This week, I am sharing all of our homeschool curriculum choices for the 2021-2022 school year. Next up are our 7th grade homeschool plans! This is only the 2nd time I have taught 7th grade, so I still feel a bit new with middle school.
My oldest boy went to private school from 7-9th grades, so I wasn’t his teacher. I taught my oldest girl 7th, and now I’m teaching my middle girl 7th.
I’m excited about 7th grade, but I’ll admit that it is also a bit daunting. I have found that 7th grade is the year I need to start reading more heavily to try and keep up with the history, literature, Latin, and science. I can’t have discussions with my children about what they have read if I myself haven’t read it!
This particular child needs a class for most subjects. She is not a self-learner-type and try as I might to fit her into that mold, it’s just not her. When I have time, I will write about how I do “classes” with her a couple of times a week on various subjects, and daily with other subjects.
Despite teaching my daughter for the past 7 years in school, I am still learning how to be a good homeschool mother to her. “Good” looks different with each of my children, I have found.
Aside from my affiliate links, I’m not presently affiliated with Memoria Press, BJU, or any other curriculum provider in any way. I’m just a very grateful and satisfied homeschool mama!
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Browse through all of the homeschool curriculum posts here at Mama’s Learning Corner.
Third Form Latin in 7th Grade
As I have mentioned in other posts, I did not teach my older two children Latin. I didn’t start learning Latin until my current 7th grader was in Latina Christiana. I made her suffer through Latina Christiana without helping her much at all, and staying frustrated that she just didn’t “get it.”
Well, Latin requires a teacher, I have found out. I took a Memoria Press adult Latin class last summer, and it made me understand my expectations of this child learning Latin just from the teaching DVDs was hopelessly unrealistic.
I will say it again: I am still learning how to be a good homeschool mother. Daily sometimes, it seems!
All of that backstory is to say that I will be learning Third Form Latin with my 7th grader this year. Her little mind is quick as a whip and she runs circles around me with memorization.
She has 2 lessons left from Second Form Latin from last year, and we’re just about finished with those. Then we will head on into Third Form.
We will have class on Mondays, as usual, and a few mini-classes throughout the week. The recitation gets longer and longer, and we split that up so there are two shorter recitations each week.
We will continue using the Latin Grammar Recitation, which worked beautifully for us last year! That program was well worth the money for me, as it streamlined recitation in a very manageable way.
I like things that are on auto-pilot!
➡ Take a look at how we use Latin Grammar Recitation in our Homeschool
7th Grade Math
My daughter still needs quite a bit of practice with elementary math before moving on to Pre-Algebra.
She has used Rod and Staff Math since 3rd grade, however, I wanted her to do something different for 7th grade. She is using BJU Math Grade 7, which is totally new to both of us.
I knew going into it that BJU subjects are very teacher-heavy, but as I mentioned earlier, this girl needs a class to learn the material well, so this teacher-heaviness is okay with me.
BJU is challenging her a different way than Rod and Staff did. The content is more sophisticated and it gives ample practice with the four operations and factions, decimals, and percents.
7th Grade Grammar, Composition, and Spelling
My girl didn’t do so well with grammar in 6th grade, so we are repeating Rod and Staff English Grammar Grade 6 during 7th grade. The physical act of writing is a problem for my daughter, and she only has so much writing energy each day. Because I need to accommodate for that, I chose to use the worksheets for the lessons that have worksheets available.
She will need to write for the lessons that do not, and also for the chapter reviews. I have not used Rod and Staff Grammar this way in the past, so we will see how that pans out!
Read more: How We Use Rod and Staff English Grammar in Our Homeschool
For various reasons, my 7th grader has only done bits and pieces of Classical Composition in the Fable and Narrative levels. She will be taking a combined Fable and Narrative class with Memoria Press Online Academy.
This will be her first real online class, and she is very excited to give it a try! It’s a 45 minute class that meets 2 days each week, so that will be perfect for her.
My 7th grader will continue on with Spelling Workout G this year and she will work through Copybook Cursive III again this year.
7th Grade Literature and Poetry
I love almost every year of literature that Memoria Press offers, and the 7th grade year is no different! My girl will read through and analyze the books in Memoria Press’ 7th Grade Literature set. The books include Anne of Green Gables, The Hobbit, The Trojan War, and The Bronze Bow.
She will be discussing the books in the Vita Baeta group, however, she will do the Student Guide work, quizzes & tests, and only a little discussion with me.
She will also memorize just a few selections from Poetry for the Grammar Stage.
7th Grade Christian Studies
My kiddos and I do Bible time each morning before our school day starts, and this year we are working through Christian Studies I from Memoria Press again. We completed it a few years ago, but it’s time for us to cycle back through it.
My middle girl will independently work through Christian Studies IV this year. While I haven’t had a child use this curriculum yet, I have read through the book and Student Guide. It provides a thorough general overview of each book of the Bible.
I really like what I’ve seen so far!
Read more here: How I Use Memoria Press’ Christian Studies I-III in Our Homeschool
7th Grade American History
I love the 200 Questions About American History curriculum from Memoria Press. My children have a lot of exposure to American History (true American History!), and this curriculum reinforces all of those facts they have tucked away in their brains from years of reading.
My daughter reads the chapters and completes the workbook. She also takes bullet point notes on each chapter and we discuss in a class 1-2 times each week.
7th Grade Classical Studies
Since I teach my children a classical education, we study quite a bit of Greek, Roman, and Hebrew history each year. The 7th grade year focuses on various aspects of the ancient world.
We will read through Famous Men of Greece together and my daughter will complete most of the questions in the Student Book. We will have class to review and discuss once each week.
She will also spend some time learning the Greek Alphabet. This Greek Alphabet program from Memoria Press is a simple, yet effective way to learn the Greek letters and small factoids about each. I really like this simple study!
➡ Read more: How I Educate Myself as a Classical Homeschool Mom
During the first 12 weeks or so of school, my daughter and I will read and study the famous Horatius at the Bridge poem. My girl will spend quite a bit of time memorizing this amazing poem, which we study it together.
This will be a big accomplishment for her and she’s looking forward to the challenge.
She will also work through the Geography and Timeline Review worksheets to keep the Timeline and mapwork fresh in her mind.
7th Grade Science
As I mentioned above, my daughter is using BJU Grade 7 Math. We are also adding BJU Grade 7 Life Science, which is also brand new to us this year.
We are currently in our second week of school, and I already see that we are going to need an almost daily class time in science. I was hoping we could get away with twice a week, but that is not going to work. I am currently brainstorming my schedule to see how I can make this work.
The schedule always seems to be a work in progress, doesn’t it?!
This is our first year using a textbook-style science, so it’s a learning curve for me. To streamline things a bit, I needed to find all of the Science Activities in one kit and didn’t have time to piece it all together myself.
I researched quite a bit and was so thrilled to find Home Science Tools! I immediately ordered their BJU Grade 7 Science Kit, and it arrives in just a few days.
I can’t wait!
Are you teaching 7th grade this year? What are your middle schoolers studying? Please leave a note in the comments. I’d love to read what is going on in your homeschool this year! ❤
Here’s a quickie list of our 7th Grade Curriculum Choices for this year:
→ Latin: Third Form Latin and Latin Grammar Recitation
→ Math: BJU Math Grade 7
→ Grammar: Rod and Staff English Grammar Grade 6
→ Composition: Classical Composition: Fable and Classical Composition: Narrative
→ Spelling: Spelling Workout G
→ Cursive: Copybook Cursive III
→ Literature and Analysis: Memoria Press’ 7th Grade Literature Set and Poetry for the Grammar Stage
→ Bible: Christian Studies IV
→ American History: 200 Questions from American History
→ Geography: Geography and Timeline Review Worksheets
→ Classical Studies: Famous Men of Greece & The Greek Alphabet and Horatius at the Bridge Set
→ Science: BJU Grade 7 Life Science and BJU Life Science Kit from Home Science Tools
5th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Plans for 2021-2022
I love these posts, thanks for sharing!