Blogging From A to Z: Middle School Thoughts on Monday

Middle school can be a difficult time for homeschoolers. Your child is not in elementary school anymore and doesn't need as much handholding, but they are not in high school yet and are not ready to be totally independent in their learning. They want to do things independently, yet they still need some scaffolding in their daily work. They can also be a bit grumpy at times since this age group is typically going through puberty, with all of the hormones and mood swings that accompany it!

Silas in the middle

Middle school can also be a wonderful time for homeschoolers. You have this extra time with your pre-teen and teenager that you would miss out on if they were in public school. You can offer them the help they may need, the one-on-one time that is invaluable for kids of all ages. You can cater to your child's interests and feed their curiosity about different topics. 

7th grade workload

One of the things I always try to remind myself of is that my middle-schoolers are in a big transition stage, not just in school but in life. They are outgrowing many of their childish behaviors and hobbies and at the same time trying to see where they fit in the world of teenagers. They may still have the desire to play with toys or watch shows that are geared toward younger kids while at the same time have no desire to play with their younger siblings or do things with younger friends. They could be asking for their own phones or social media - something you may not be ready to give them.

I try to spend time with him in his environment 

Middle school can be tough - both for you and your child! Having plenty of patience and offering grace to your child (even when we think they don't deserve it) will help you both cope. Take the time to listen to your child, putting away your phone and any other distractions. Allow your child to have small "tantrums", trying to get to the root of the problem. Discuss ways to handle the larger workload in their school and try to give them as much independence as they can bear without burdening them. 

He loves to grill!

Make sure your middle-schooler is getting plenty of sleep! It's tempting to stay awake late, playing video games or watching a movie. It's recommended that children ages 6-12 get 9-12 hours of sleep a night, while children ages 13-18 need 8-10. Turning off screens an hour before sleeping also helps your child fall asleep and stay asleep. 

Most of all, enjoy this time with your middle-schooler! Play games together, go on fun fieldtrips, and laugh with (and at!) each other often. 

What’s your favorite thing about middle school?

This post is part of my series of Middle School Monday!

Link up your "M" posts this week!

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Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum (English Grammar Skills) - TOS Review

 Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Finding a language arts program we love has been a hard struggle for us! We've tried many different programs and curriculum over the years. When I was given the chance to review Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum (PAC) I was excited to try yet another language arts program!

I received the English Grammar Skills program for 8th graders. Silas will be entering 7th grade, but when I looked at the samples I knew it would be a good fit skill-wise for him. This program teaches your child the eight parts of speech, grammar, and writing skills and counts as one high school transcript credit (which we obviously aren't doing since he is in sixth grade).

We received five soft-cover textbooks and five soft-cover activity books along with the loose-leaf Teacher Recourse Kit. The TRK is hole-punched and ready to go into a binder. The Teacher Resource Kit contains the black line masters for the:

• Course Introduction
• What & How Student Will Learn...
• Tables of Contents for the Textbooks
• Activity Answer Keys
• Section Quizzes 
• Chapter Tests
• Quiz Answer Keys
• Chapter Test Answer Keys

There are 75 total lessons in this course with 15 section quizzes and five chapter tests. Each textbook and activity books covers 15 lessons. Each lesson begins with a short story and vocabulary words. Following the short story is the lesson to read which covers the grammar concepts being learned. There is a life principle following each lesson which is fun to read!

The activity book corresponds with the textbook. There are several pages of questions for each lesson. The first set of questions are reading comprehension questions from the short story. Next are vocabulary questions and then questions on the grammar lesson. The questions are mostly fill in the blank, multiple choice, and true and false. Silas wrote straight in the activity guide instead of using an extra notebook. We found he had plenty of room right in the workbook. I also allowed him to shorten some of the answers - writing an "s" for singular and a "p" for plural, for example.

We really enjoyed using this curriculum. It didn't take us very long each day, around 15-20 minutes, but we didn't complete an entire lesson in a day either. Silas would read the short story and vocabulary words and then answer those questions one day. Then he would read the lesson the next day and do the questions over the course of the week.  I sat with the Teacher's Resource Kit beside him. He would read the questions and then answer aloud while I checked his answer before he wrote it down. 

I plan to continue this with him next year as his grammar program. He felt like the concepts were explained well and that he had plenty of practice in the activity books. I like how it's a no-nonsense grammar program! The grammar rules are made plain enough for Silas to understand. The activity book contained many different ways of practicing the grammar so I feel like Silas was really cementing what he learned in his mind. I also like the short stories and positive messages expressed in each one. Having a few comprehension questions was nice, so I could gauge what Silas was retaining from his reading. I also appreciated the vocabulary words because it was nice to fit in a few extra each lesson!

I feel like English Grammar Skills could be successfully used in 7th and 8th grade for a complete grammar program. The full course in print is $97.95, but it's also available in a digital download for $40.96. I feel like this is a great deal for a full year's course! Check out what the other reviewers thought about this product and others by Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum by clicking the banner below.

His Vessel Textbooks Algebra 1 - TOS Review

 Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Homeschooling high school math seems so scary to me! I sent my older two children to public school for high school, so I avoided the high school math struggle with them. I am not planning to send my now 8th grade daughter to public school at all, so I've already been trying to hash out a math plan for her high school years. This year she was using a pre-algebra program and not enjoying it at all. When I was given the chance to review His Vessel Textbooks Algebra 1 curriculum, I jumped at it! 

Switching math curriculum mid-year (or more like end-of-year) is not ideal to me, so I gave Mercie an option. I told her she could quit using her current pre-algebra program and use this Algebra 1 program for a few weeks. Then she could choose which one to continue with. After just a few days of using His Vessel Textbooks, she informed me that she wanted to continue with it!

His Vessel Algebra 1 was created by Mary Carroll, a homeschool mom herself with several degrees and a teaching certificate for 7th-12th grade integrated math. She wrote this Algebra 1 book because she wanted students to see what God has to say about math. Biblical themes are woven throughout this curriculum in a relevant and factual way. 

There are eleven units with 64 lessons in this textbook, which allows your student to take several days on each lesson if needed. The back of the book contains an answer key for the odd problems with answers but not the full solutions. Mary is writing a solution manual for this program which should be coming out this summer. That will be very helpful for us as we continue this program next year.

There are several features in each unit that I want to talk about because I think they bring effectiveness and godly instruction to this program.

First is the "A God Moment" sections. These sections have a scripture and short devotional explaining the math concepts in a biblical view. These are interesting to read and very helpful! Here is an example of "A God Moment" from Unit 3 on Arithmetic Sequences:

"The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"" Luke 17:5

We can plot our growth to see where God is leading us. I am always amazed that God uses even the little and insignificant things in our lives to help us grow. Our past is what makes us unique, and our faith in the faithful God is where we will find our future. He puts our lives together perfectly, like a puzzle. He fits all the pieces of our lives to make us whole.

Next there are "Objectives for This Lesson", which lets you and your student know what they will be learning in this lesson. These are written as "I Can..." statements, such as these from the very first lesson:

• Classify real numbers as rational or irrational
• Compare and contrast rational and irrational numbers
• Understand and justify the sum and product of rational and irrational numbers with examples
• Graph rational and irrational numbers on a number line
• Identify and solve absolute values

Each lesson also includes "Vocabulary Terms", defining the math terms that will be learned and used in the lesson. This is a great feature, especially for students who learn best through reading. It's a great resource to look back to as you work through the lesson if you need more clarification.

There are "Helpful Hints" scattered throughout the book to help your student understand what they are doing. These quick little reminders will stick in your student's memory. One of the "Helpful Hints" in the unit on graphing is, "Direct = a straight course; Variation = change."

Similar to the "Helpful Hints" are "Make It Clear" boxes. These boxes clarify some of the math concepts, making them, well, clearer to your students! An example, found in Unit 4, is "The word linear means to be able to be represented as a straight line on a graph. The word line is in the word linear."

"Family Activity" is another feature throughout the textbook. Working puzzles, eating a pie for Pi Day, and making shapes with play-dough are just a few of the activities listed. Sometimes fun activities like this can help make the difficult math concepts more enjoyable. There are also discussion points and object lessons in the "Family Activity" boxes that relate back to Christ.

There are also "Expressions Projects" at the end of each unit, which are a little more difficult (and optional). It may be something like calculating descendants of a Biblical character or figuring how much Nebuchadnezzar's statue weighed. This would be fun for your child to work through with you, their dad, or an older (or younger!) sibling.

Each lesson has "You Try" problems and example problems that your child can work through as they're learning the new concepts. The example problems are already worked out, so your student can walk themselves through the steps to see exactly what they need to do. The "You Try" problems are not worked out on the page, but there are solutions to each of those problems at the end of the unit. The "You Try" problems are written right under the fully-worked out examples, so your child can look back at the examples while they're working the "You Try" problems if they need a little direction.

Okay, now that I've explained each of the features in the textbook, I'll share what we thought about this program. Mercie feels like this is a very user-friendly math textbook, especially because she doesn't like math. She doesn't dread math as much as she used to since she began with His Vessel Algebra 1. She is now on Unit 2 - Equations, lesson 2.7. She will take a few days for each lesson, since the lessons can be a bit long.

There is a workbook companion that includes all of the problems in the textbook for $14.99. This would be very helpful, especially if your child is copying the problems from the textbook into a notebook. Mercie writes directly in the textbook, which is fine with me. She marks the textbook up, underlining and circling things and working out the problems. She mostly just completes the odd numbers since those are the only ones in the answer key. However I am thinking I will purchase the workbook for next year as she finishes this curriculum. 

The textbook itself is great quality. The pages have plenty of white space so they don't appear too busy. There is color in the graphics, but it's not loud or distracting. It's a hard cover book with over 550 thick pages! 

Mary is also coming out with a Geometry and Algebra 2 program soon. This is great news because I really feel like this is a great fit for Mercie and would love to continue this throughout her high school. This program meets all of the requirements for a high school Algebra 1 credit. 

Mercie and I are super pleased with this Algebra 1 program. I am so thankful we were introduced to His Vessel Textbooks and excited to continue with it for her high school years. Click the banner below to see what other reviewers thought of His Vessel Textbooks Algebra 1!

Middle School Monday - Hands-On Projects

It's Middle School Monday again, and today I'm going to be sharing about hands-on projects! Sometimes we think once our children reach middle-school age, hands-on learning is no longer relevant. This is not true, though! Middle schoolers, and even high schoolers, still benefit from hands-on projects.

Hands-on learning encourages problem-solving, critical thinking skills, and artistic expression. It gives your child a chance to experience learning. Many children retain so much more information through hands-on projects than they do through traditional methods. Hands-on projects never need to be pushed to the side; they simply transform into more complex learning experiences.

I'm going to show you a few examples of hands-on projects my middle-school age children have done. 

Pocahontas Museum

When my oldest daughter was in 7th grade, she was using America the Beautiful. One of her assignments was to create a Pocahontas Museum, and she had a blast with it! She created several "exhibits" and got very creative with them. You can read more about that here.

Messy Science Experiments

She also loved doing science experiments in 7th grade! Here is a post with a few examples. These were a chance for her to do "fun things" in the name of learning. It was always a positive experience for her to take a break from the books and impress her siblings!

Mercie is in 8th grade now, and she still gets excited when she has a fun experiment! Here she microwaved soap to see what happened.

Math Projects

Hands-on activities always make math more fun, even into middle school. When she was in 7th grade, one of her math activities was to make a simple abacus. She helped with the design and really enjoyed learning how to use it!

Art Projects

I always try to make our art projects things that will be used and treasured, not junk that we will throw away. These stained glass pictures were a lot of fun for my middle-schoolers! A lot of the "harder" art projects would be really beneficial for older kids to try out.

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Cooking 

My kids have always loved to cook. Sometimes cooking and baking are part of their school projects, but most of the time it's just a life skill they practice! My daughters can both easily put together an entire meal. In fact, I bet my boys could do the same with a little direction. They've all seen me cook and bake, been my helpers in the kitchen, and heard me talk about it enough to have a pretty good grasp on the basics.

History and Geography Projects

There is nothing that makes history come to life more than history projects! My middle schoolers have always enjoyed doing crafts, recipes, and games that teach them about history and geography. 

Diorama of the Savanah 

There are so many more types of hands-on projects your middle schoolers can do to enhance their learning. Let me know in the comments which types of hands-on projects your middle schoolers have worked on!

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Middle School Mondays - How Much Help to Give

Middle School Mondays is a new name for what used to be Jr. High Junction. I hosted this link-up years ago, but I want to get it going again. It's hard to find encouragement, ideas, and tips for homeschooling this age group. I define "middle school" as 6th-8th grades, but you may define it as something different. If you have any posts you would like to add to this link-up on Mondays, I would be so grateful! It would be wonderful to have one place with lots of great posts for homeschooling middle school.

Today I'm going to address the question - "How much help should I give my middle schooler?" We all know that students learn at different paces and in different ways. In fact, that may be one reason we homeschool! It's definitely a benefit of homeschooling. I'm homeschooling my third and fourth middle schoolers right now, so I'm not new to this. Mercie is in 8th grade and Silas is in 6th grade. There is a vast difference in these age gaps - almost 14 and 11. 

I feel like middle school is the big transition from elementary to high school. There are a lot of changes happening in this age group - puberty being the most prominent. I have come to realize that elementary students need a lot of hand holding, and high schoolers don't need much at all. Middle school is where your child learns to let go of your hand, little by little. Some will need more of your hand holding than others will, and that's fine!

Silas is a very smart kid. He was a "late" reader, but now reads way above his "grade level." He is a deep thinker and can ask (and answer!) some tough questions. He's a really fun kid to be around. However, math has been a bit of a struggle for him. It's not that he doesn't know how to work the problems and complete the steps - it's mainly that multiple step problems overwhelm him and then he kind of shuts down.

What I do is sit with him for math - for the entire lesson. He reads the lesson aloud to me and we work through the problems together. If he gets a little overwhelmed or frustrated, I simply walk through the steps with him. I ask him what he thinks we should do next, and if he can't voice it then I tell him. He can then do the step on his own. Then I remind him there's another step to do, and he can usually figure it out. I've found this is especially true with fraction problems - when he has to find common denominators, then borrow to subtract or convert to a mixed number, and then reduce. There are a lot of steps to remember! 

If I left him to do these problems on his own, he would feel defeated before he even started. He would give up before he figured it out. By "holding his hand" in this area, I am teaching him that it's okay to need help. I'm helping him to develop the skills he needs to solve these problems on his own. And by letting go of his hand just a little bit at a time, I am showing him how to be more independent.

He can do many things on his own - long division, multiplication, and we even started decimals this week! When there is a problem I know he can do on his own, I let him. If we encounter a difficult word problem, we talk it out together. When he is dealing with fraction problems, we walk through it step by step.

I am confident that in a few years or less, he will be able to master these problems on his own with no help from me. I am also confident that the help I give him is only helping him to build math skills. 

We have been doing the same thing with his grammar book until recently. We would read the lesson together and walk through each sentence together. I've noticed lately that he doesn't need as much help, and in fact, he has completed the last two lessons almost totally on his own, even checking his work with the answer key. The only thing he needed help with was finding the subject and predicate in inverted sentences.

We do science, history, and other subject together with his 4th grade brother. This is more family-style learning where I read, we discuss, we do projects, and we do notebooking. He is great at making his notebook pages and does most of this on his own. 

In contrast, my 8th grade daughter does almost everything independently. She rarely asks for help, and when she does, it doesn't take much to get her on track. This just reinforces the fact that everyone learns at a different rate. 

Different doesn't mean wrong or bad; it just means different! 

How much help do you give your middle schooler?

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Mid-Year Curriculum Review

I can't believe we are halfway through our homeschool year already! We have been so busy that it has just flown by. We just completed Week 18 out of 35. I thought I would give a mid-year review on our curriculum choices and how they are working for us this year. 

Silas and Titus (grades 6 and 4)

I thought I would begin with these boys because they are using the same core curriculum, Heart of Dakota Preparing Hearts for His Glory. This is a year-long overview of world history. We have used Heart of Dakota in the past, but have never finished an entire year. Thankfully I can say, we will definitely finish this year! 

We are enjoying so many things about Preparing Hearts for His Glory. The history lessons are really great - the book spines are "A Child's History of the World" and "Grandpa's Box." There are plenty of great books that flesh these out, like "Tirzah" and "Fountain of Life." I really like the way each week is laid out in a predictable routine - Mondays we have a research topic that introduces our week-long history project; Tuesdays we have vocabulary words; Wednesdays are for hands-on geography lessons; and Thursdays are for timeline entries. The history projects have, for the most part, been pretty neat. They have made Roman coins with a drawstring pouch, maps, perfume, and a flip-book. 

Here they are making perfume from rubbing alcohol and cinnamon sticks.

An air-dry clay map of the Fertile Crescent and Mediterranean area.

We read from one of the history spines each day along with a go-along literature book. The readings are not too long or too short; I find they're the perfect length to hold the boy's attention. They do oral and written narrations along with guided discussion questions each week. 

Titus made Roman coins for his drawstring pouch made from a coffee filter and twine.

The notebooking pages are beautiful! They're full-color with plenty of room for writing narrations, defining vocabulary words, and timeline entries. Silas is on the older end of the age suggestions, so I ordered him the Extension Package. He has an additional independent reading along with notebook entries each day. He enjoys the books he reads!

The science portion is on the light side, but we have just gone with it instead of trying to add to it, like I normally would. I just don't have the time or desire to add more to our days right now! Now even though I said it was light, I do still think it's a great gentle science. We read living books like the "One Small Square" books. Right now we are reading "Find the Constellations." They have really enjoyed the hands-on activities each week. The science also follows a predictable routine - Mondays they add to their notebook; Tuesdays are for oral narration; Wednesdays they answer questions in their notebook; Thursdays are for hands-on exploration. We have done some really neat activities, like making a star "twinkle" on our ceiling and made constellations from glass beads and toothpicks. 

They are making constellations from glass beads and toothpicks.

We don't follow the math and language arts suggestions, and we have actually quit the Bible lessons as well. The Bible lessons are mainly memorization, and the boys are both participating in Bible Drill at our church. They already have so much memory work with Bible Drill that I'm not adding to that. 

Our math curriculum for the boys is Math Lessons for a Living Education. We've pretty much used this since the beginning and really like it. Next year Silas will move on to something different since he's in the last level of this, but Titus will continue with the 5th grade book. I like the short lessons, although they do get longer in length with each grade level. Silas is 6th grade and his math takes around 30 minutes a day. Titus is in 4th grade and his takes around 15 minutes. I like the large font and the ample space to work out problems. My boys skip the stories each week and haven't missed out on much of the actual math instruction for doing so. They weren't interesting to the boys and they were long! I told them to skip it.

Titus is making a fraction flip book. There are several hands-on projects in these math books.

We have skipped around in language arts a bit - we started with Rod and Staff, swapped to simple workbooks while I researched different options, and finally settled on Abeka language arts - the worktext only. So far I like the simple and straight-forward lessons. There isn't so much writing and it doesn't move as fast as Rod and Staff. Titus has retained more from the three weeks we've been using this than the entire time we used Rod and Staff. I think we will stick with this for the remainder of the year and then evaluate this summer.

The boys are also both using A Reason for Handwriting, levels T and F. They don't like cursive, but it's an important skill for them to learn and have so I continue to make them do it. It takes around 5 minutes a day - not that big of a sacrifice for them!

They also have independent reading that goes along with Drawn into the Heart of Reading, but we don't use all of the worksheets in the book. We pick and choose, skipping some and completing some. The worksheets were making the boys hate reading time, so I decided it wasn't worth it!

We also just started Titus with A Reason for Spelling because he needed some extra practice. We're only on our third week, so I can't really speak much about it other than we really like the gentle approach!

They also have plenty of real-life experiences every day doing farm chores like feeding and taking care of animals and collecting eggs. Titus just started Tae-Kwon-Do and is enjoying it so far! Silas plans to play junior high football this year at our local school (he is allowed to play as a homeschooler). I'm glad they are pursuing their own interests. Sometimes it seems like they're the same person as far as hobbies and interests, and although I want them to be best frineds (and they are), I also want them to be their individual self. It's going to be good for them to have separate activities.

I'm really thankful that they have plenty of time to be outdoors. We're done with school by lunchtime, so they have the rest of the day to go outside for chores and free time. 

When did your kids start pursuing separate interests, or have they always?

Middle School Monday - Week in Review

It's Tuesday again...so it's time for...

I didn't add Mercie's work in our Homeschool Highlights post Friday, so I decided to make Middle School Mondays consist of her week in review along with other topics. Her birthday is Saturday and she will be turning 13 years old! We went shopping Saturday and she got a ton of clothes. We ate at Cracker Barrel and had a blast together. 

We'll be having cake and ice cream on Saturday, her actual birthday. She asked for a new bicycle, and Rod gladly told her she could pick one out. She found the one she wants, so we just have to go pick it up!

Last week she completed lessons 91-95 in From Adam to Us. Each day she has a lesson to read along with mapping activities, timeline entries, student activity pages, and creative writing assignments. She learned about Columbus, other explorers, Copernicus, Martin Luther, and the Reformation last week. 

 

She also completed four lesson in Apologia's General Science. She finished week 18 out of 30. She had an experiment we never got to because I kept forgetting to get the red cabbage she needed. We plan to get to it this week along with a few more. I told her to start looking ahead and writing down the supplies she needed a week or two in advance. 

She also completed a week in Learning Language Arts Through Literature. She has just about finished the book (we skipped most of the literature units). Next week she will start using Wordly Wise 3000 and a new cursive book. I've also ordered her a grammar workbook that hasn't come in yet. She is reading The Mysterious Benedict Society and loves it! One thing I don't have to do it force her to read. She loves reading.

She also completed a week of lessons in Principles of Mathematics. She is having a little difficulty with word problems and conversions. They're tough so I don't blame her. It takes me a few minutes sometimes! Math is not my favorite subject, but I try to like it because I want my kids to like it.

Mercie has farm chores each day. She has 13 chickens and a few of them just started laying eggs. She feeds them and collects the eggs each day and gets attacked by her rooster. She's been researching how to tame a mean rooster and is trying some new techniques. We didn't even mean to get a rooster; he got put in by accident with the hens when they were tiny. They were identical for several weeks, and then the rooster turned lighter and got bigger! 

She also feeds her goat and a bull. We have lots of cattle but she is responsible for feeding one bull. She also feeds the dogs and waters them. She is very dependable and I don't have to remind her to do anything! She loves animals and wants to be a vet when she grows up. 

She also loves to cook. Last night she cooked tater tot casserole and peas and carrots. She made brownies several times last week. 

What chores do your middle schoolers have?

Middle School Monday - Gordon Korman books

 

Again, this is being posted on Tuesday. Maybe it should be Middle School Tuesday, but it doesn't have the same ring as Middle School Monday.

Anyway, I thought I would share some of Mercie's recent free reading materials. She is in the 7th grade and will be 13 years old on the 6th of February! She loves to read and has been introduced to a new author that we both love to read - Gordon Korman. I'm sure many of you have heard of him or read his books, but we had only read one of his books - Swindle - before. I ordered Mercie a set of six books by him because when I read the descriptions of the books, they sounded like something she would enjoy! I'm going to link to each of the books and give a short summary. I've read them all and she has read most of them, and they are all really great books - boys and girls alike would enjoy them, although the main characters are always boys. 

The Unteachables are a notorious class of misfits, delinquents, and academic train wrecks. Like Aldo, with anger management issues; Parker, who can’t read; Kiana, who doesn’t even belong in the class—or any class; and Elaine (rhymes with pain). The Unteachables have been removed from the student body and isolated in room 117.

Their teacher is Mr. Zachary Kermit, the most burned-out teacher in all of Greenwich. He was once a rising star, but his career was shattered by a cheating scandal that still haunts him. After years of phoning it in, he is finally one year away from early retirement. But the superintendent has his own plans to torpedo that idea—and it involves assigning Mr. Kermit to the Unteachables.

The Unteachables never thought they’d find a teacher who had a worse attitude than they did. And Mr. Kermit never thought he would actually care about teaching again. Over the course of a school year, though, room 117 will experience mayhem, destruction—and maybe even a shot at redemption.

Chase's memory just went out the window.

Chase doesn't remember falling off the roof. He doesn't remember hitting his head. He doesn't, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again . . . starting with his own name.

He knows he's Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return.

Some kids treat him like a hero. Some kids are clearly afraid of him.

One girl in particular is so angry with him that she pours her frozen yogurt on his head the first chance she gets.

Pretty soon, it's not only a question of who Chase is--it's a question of who he was . . . and who he's going to be.

When Donovan Curtis pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he’s finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students.

Although it wasn’t exactly what Donovan had intended, the ASD couldn’t be a more perfectly unexpected hideout for someone like him. But as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything), he shows that his gifts may be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed.

Capricorn Anderson had never watched a television show before. He'd never tasted a pizza. He had never even heard of a wedgie. And he had never, in his wildest dreams, thought of living anywhere but Garland Farm commune with his hippie caretaker, Rain.

Capricorn (Cap for short) lived every day of his life on Garland Farm growing fruits and vegetables. He was homeschooled by Rain, the only person he knew in the world. Life was simple for Cap. But when Rain falls out of a tree while picking plums and is hospital-ridden, he has to attend the local middle school and live with his new guidance counselor and her irritable daughter. While Cap knew a lot about Zen Buddhism, no amount of formal education could ready him for the trials and tribulations of public middle school.

Cap doesn't exactly fit in at Claverage Middle School (dubbed C Average by the kids). He has long, ungroomed hair, wears hemp clothes, and practices Tai Chi out on the lawn. His weirdness basically makes him the biggest nerd in school. This is great news for Zach Powers, big man on campus. He can't wait to instate the age-old tradition in C-Average School: The biggest nerd is nominated for class president -- and wins. So when Cap becomes president, he is more puzzled than ever. But as Cap begins to take on his duties, the joke starts to turn on Zach.

Will Cap turn out to be the greatest President in the history of C-Average School? Or the biggest punchline?

Cooper Vega's family moves so often that he's practically invisible at any school he attends. Now they've relocated to the town of Stratford -- where nobody even makes an effort to learn Cooper's name. To them, he's just . . . whatshisface.

Cooper's parents feel bad about moving him around so much, so they get him a fancy new phone. Almost immediately, it starts to malfunction. First there's a buzzing. Then there's a weird glare on the screen. Then that glare starts to take on the form of . . . a person?

It's not just any person trapped inside Cooper's phone. It's a boy named Roderick, who says he lived in the time of William Shakespeare -- and had a very tangled history with the famous playwright. Cooper thinks his phone has gone haywire, but there's nothing he can do to get rid of Roderick.

Then, even stranger, Roderick starts helping him. Even though his 17th-century advice isn't always the best for a 21st century middle school.

Cameron Boxer is very happy to spend his life avoiding homework, hanging out with his friends, and gaming for hours in his basement. It's not too hard for him to get away with it . . . until he gets so caught up in one game that he almost lets his house burn down around him.

Oops.

It's time for some serious damage control -- so Cameron and his friends invent a fake school club that will make it seem like they're doing good deeds instead of slacking off. The problem? Some kids think the club is real -- and Cameron is stuck being president.

Soon Cameron is part of a mission to save a beaver named Elvis from certain extinction. Along the way, he makes some new friends -- and some powerful new enemies. The guy who never cared about anything is now at the center of everything . . . and it's going to take all his slacker skills to win this round.

Have your kids read any of these books? What have they been reading lately?