This 2013-2014 school year marks the beginning of our 10th year of homeschooling! Yay! Praise God we made it into the double digits! I've always been passionate about homeschooling and my continual hope and prayer is to homeschool through high school graduation, but I don't ever want to assume to know the will of God that far in advance! For now, it's safe to say that God has paved the way for us to homeschool this year and I'm forever thankful to Him for that. I never want to take homeschooling for granted. It's such an amazing blessing, and I'm constantly thanking God for richly blessing our family in this special way.
In November of 2012, in what seemed like my never-ending quest to find the perfect writing curriculum for us, I discovered BJU Press and their expert DVD teachers. I ordered the English DVD courses for grades 4 and 6 and began right away. We were so impressed with the effectiveness of the program that we decided to try their entire grade level kits. We will be using the
Distance Learning Kits that includes
DVD's and Books. This textbook approach is all new to me since we've been "CMish" and eclectic for several years now. Although it's a totally different approach for us, I feel like this is exactly what we need. I think the children need to be independent of each other, and I need a professional teacher to step in and take over. I no longer feel equipped to adequately teach all of these subjects, but I feel certain God has provided these BJU teachers to step in and take over for me, so in that sense He has equipped me.
Although I'm using the BJU grade level kits, I'm using Apologia for 7th grade science and Handwriting Without Tears for grade 5 handwriting. I'm also using a few other resources that I'll include in my list below. I'll start by sharing everything we're using for 7th grade, then 5th grade and I'll end with what they're both using.
~7th Grade~
Bible- BJU, Bible Truths A: Learning from the Life of Christ
Bible Truths A: Learning From the Life of Christ (3rd edition)
covers our Lord's earthly life and ministry. Your student will be
inspired by the example of Christ's own life experiences and the way He
dealt with both friends and enemies. In addition, many other valuable
lessons will be drawn from Christ's sermons, miracles, and parables. The
student text also includes features such as historical, cultural, and
geographical background information to Christ's life, charts and maps,
lesson reviews, and recommended memory verses.
Language Arts- BJU, Writing and Grammar
Writing & Grammar 7 Student Worktext presents clear
instruction and offers plenty of practice in writing and grammar,
including an overview of the Writing Process and many focused writing
activities. Teach all eight parts of speech, the five basic sentence
patterns, usage concepts such as subject-verb agreement and clear
pronoun reference, and mechanics. Introduce adjective clauses and
complex sentences. Reference chapters include dictionary skills, library
skills, study skills, and an overview of the Writing Process. Writing
projects include a biographical sketch, an in-class essay, a letter to
the editor, a book report, and poetry.
Language Arts- BJU, Explorations in Literature
Explorations of Literature Student Text (3rd ed.) presents a
compilation of stories, poems, and essays from a variety of authors and
genres grouped by theme to develop critical thinking skills. Vocabulary
glosses explain unfamiliar words within the literature selections.
Thinking Zone pages throughout the book ask questions to encourage the
student to think about literature in at least four ways: comprehension,
interpretation, analysis, and appreciation. In addition to teaching
literary terms, these questions also develop the students' abilities to
respond biblically to literature. Unit reviews provide additional review
questions to prepare students for quizzes and tests.
Language Arts- BJU, Vocabulary A
Vocabulary: Level A (3rd ed.) introduces seventh graders to
etymology as a means of determining the meanings of words. Students
study Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes to learn recognition of word
families. Students also study synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms as well
as positive and negative context clues to determine word meaning.
Math- BJU, Fundamentals of Math
Fundamentals of Math Student Text (2nd edition) covers concepts
such as whole numbers, decimals, number theory, fractions, and an
introduction to algebra and geometry. Each chapter contains "Dominion
thru Math" exercises that apply mathematics to everyday life, "Mind
over Math" and "Problem Solving" sections that promote critical thinking
skills, and a chapter review section.
Social Studies- BJU, World Studies
World Studies Student Text begins with a brief review of
history from Creation to the coming of Christ and progresses in a
chronological journey around the world studying the ebb and flow of
empires, cultures, Christianity, and world religions. It concludes with
an examination of the trends of the emerging 21st century.
Science- Apologia, General Science
This course is designed to be a student’s first systematic introduction
to the sciences. Although it can be used for eighth grade (especially if
the student has recently left the public schools), it is typically used
best in the seventh grade. The course covers such topics as the
scientific method, designing experiments, simple machines, archaeology,
geology, paleontology, biology, and human anatomy and physiology. Its
scope, therefore, is quite wide. There are many hands-on experiments to
do, and they all use household items.
~5th Grade~
Bible- BJU, Bible Truths: Living in God's Love
Bible Truths 5: Living in God’s Love Student Worktext, 3rd ed.
guides students in discovering more about God through the study of His
Word. Students will also learn how to use Bible study aids such as
cross-references, concordances, and Bible dictionaries.
Language Arts- BJU, English 5
Emphasis on traditional grammar as well as practice with vital reference
skills and step-by-step use of the Writing Process for eight different
types of writing assignments, such as compare-contract essays,
persuasive business letters, diamantes, and more.The student worktext
provides guided practice, independent practice, chapter reviews, and
cumulative reviews. Located at the back of the worktext, the Writing
Handbook contains a thesaurus and writing models, and the Grammar
Handbook contains a lists of abbreviations, prepositions, homophones,
and diagramming models.
Language Arts- BJU, Reading in My Head
Strengthen your child’s reading comprehension skills and deepen his or her love of reading with the Reading 5 curriculum from BJU Press. Reading 5
emphasizes reading comprehension and other skills needed for lifelong
learning. If your child is a struggling reader, he or she will benefit
from the remedial phonics review included in the text. All lessons are
presented in a flexible teaching format so that you can tailor the
lessons to meet the needs of your child. The reading books are filled
with engaging, illustrated character-building stories that reinforce
biblical truth and introduce students to several genres of literature.
The workbooks provide activities designed to strengthen specific reading
skills and encourage critical thinking.
Language Arts- BJU, Spelling 5
Teach your child to communicate clearly through correct spelling with the completely revised Spelling 5 curriculum from BJU Press. The Spelling 5 Subject Kit
includes both the Student Worktext and the Teacher's Edition. The
colorful worktext pages include activities such as word sorting, word
studies, proofreading, dictionary skills, and writing to strengthen your
child's spelling and communication skills. Thirty-two age-appropriate
weekly spelling lists are included, and each list contains approximately
20 words. The Teacher's Edition includes lesson plans as well as
reducted student worktext pages with answer overprints.
Math- BJU, Math 5
In Math 5 Student Worktext, math skills are developed within a
chapter format followed by daily review for a mastery approach. Two
colorful pages reinforce the concepts taught in the lesson;
understanding is emphasized through the use of manipulatives and
pictures. A Chapter Review and a Cumulative Review are included in each
chapter. An aviation theme runs throughout the book, providing real-life
applications and making math learning fun.
Social Studies- BJU, Heritage Studies 5
Heritage Studies 5 Student Text (3rd ed.) surveys many
different fields of study crucial to a thorough understanding of
history. Students will study geography and the principles of mapmaking.
The text describes the different regions of the United States and
focuses on 20th century United States history. Basic principles of
economics and currency are also introduced in addition to studies of
different types of government systems.
This also came with an American History timeline for us to put together! It's actually going to be easy to complete this timeline because all he has to do is cut out the colorful cardstock person or event and tape it to the timeline that I've already added to the wall!
Science- BJU Science 5
Science 5 focuses on man’s use of God's Creation and design as
well as a study of minerals and rocks, fossils, matter and heat, sound
and light, weather, biomes, ecosystems, and the respiratory and
circulatory systems. The student develops his science process skills as
he participates in hands-on activities and projects. The Science 5
student text provides age-appropriate scientific information through
text, diagrams, graphs and charts, annotated photographs, and
illustrations. Special interest boxes and Quick Check sections are
included in all text lessons. The student text also contains
instructions for experiments, activities, and projects. Application and
higher-level thinking questions are at the end of each chapter. A
glossary and index are located at the end of the book.
Typing- Typing Instructor for Kids, Platinum
Kids learn to type on an exciting adventure on Typer Island. They learn
all keyboard basics following an age-appropriate Typing Plan.
Step-by-step lessons, challenges, tests, and games motivate kids to keep
typing their way around the Island to reach the Castle, advance to the
Lost City, and become touch-typists! Kids can learn in English or
Spanish.
This will be the third year we've used this program. The children have learned to type and have picked up speed thanks to this fun and engaging program. As long as they're enjoying it, we'll keep using it to hone their typing skills!
Supplemental Math- Math Facts Flashcards
We will continue reviewing multiplication math facts every Monday. The children are really fast at it now, but I still feel as though they need to keep up with it atleast every other Monday. I've heard from a couple of my homeschool friends how important it is that children know their math facts and can recall them quickly so they can work more efficiently when they're in higher level math and science courses.
Supplemental Math- Teaching Textbooks 7 and 5
The Math 7 Teaching Textbook™ is the most technologically-advanced (and
popular) Teaching Textbook™ ever created. It features automated grading,
step-by-step audiovisual solutions, and lectures that contain lively
animation and sound effects. Math 7 covers all of basic arithmetic,
including fractions, decimals, and percents. The program also teaches a
fair amount of geometry (e.g. how to find the area of a circle). Other
topics include statistics and probability, simple graphing concepts,
equations, and inequalities. There are even several chapters dedicated
to math in the real world.
The Math 5 Teaching Textbook is a full-year curriculum designed for the
typical 5th grader or an academically-advanced 4th grader. The product
includes a 617-page consumable workbook, a print answer booklet, and 4
CDs that contain step-by-step audiovisual solutions to every one of the
thousands of homework and test problems. Topics covered include
operations with whole numbers, fractions, and decimals, simple geometry
concepts, units of measure, and percents. The Math 5 also has a digital
gradebook that grades answers as soon as they are entered and calculates
percentages for each assignment.
The reason why I'm going to try to incorporate these two math books into our schedule is because I had already bought them, and the children love Teaching Textbooks. They've used TT for two years now, and they were really looking forward to using TT again this year. But after talking to a dear, homeschool friend and mentor, I decided to give BJU Math a try. She encouraged me to consider BJU Math for two reasons. First of all, she said I'm losing the beauty of using the BJU DVD Kits by switching out science and math and it would be best to simply switch out one subject, science. Second, she said if she had it to do over again she would go with a traditional program for math with a good pedagogy and that BJU Math fits the bill. I ran this by my other dear homeschool friend and mentor, and she agreed. Both of these dear friends are in the science field and have already graduated one of their children from homeschool high school, and they are very godly women, and I trust their advice and guidance. It will be a tough transition, but we're up for the challenge!
Reading- "Pleasure Reading"
The children pick books from our home library and read daily for 30 minutes (or longer if they want to keep reading). When they finish a book, they record the title and author and then rate it by coloring in 1 - 5 stars on this
Books I've Read Chart PDF.
There are a few other resources and books we will use this year, but this is most of it. I hope you enjoyed peaking into our upcoming school year and hope you will also share what y'all are up to this coming year!
Happy Homeschooling!
