goals for themselves and carry out those goals.
As long as the young scholars complete their morning responsibilities, manage their time well, work diligently, turn in their best quality work, and accomplish all academic goals for the week, the parent-teacher does not interfere with this scheduling freedom.
“Together time” continued to be a very special part of each day where we could nurture faith and character, read great literature, learn about our government, economics, and Texas history, and do logic puzzles.
EXTRACURRICULAR:
For us, martial arts and Boy Scouts continued to be the extracurricular activities of choice. They advanced their skills in their martial arts program and moved up in ranks in Boy Scouts as well as developed leadership skills, participated in service projects, and practiced their wilderness and survival skills on camping and hiking trips.
Each of our sons pursued individual interests as well. One pursued developing his art skills and learned enough engineering to build and program his own computer. One was a natural musician and began composing/improvising his own music. Yet another one who had won several speech competitions became involved in a nationally competitive speech and debate club.
This is a great age for these young men/women to be discovering their own unique gifts and talents and be given an opportunity to develop, use, and share them.
FIELD TRIPS~ROAD TRIPS:
Throughout the spring, we took field trips exploring our state’s historical landmarks. See “Texas History Tour” for more information on the trips we took.
RESOURCES USED & BOOKLIST
“RESOURCE LIST ~ “Establishing Roots: The Journey Transitions”
EXAMPLE – Outline Academic Goals (6-8)
The Journey Seizes Joy:
Roots Take Hold (grades 7 – 8)
What joy when all the teaching, directing,
guiding and mentoring of the past years sink in,
and your budding scholar blooms!
The roots of this independent academic journey take hold.
Much of the learning is done independently at this stage, though you and your blooming scholars still engage in discussions about history, science, and literature, and you still enjoy cozy together times exploring matters of the heart and of soul. They are still refining their writing skills and learning to compose literary analyses.
The parent-teachers become parent-mentors. They take a step back to let the blooming scholars direct their academic day. They become a source of encouragement and gentle direction as well as a catalyst for deeper thought and drive for excellence.
Faith & Character:
We are a family of faith, so nurturing and living out our faith was part of our everyday lives. These two years, we began a journey through the Bible’s New Testament together as a family, a journey that continued into high school.
In fall of the first year, we read the detailed account of Jesus’ life and the early church by the doctor Luke. In the spring we enjoyed a true story about a Pacific island primitive tribe’s first encounter with the Gospel message (Search for the Source) and the classic book In His Steps about a fictional town rocked by a homeless man who challenged its affluent members to live their life every day as Jesus would with profound results ensuing.
In fall of the second year, we read the Gospel of John and the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans. In the spring, we read C.S. Lewis’s classics Mere Christianity and Screwtape Letters. The Lewis books became my intellectual son’s favorites.
United States History In-Depth (+ Geography):
From this year forward,
the blooming scholars begin history in-depth.
These two years cover U.S. History In-Depth, and the high school years cover comprehensive in-depth World History.
After studying a particular time period in U.S. History, the blooming scholars should be able to retell that part of history including dates, significant events, notable people, conflicts and wars, and cultural, societal, and political issues, as well as how any of these altered the course of history.
This knowledge is obtained from reading informative yet interesting historical texts, primary sources of historical information, letters and articles written at the time of the events, and historical fiction literature. Timelines and map study solidify knowledge of when and where historical events occurred.
Comprehension questions are provided for the sole purpose of helping the blooming scholars focus their attention and provide the basis for a study guide for exams. Discussions encourage critical thinking skills, especially how history connects to current-day events.
Compositions on various topics give the blooming scholars an opportunity to explore a topic in more depth or share their thoughts and reactions (see Writing and Composition below).
Comprehensive short-answer and essay exams provide the sole basis for assessing retention and understanding of U.S. History In-Depth.
I did not want the core or supplemental resources to be dry or boring but engaging and personal (I wanted my children to want to read and study history!), so we used the 10-volume set A History of the US by Joy Hakim along with the Sourcebook (Vol 11 of this set) full of primary sources, Ordinary Americans which contained letters and personal accounts, Encyclopedia of the Presidents and Their Times, and Landmark History Vol. 1 & 2. This combination provided for a very rich and thorough curriculum.
One critique of the Hakim series is a bias perceived by some, so during our discussions, we incorporated the commentary provided by Sonlight for this series.
To schedule this, my blooming scholars would read two chapters of Hakim per day plus any corresponding primary sources Monday through Thursday with review and discussions each day. On Friday we would read Landmark History together, and they would complete any history writing assignments.
Our incredible academic journey through U.S. History these two years culminated in a 5-week road trip through the eastern United States, our “Early American History Tour.” Each of the three kids selected five (5) historical places they wanted to see, and I planned a trip incorporating all of these plus many other places we studied.
We saw the Serpent Mounds of Ohio, stood under Niagara Falls, and boated through the locks of the Erie Canal.
Following the path of Paul Revere, climbing Bunker Hill, walking through the recreated Plimouth Plantation, and seeing all the historical sites in Boston were highlights of New England. Walking through so many battlefields made it all seem so real.
New York City was a highlight for the “kids,” with the Empire State Building, Times Square, and Central Park to name just a few.
We camped in National Forests in the Appalachian Mountains, stayed in historic hotels, and enjoyed the extra space in the officer’s quarters of military bases when available.
All in all, we traveled over 6000 miles and visited or passed through 26 states plus Washington D.C. A memorable end to an eye-opening study of the history of the United States.
The full itinerary is posted in the travel section under Early American History Tour.
Literature:
A plethora of great biographies and historical fiction enrich the study of U.S. history, deepening the blooming scholars’ understanding of the culture and events of the time.
A full list of the books we read during this time is in the “Resources” section below. With the exception of anthologies of period poetry, the literature is read independently.
Some of the literature are discussed, and some are the subject of narrative summaries/critiques or reaction essays. A few classics such as Red Badge of Courage, Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, Animal Farm, Call of the Wild are incorporated, but most classic literature is reserved for the high school years.
Composition & Analysis:
Your blooming scholars have had several years’ experience writing a variety of types of reports and essays by this time and regularly add advanced vocabulary and writing style to enhance their compositions.
They know how to structure a composition with “hooks,” topic sentences, concluding clinchers, thesis statements, and detailed examples and descriptions to support their main points/thesis.
They are familiar with imagery in descriptive essays and strong arguments in persuasive and opinion papers.
They are just beginning to incorporate more advanced styles into their sentences such as similes, metaphors, alliterations, and “triple extensions” (e.g., triple adjectives, triple verbs, and triple adverbs, triple prepositional phrases).
These two years, these blooming scholars
refine and enhance their compositions
through the IEW program Elegant Essays.
Though these blooming scholars have learned how to write narrative summaries and critiques, and have done so with novels they have read, these two years they will learn how to fully analyze a piece of literature using the IEW program Windows to the World.
They will learn about annotation,
literary elements (e.g., plot, suspense, characters, themes)
and literary devices (e.g., allusions, symbolism, imagery, irony),
as well as the structure of a formal literary analysis.
The basics will be review as you have been discussing story elements ever since elementary years. This year these basic elements become formalized and advanced concepts are introduced.
Classic short stories are the subjects for these literary analyses in this program. The literary analysis skills they learn these two years with short stories become the basis for analyzing classic novels in the high school years.
Pahlow’s English 3 complements and reinforces our other writing pursuits, covering the topics above as these blooming scholars practice writing the nine most common paragraphs and carry out literary analyses for a number of short stories.
Pahlow’s English 4 furthers their abilities as they learn to take notes from lectures, complete multiple timed essays from prompts, and write an extensive fully-cited research report on a topic of their choice.
Though my teens attended these courses in person, the same course material is available online at pahlowsenglish.com.
(NOTE ON THESE COURSES: English 3 & 4 are recommended for students at a high-school level. You as parent-teacher/mentor will need to decide if they have enough writing experience to use these programs at this age.)
All of these writing skills that have been learned and honed over the past six to eight years are now used to write powerful essays and analyses of historical topics and literary works they encounter these two years. Some of these compositions are reports on important historical events, but many are reaction papers or opinion/thesis essays on controversial historical topics or profound books they were reading. One paper every two weeks was average in addition to the structured programs described above.
Grammar, Vocabulary & Word Roots:
Your blooming scholars have been writing so much that their grammar and punctuation usage has received extensive practice by this time. These two years are used for addressing advanced grammar concepts. We used Jensen’s Punctuation (also used in Pahlow’s English 3) in 7th grade and the Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation in 8th grade.
The word roots program which began in 3rd, 4th, and 5thgrades concludes these two years with a review of Word Roots A-1, A-2, and B-1, and completion of the more advanced book B-2. The blooming scholars create a spreadsheet with all the word roots, prefixes, and suffixes they learned in the earlier years and add to it with the ones from these two years. By the end, they will have a thorough list to use as a resource in the future.
They also continue to increase their vocabulary with the Wordly Wise books 8, 9, and 10 (usually 1-1/2 books can be completed in a year). Advanced vocabulary words are incorporated into their compositions.
Foreign Language (Spanish):
Though formal foreign language study does not begin until high school, we took these two years to engage in a fun introduction to a foreign language, for us it was Spanish, largely because there are many Spanish speakers in our area and those who are bilingual have an advantage in the workplace.
We combined computer programs (Rosetta Stone) and apps (Duolingo, Babbel) with beginner novellas in Spanish for this gentle introduction. I would explain grammar as needed to understand what we were reading together.
Math:
If your blooming scholars have mastered the math concepts presented until now, they are ready for upper-level math beginning with Algebra. As with all our subjects, I wanted my blooming scholars to be challenged. However, at this stage, it was important for the course text to very clearly explain concepts and work out examples, as well as provide enough exercises to master the concept and stretch their minds to apply the concepts to real-word situations.
We found this in Foerster Algebra and Jacob’s Geometry.
(Jacob’s Algebra was another contender, but this was followed by Foerster Algebra II and Trigonometry, so we decided to just use Foerster for Algebra I as well.)
Initially, we would go over each new math concept before my blooming scholars would complete the exercises. As time progressed, they would read the material and work through the examples themselves before completing the exercises, just coming to me for clarification and to answer any questions they might have. Since they started Algebra in 7th grade, they had time to work through the text at their own pace, sometimes taking more than one year for the thick Foerster Algebra text ~ mastery was the goal and was more important than speed.
(NOTE: There are many upper-level math programs available. In my review, most seemed repetitive, did not focus on mastery, and were not challenging enough for what I wanted. Each parent-teacher/mentor will need to pick a math program that best meets the needs of his/her children.)
Science:
In 7th grade, these blooming scholars complete Exploring Creation with Physical Science, the second of the intermediate science series by Apologia. It follows the same format and schedule as General Science in 6th grade.
In 8th grade, they begin high-school science beginning with Biology. We were so pleased with the Apologia science series since elementary years, we continued in high school.
(NOTE: At the high-school science level, we outsourced science to an academy for self-educators so that our scholars could benefit from group instruction by experts in the field and lab work with other students. They attended classes once a week during which they had lectures, experiments, and quizzes; the rest of the week, they independently completed the reading, comprehension questions, study guides, and exams. Once the basic high-school science courses were completed, they took advanced science courses at the community college.)
Logic:
Study of logic continued to be fun yet informal. We read together, discussed, and worked through the logic scenarios during together time each week using The Fallacy Detective (7th grade) and The Thinking Toolbox (8th grade) which explore errors in thinking and tools for building reasoning skills.
Fun, informative, engaging, and at times hilarious! We always looked forward to these!
Piano & Art:
After six to seven years of piano instruction, these blooming scholars are competent pianists and capable of learning many pieces on their own from classical to jazz, folk songs to religious hymns, improvisation to playing by ear.
Now is the time for them to pursue their own interests in this field. The instructional options to further their knowledge and skills on the internet (e.g., YouTube) are seemingly unlimited. One of our children pursued creating his own music; another chose to use his musical knowledge and teach himself guitar.
We purchased a full-size keyboard with recording features, which took my children’s interests and skills to a whole other level. If you have a very musical child, finding a mentor for him/her can be helpful.
We did not have structured time for art, but these blooming scholars were encouraged to continue developing their art skills and were provided the materials and resources they needed. We had a subscription to Drawspace.com and continued to use their lessons.
LOGISTICS:
From this point through high school, the blooming scholars are in the home stretch, refining skills they have already learned such as writing, literary analysis, and music, and embarking on upper-level subjects such as history in-depth, high school science & math, formal logic, and structured foreign-language study.
The goal is mastery ~ all their education has led to this point. Grades become important as these blooming scholars prepare for grades to become part of their permanent academic record in the form of a high school transcript.
Since much work is done independently, grading completed assignments and providing written commentary gives them feedback on their progress, what they are doing well, and what needs improving.
At the end of 7th grade, a final grade report with all grades for the year for all subjects should be provided to the blooming scholar with an explanation of the importance of grades for future transcript and college plans. A similar final grade report is given in 8th grade, with some of the classes (Algebra, Geometry, Biology, English, U.S. History) being eligible to be counted on the high school transcript. (See “Resources” below for an example of a final grade report.)
Having had some guided experience with the yearly outline of weekly academic goals in 6thgrade, the blooming scholars are comfortable using this outline format these two years and have probably developed their own routines for their days and weeks.
Little guidance is needed from the parent-mentor by this stage. After all, the goal is for the blooming scholars to own their education, actively engage in their subjects, and embrace learning as a way to enhance their life. They blossom with this freedom and responsibility.
I always did find it helpful to check in with my teens at the beginning of each day, at least to find out when we would have “together time,” since most of their other work was completed independently.
(See Parenting with Purpose for more on the interconnection of responsibilities, freedom, and privileges.)
EXTRACURRICULAR:
By this age, the blooming scholars have developed particular interests and are involved in extracurricular activities that fit those interests. Likewise, they have developed their own group of friends.
Hopefully, firm but loving parenting, consistent discipline, and encouragement of good character have led them to be trustworthy teenagers with good judgment. More and more of their activities are done independent of the parent-mentor.
For our teens, they continued progressing in scouts, martial arts, and speech & debate club as structured programs but also pursued individual hobbies in their spare time.
FIELD TRIP ~ ROAD TRIP:
See “Early American History Tour”
for complete description and itinerary of this five-week trip.
RESOURCES USED & BOOKLIST
RESOURCE LIST ~ “Establishing Roots: The Journey Seizes Joy – Roots Take Hold”
EXAMPLE – Outline Academic Goals (6-8)