What's on the menu for 7th grade?

Yeah, that's right!  7th grade rocks!  For Matthew it means he is really in the midst of middle school and he is almost 13.  That's a good reason for a kid to celebrate.  For me it means I still have 2 WHOLE years before Matthew is in high school and I still (at least for a while) have a non-teen in my house.  Somehow these reasons are very different, yet the excitement still remains.  We are both excited to start a new year in our homeschool.  After careful consideration, Matthew has decided to change the name of our school.  For the past few years it has been dubbed the prestigious Star Wars Academy.  It fit us.  Now that Matthew is older and wiser, he feels that our school needs to be more of a reflection of his future.  So, I would like to present to you.....
LEGO ENGINEERING ACADEMY.  After all, Matthew has been saying since he was five years old that he will be a lego engineer and now that he is getting more serious about his future it seems only natural to enroll in that now.

So, we would like to share what is on the menu for this year in our home school. 

For Math we are staying with Saxon.  Matthew will move on to the 1/2 book which is pre-Algebra.  We started using Saxon math in 5th grade after using ABeka for 3 years and really liked it.  We stay away from the drills and extra worksheets.  The lessons and just the lesson problems are enough.  Something must be right because Matthew scored in the 90 percentile for math this year on the CAT test.

For History we are using America the Beautiful from the Notgrass Company.  This is a Christian based curriculum.  We started using this last year and LOVE it.  The style is easy to follow and understand.  Plus, it includes mapping/geography, timelines, historical documents, suggested additional reading, and frequent activities that the whole family can enjoy.  We plan to stick with this for the long term since Notgrass also provides World History and Economics.

For science we are using Apologia's General Science, a Christian based curriculum.  This is the course recommended for grade 7.  It included a variety of topics so Matthew will get a great exposure to many areas of science. 

 

 We also purchased the lab kit that goes with this curriculum.  There are many fun labs to do and we thought it would be much easier to have all of the materials needed so we don't miss out on anything!  Yay, science!

Now, Language Arts/English is that complicated subject that is hard to pin down.  IMHO there are so many different facets to this subject that it can't be contained in one curriculum.  So, here is the run-down for our Language Arts...

 Wordly Wise for Vocabulary

 Daily Grams for Grammar

Institute for Excellence in Writing - Student Writing Intensive Level B for Writing

A variety of classical books for Literature/ Poetry

Of course we have to have Fine Arts in our school, so Matthew will continue his guitar lessons

Physical Education will be.......karate, of course!  Matthew already has his brown belt and will continue this year working on his review belt which will prepare him for his black belt test.

And, the most important subject of all.  Bible.  This brings it all together.  In the past we have used structured Bible curriculum, but this year Matthew will focus on just having time in the Word and building his own style of devotions.  He has started staying in the sanctuary on Sundays instead of going to kids' church and he started attending the weekly youth group.  We purchased a new study Bible for him that will be his close confidante as he grows into adulthood.

So, what's on your menu this year?  Share about your curriculum and plans!