Junior High Junction: 5th Grade Curriculum Choices

Welcome back to the Junior High Junction! Last week I shared Mikaela's month-in-review. This week, I'm going to share a little about Eli, my 5th grader. I know Junior High is typically 6th-8th grade, but I am going to count Eli as a Junior Higher.

Here is Eli's curriculum list for 2016:

Math: He just started "Life of Fred: Fractions". He enjoys it so far! The chapters are humorous to read, and the problems to solve at the end of the chapter are fun. After "Fractions", he will move to "Decimals and Percents". The goal is to complete these two books by May.

Grammar: Eli has been using IXL online for grammar. I have him work 15 minutes a day on grammar. He can choose which category he wants to work on, and when he masters it, he can move on to the next. He has worked on Latin roots, alphabetical order, adjectives and adverbs, and subjects and predicates so far.

Penmanship: Eli uses "Cheerful Cursive" to learn cursive. It is geared toward younger students {my 2nd grader is also using it}, but he has such trouble with handwriting that it works well for him.

Writing: We are reviewing Here to Help Learning, an online program that teaches the writing process through funny videos and hand-on activities. We just started last week, but it is a lot of fun! We do this twice a week.

Science: We are not doing a formal science curriculum right now. We are doing Nature Journals. Each child has a sketchbook, and we are reading through different books on nature - trees, birds, insects, weather. Right now we are learning about trees. Each day, we read a little and then draw in our sketchbooks - the inside of a leaf, deciduous leaves vs. evergreen leaves, the root system of a tree. He likes to draw, and is learning a lot right now. {I would like to get a multi-age science curriculum for K-8th...}

History: We started using BiblioPlan: Ancients last week, and all of the kids love it. We have the BiblioPlan Companion and The Story of the World Volume 1 as our spine. There is map-work, copy-work, vocabulary, timeline, and fun projects to do each week. There are also extra literature suggestions, and I am going to have him read two for each unit {a unit is around 5-7 weeks}.

Bible: Eli has been using his Faith-Builders Bible this week {review item}. He likes the way it reads - the New International Readers Version. He also has a Bible journal that he writes in each day and is reading through the New Testament. We are starting Grapevine Studies {review item} next week that will take us through the New Testament. He is in Bible Drill at our church, and he has memorized tons of scripture, the plan of salvation, and key passages. We also do memory work at home. Right now, we are working on Matthew 5:6-15.

Reading: We are going to review a literature kit for Memoria Press in the next few weeks, and the book he will read is "Robin Hood". He also loves to read for fun. Some of his favorite series are Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, Captain Underpants and Baseball Card Adventures {which are actually really great for history lessons}.

Eli's hobbies are building Legos, drawing comics, and shooting his BB gun. He loves to play baseball, kickball, dodge ball, and ride his bike and skateboard.

I would love to hear your junior high curriculum choices.

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