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I had the privilege of reviewing portfolios of other homeschoolers this summer. I loved doing it! I was able to see all the wonderful things other families are doing in their homeschool. Plus, it was a way to help families with their annual assessment requirements for our state.

It got me thinking.

Why don’t I share what our middle school curriculum will be this year?

At first, I wasn’t going to. I realized, though, that I love seeing what others are using for curriculum. So I decided to share our curriculum choices.

I figure it may give you some ideas if you’re still shopping for curriculum. It may help you out in the future. And if mid-year comes and you realize your curriculum isn’t’ working, you have some other ideas to look at.

(You can read about switching curriculum midyear HERE.)

Both my kids are in middle school this year. Yikes! (Our school district does 5-8 grade for middle school.) It is a new adventure. One in which my son will be learning to be a more independent learner… I hope.

(You can read about helping your child become an independent learner HERE.)

So let me share with you what our picks are for 5th and 7th grade. I am trying some new curriculum this year. It’s kind of scary for me.

Read on and see the list of the core subjects we are working on. I have not included fine arts, health, and physical education. I’ll save that for another day.

(You can click HERE to see our 4th and 6th-grade curriculum last year.)

5th Grade Curriculum Picks

Language Arts Curriculum

1. Learning Language Arts Through Literature by Common Sense Press

I have used Reading Eggspress for a few years now. (You can read about it HERE.) My son, however, wants to try something new. So I decided to let him. I let my kids have some say in their homeschooling.

I decided to try the Learning Language Arts Through Literature program. I found it at a used curriculum sale this spring. I bought the 6th-grade level for him which is the Tan Book.

In this program, there are four main books the students read and do follow-up work on. The first book is Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Latham.

In this curriculum, kids work on reading skills but also vocabulary, grammar, writing, research, and more. We’ll see how it goes. I am not relying on just this program for grammar, spelling, and writing. I’m using it to reinforce skills.

2. Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)

We began IEW last year. It was a good switch for my son. I decided to buy Level A continuation materials and the Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons, too.

I’m not sure how I’m going to integrate the two quite yet. I’ll work that out once we start getting into our Ancient studies in history.

3. All About Spelling

I have never been as happy with a spelling program as I have been with All About Spelling. My son struggled with spelling until we found this program. I will never switch again. In this curriculum, kids master the spelling rules, syllable division rules, spelling strategies, and letter sounds. It is the best out there! Click the banner below to learn more.

4. Fix-It Grammar by IEW

Since we’ve had success with IEW’s writing program, I decided to try their grammar program.

We’ve been using First Language Lessons by The Well-Trained Mind Press. My son finished the elementary level program but isn’t quite ready for the next level of books. We needed something to do in between and this is where Fix-It Grammar comes in.

I’m not quite sure if this is what I’m looking for. I’m going to try it and see how my son does with it. If we don’t like it, I may check out Growing with Grammar.

Math-U-See Math Curriculum

Last year, we switched from Primary Mathematics to Math-U-See. My son began at the Epsilon level. We should finish this book in a few months and then we’ll begin the Zeta book.

I like Math-U-See. It has the right combination of new skill practice and review. It is so helpful that I can download extra practice sheets from their site if my son needs it. Plus, Mr. Demme’s method of teaching works for my son better than other methods.

The Greek Alphabet

The Greek Alphabet is put out by Memoria Press. We started it last year and will continue it. Last year, life got crazy and something had to go. Unfortunately, it was Greek. It is a good program, and my son enjoys it.

7th Grade Curriculum Picks

Language Arts Curriculum

1. Book Studies

My daughter is a strong reader. Instead of using a particular curriculum I will pick various classics and good quality literature for her to read. We are starting the year with The Count of Monty Cristo.

I plan on finding unit studies for the books on Teachers Pay Teachers, Pinterest or create one myself (if I’m feeling like I have a lot of times on my hands.)

2. Writing Curriculum

I admit I got a little carried away with my daughter’s writing curriculum. Honestly, I am still trying to figure out what we are doing. I have three options, though.

I know… THREE?

My daughter loves writing, especially creative writing so I try to find helpful tools for her.

Sooo…my three picks are:

• Creative Writer by Boris Fishman (Peace Hill Press)
• Writing with Skill by Well-Trained Mind Press
• One Year Adventure Novel by Clear Water Press

We will finish the second level of Creative Writer we already started. We left off on the poetry section and will pick up from there.

I may move away from creative writing afterward and into Writing with Skill. As much as she loves creative writing, my daughter needs to learn more research and technical writing for various subjects.

I may end waiting on the One Year Adventure Novel until next year. It is technically for 8-12th grade.

3. Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind

As you can tell, we follow a lot of the classical education curriculum. It works well for my kids and this grammar program is no exception. My daughter has strong grammar skills so we began Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind as soon as she finished First Language Lessons.

I can say this is a challenging program. We are taking our time with this curriculum. It is a VERY thorough grammar program.

4. Word Roots- The Critical Thinking Company

I bought this vocabulary curriculum mid-year last year. Word Roots is a solid program. Kids practice the vocabulary words in four different ways throughout the week. It is a good way for them to learn their words.

I really like it. We will continue with this again this year.

Math-U-See Math Curriculum

My daughter started the Math-U-See Pre-Algebra program mid-year last year. We will continue using this and move into the Algebra program.

I love the videos. The instructor does a good job relating to the kids and explaining concepts. My daughter enjoys them. I like that someone else is providing the instruction.

Latin Christiana I

My daughter took one year of Latin then we began Latin Christiana I by Memoria Press. As with my son, Latin got put on the back burner when our schedule got too crazy.

The video lessons are great! Learning Latin helps my daughter a great deal with her reading. She even remarked it is a huge help in figuring out hard words in her reading!

Curriculum Both Are Using

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We have some subjects that we are doing together. I am pretty excited about this because it will make my life a little easier.

REAL Science Odyssey Biology Level 2

The science curriculum we are using is by Pandia Press. We have been using the Pandia Press curriculum for science since we started homeschooling. We LOVE their REAL Science Odyssey books.

Now that my kids are middle schoolers, we are doing their second-level biology curriculum. I like the format of the program, and it is a good way to get kids to transition into more independent learning.

History Odyssey Ancients Level 2 Curriculum

Our family is a big fan of The Story of the World. We are mourning the fact we have finished all the books. ?

So what can we do?!

Well, Pandia Press, who makes the science curriculum we love, offers history, too. Bonus: it follows a classical education method of teaching.

History Odyssey offers the four-year cycle of Ancient, Middle Ages, Early Modern, and Modern History. Technically, level 2 is for grades 6-10. I think my son will do fine with it. If I need to modify it, I will.

Fallacy Detective

I was searching for a logic program that would be fun AND work on logical deductions skills around teaching fallacies. The Fallacy Detective seems to fit that criterion. I can’t wait to try it out.

Other Resources

Here is a list of other resources we will be incorporating in our homeschool:

1. Kids Discover– Online program to supplement science and history topics.
2. edHelper– Online worksheets I can print out to supplement all subject areas.
3. Productive Homeschooling (formerly NotebookingPages.com) – Notebook pages to use throughout our homeschool especially for our States Study Notebooks.

I have labored long and hard to find the curriculum I feel is best for my kiddos. I hope this gives you some ideas if you’re stuck on curriculum choices or if you’re planning ahead for the future. Don’t forget to bookmark this or save it to Pinterest to reference later on.

Have a wonderful new school year ahead! I hope it is a great one.

What curriculum are you using this year?