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Resources for "middle-schoolers"?

665 views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  darien 
#1 ·
We're unschoolers, but according to the school district, my older ds is a seventh grader, and will need to turn in two portfolios of 7th grade-level work this coming year.

I have a few websites to use for ideas, but nowhere near the wealth of info available for elementary grades. Any suggestions?

I would love suggestions on books (or personal stories, please
: ) about hs'ing older kids. I want to help ds find new opportunities, but I'm still in "little kid" mode!
 
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#2 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by darien View Post
I would love suggestions on books (or personal stories, please
: ) about hs'ing older kids. I want to help ds find new opportunities, but I'm still in "little kid" mode!
This is exactly where I was last year when ds was going into grade 8 and we were getting back into hsing after one year at ps. I still find it very odd and feel I'm a little out of place.

We were very much unschoolers, though now we've gone over to a bit more structure, partly by plan, and partly because I'm working more out of the house now and unschooling just doesn't work for us without me a lot more than I am now. It also got harder because ds's interests and way of looking at things have changed so drastically in the last two years from being a kid to being a full blown teen, and even he's not totally sure of what he into on any given day. I've found lately that one of the great joys of hsing at this age, though, is that, while teens are giving up activities and subjects they used to love (I don't know how long it's been since I've heard about dinosaurs around here
), they are also becoming so much more deeply involved with a fewer interests and really start to become engaged in the world around them.

I don't have any good book suggestions, and hopefully there will be some other moms who come up with some books cause I'd love to read some too. In terms of documenting stuff, I downloaded the free, basic version of Homeschool Tracker and began to input the things ds was doing day to day, I always trusted that he was doing more than it really looked like, but it surprised me how quickly his work added up to something that looked like an actual education


I do have one book that I have depended on for years for reading suggestions and writing stuff": From Reader to Writer by Sarah Ellis.
 
#3 ·
I suggest looking at a general 7th grade guideline (like at worldbook.com) as a starting point. It's easier to find information for higher grade levels when you know what to look for.

Older dd just finished 8th grade and younger dd is starting 6/7th grade (and ds is starting 1/2 grade). As unschooly as we try to be, the state requires much of us, too. I just present a lot of resources and opportunities to the kids and they handpick what sounds interesting - books, websites, museum exhibits, day-trips, experiments, theater, hs classes, volunteering, etc. My younger 2 kids prefer a light schedule - which was fine with me! Easier to track what their doing, lol. They also continue to pursue their own interests. I keep a blog and a learning log/portfolio for each child as we progress through the year (for our own sake). The kids love looking back on these.

I'm almost at the point that I wish my district asked to see their portfolios!
I have tons of links geared toward older kids. Are you looking for something specific? or by subject?
 
#6 ·
We're unschoolers, too, although we've never had to turn in a portfolio. It looks like you're in DC, and if that's true, I'm not seeing why you need to submit a portfolio. Everything I read online shows that all you need to do is keep an attendance record, not academic records. Can you clarify?

Dar
 
#7 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dar View Post
We're unschoolers, too, although we've never had to turn in a portfolio. It looks like you're in DC, and if that's true, I'm not seeing why you need to submit a portfolio. Everything I read online shows that all you need to do is keep an attendance record, not academic records. Can you clarify?

Dar

If I climbed onto our roof, I could see DC, but we're actually Marylanders.
 
#8 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by darien View Post
If I climbed onto our roof, I could see DC, but we're actually Marylanders.

Ah! Dangit! So close to such little regulation...

When I worked for a homeschooling charter in California, I got very good at translating the activities of unschoolers into academic portfolios. What are his interests? What does he enjoy? And then we can figure out how to spin that into academic speak.

I would also check out the state standards for some ideas... this site is good for that. If you think broadly, he's probably already doing a lot of it.

dar
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the advice and suggestions.


My ds is a science/engineering kid, yet he's not that big on math. He's good at math, actually-- but resistant to math lessons. I'd love some creative math learning info.

He's a voracious reader-- never given a single book a bad review, either (So I guess he's not that discerning)!
He'll read anything.

I can see ds as a set designer or an architect. But, he's already decided he wants to be a Lego designer.
 
#10 ·
You might take a browse through my annotated sets of links - there are lots of sites that might appeal and have interesting ideas for him. He might even enjoy some of the math sites (like Investigating Patterns: Symmetry & Tessallations). The links are loosely organized into subjects - I've been told I should organize them even further, but there's a rebellious part of me that just hates to see things boxed and labeled so much.


Homeschooling Gateway to the Internet

- Lillian
 
#11 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by darien View Post
My ds is a science/engineering kid, yet he's not that big on math. He's good at math, actually-- but resistant to math lessons. I'd love some creative math learning info.
There are excellent creative math resources at Key Curriculum Press, and Exploratorium. We LOVE Exploring Math Through Puzzles, Geometer's Sketchpad, and are getting Tinkerplots this year. Plus, the Exploratorium has a book, Math & Science Across Cultures, that looks good but I haven't tried yet. We have used some activities from their Math Explorer too, but I prefer the puzzles book above.

Other good resources that might be free at your library are G is for Googol (that's a simpler one and maybe a good starting tool), The Joy of Mathematics by Pappas, and Murderous Maths
 
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