Well, we’re in the homestretch. One week to go in first quarter of 7th grade. Our first go at homeschooling. So far so good, I think! I’m pretty sure Star Girl would agree. Here’s what we’re using and how we’re doing so far!
Our main curriculum is a unit study called A World Of Adventure. Star Girl was looking for a study that would focus on Greece as a main portion of her studies– and this one takes us through Greece, Egypt Rome and more– perfect for her. First Quarter has been on Egypt. We’ve had a great time learning everything we can about the culture. The unit study covers Language Arts, Science, Social Studies and Bible. We added many, many extra books and projects to learn as much as we could about the culture while we follow along in the curriculum.
Literature- We read The Golden Goblet. We really enjoyed this book! Star Girl was nervous about jumping in to a book written well before even I was born– she thought it would be boring– but she was riveted and really wanted to get through it much faster than we did– we took it really slow and took time to dig very deep– she was completely immersed in it and didn’t want it to end!
Math- We tested Elevated Math, iTooch, and Khan Academy. Star Girl uses the iTooch app the most, followed by Khan Academy. She feels like Khan is too difficult to follow, Elevated Math was too heavy on entertainment (she said they talk too much) but the iTooch seems to be pretty good for her to follow– she wishes it had some videos to help with the learning, but she can usually Google math help or go to Khan Academy if she needs more help. Math is NOT my best subject… not even close… so I am very grateful for the Internet assistance there!
Language- When we were at a homeschool convention last Spring, Star Girl had fallen in love with the Mango languages Ancient Greek program. We were able to access it for free using our library card– which is AWESOME!!! Star Girl tried it very diligently for a couple of weeks but the momentum wasn’t there– the program doesn’t “hear” you speak so if we are doing it together and she has a second set of ears to evaluate her progress, she does much better. Not having true feedback is making her progress more difficult. I tried to find other Greek language apps but didn’t find one I liked– so we’ll stick with Mango as the interface is great and she is learning– it just isn’t the independent study I thought it would be.
Fine Arts- we added a unit in Fashion Illustration for fun. We took a field trip to the Kent State Fashion Museum for inspiration and spent the morning drawing. Star Girl is focusing right now on learning proportions and textures. She has been drawing comics pretty much exclusively for the last couple of years, so this is stretching her nicely. She needs to step out of her comfort zone every now and then!
Extra Curricular– Star Girl is still enjoying her involvement in Whispering Grace Horses and has also added a Hip Hop dance class.
Plans for Second Quarter (moving on to study Greece) include adding the usage of the Expand Share app, a science program called Supercharged Science, a map-focused art program called Mapping the World with Art, and getting back to drums lessons.