This week, I’m continuing on with sharing our homeschool school curriculum choices for 2021-2022. Only 9th and 11th grades are left to go!
My #2 child and oldest daughter is a 9th grader this year in our homeschool! My oldest girl is just a joy all the way around and I enjoy being her teacher.
My daughter is the type that would much rather have independent assignments and just plow through them so she can get to her free time. I try to accommodate that, however, that gets to be more difficult the older she gets.
My children need to discuss their academics with me as we go throughout the week. They need to discuss what they’re reading in literature, history, and science, and they need feedback with writing essay answers and papers.
Since my oldest boy was in private school for 9th grade, this is my first time teaching this particular grade. Keeping up with the reading is a bit overwhelming to me, as I now have to read ahead for 7th, 9th, and 11th grades.
I’m still trying to work all of that out in my own schedule.
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.
Algebra 1
My daughter had a pretty horrendous year in Pre-Algebra during 8th grade. Our first curriculum was not a good fit for her learning style, so we switched after the first 6 weeks.
The second curriculum drove us both nuts with its style and while we finished it, we both counted the days until it was over.
This year, we are trying a new-to-us publisher and giving BJU Algebra 1 a try.
We just finished up the first chapter, and so far, it’s been excellent! It’s very teacher-intensive, and I certainly have to prepare to teach it since I haven’t done algebra since high school.
Having her experience math success after such an awful year last year is worth the time and effort on my part!
UPDATE: Read my post on How We Use BJU Algebra 1 in Our Homeschool. I share we use this each day and the teacher prep time on my part.
Physical Science
As I mentioned in other curriculum posts this year, we are trying BJU Science for the first time. My 9th grader will be using their Physical Science set.
Because I don’t own many science supplies, I also ordered the BJU Physical Science kit from Home Science Tools. It just arrived yesterday, and it looks amazing!
It was a little (a lot!) out of our budget, but I am thrilled that I spent the money for it. We all know that there’s always a trade off of time & effort versus money, and I was happy to spend money to not have to gather the supplies for all of the activities!
We are still trying to work out the kinks with getting together with having class so we can discuss what she’s learning. Hopefully we can settle that in the coming week.
Acts of the Apostles and The Wars of the Jews
Even though we do a morning Bible time together each day, my children have their own Bible studies that they work on. This year, my daughter and I will be going through the Books of Acts during the 1st semester. We will be using the Acts of the Apostle set from Memoria Press.
We are only 2 chapters in, but it’s been excellent so far!
During the 2nd semester, she and I will read through The Wars of the Jews. I haven’t read this text yet, so it will be new for both of us.
9th Grade Literature
My daughter will be completing the 9th Grade Literature Set from Memoria Press. This literature year focuses on Old English and Medieval works including Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
We are using the 9th grade literature plans, which also includes selections from Poetry, Prose, and Drama Book One: The Old English and Medieval Periods Set and a few readings from The Book of the Middle Ages.
9th Grade Composition and Spelling
Composition is a subject I have (almost) completely outsourced this year. My oldest girl will take Classical Composition: Common Topic with Memoria Press Online Academy.
My 11th grader and my 9th grader are both working through The Lively Art of Writing with me during our first 10-12 weeks of school. I’ve read through the book already and it is the clearest instruction I have come across regarding essay writing.
I have a lot to say about this little book, so I’ll save that for another post!
Because my 9th grader is not a natural speller, she will continue on with Spelling Workout G.
The Book of the Ancient Romans and The Aeneid
My 9th grader will also take this Classics class with Memoria Press Online Academy. The first semester she will learn about Ancient Rome in The Book of the Ancient Romans and she will read through The Aeneid during the second half of the year.
I’ll be honest that I’m a little sad she and I are working through these texts together. I just taught them to my oldest son last year, so they are very fresh in my brain! Dr. Dray, her favorite MPOA teacher, is teaching this class so she asked to take it under him.
My sweet girl doesn’t ask for much, so I was happy to grant this request. 🙂
Renaissance and Reformation Times
Due to various circumstances, my daughter has covered very little of this time period during her homeschool years. While we covered it heavily in her 3rd grade year, that was a long time ago for her! Children need repetition to remember things – adults too.
She and I are reading and studying through Renaissance and Reformation Times this year at a somewhat slow pace. She has a heavy reading load already, and I don’t want to burn her out.
I’ve also greatly modified how she is completing the Student Guide of this set. I’ll try to write that in a separate post this year in case any of you need to modify it in your own homeschools down the road.
Traditional Logic
My daughter is completing Traditional Logic 1 during the 1st semester and Traditional Logic II during the 2nd semester. Because I have never taken Logic and can’t add it to my plate at the moment, she is using the streaming lessons from Memoria Press as her teacher.
My oldest son just took both of these courses in MPOA last year, so the topic is very fresh in his brain. Should my girl need help, she is to go straight to her brother for clarification. 🙂
She will take the quizzes and tests here at home.
French I
Once my children are in high school, I give them the option to continue their Latin studies. My son has chosen to continue on with Latin, however, my daughter has decided she would like to study French.
While I am ever so slightly heartbroken over this decision (I love Latin!), she is the one doing the studying and memorizing. So she gets to choose!
She is studying French with a local teacher in a class of just a handful of students. So far she absolutely loves it!
With her strong foundation in Latin, French should seem less daunting, one would think.
Her teacher is using Bien Dit! along with the workbook.
So far, it’s going beautifully!
Are you teaching 9th Grade this year? What are your children studying? I would love to read any comments, so please share! ❤
Here’s a quickie recap of our 9th Grade curriculum choices for this year:
→ Math: BJU Algebra I
→ Science: BJU Physical Science with the BJU Physical Science Lab Kit
→ Christian Studies: Acts of the Apostles and The Wars of the Jews
→ Literature: 9th Grade Literature from Memoria Press and Poetry, Prose, & Drama Book One: The Old English & Medieval Periods Set
→ Composition: Classical Composition: Common Topic and The Lively Art of Writing
→ Spelling: Spelling Workout G
→ Classical Studies: The Book of the Ancient Romans and The Aeneid
→ Modern Studies: Renaissance and Reformation Times
→ Logic: Traditional Logic I and Traditional Logic II
→ Foreign Language: French I using Bien Dit! and the workbook
Circle Worksheets for Preschool and Kindergarten
Hi Lauren,
How is BJU’s Algebra 1 going?
Can you tell me what you think of the Cumulative Review sections? Do you think you might stay with BJU for Geometry?
Kind thanks,
Sunny
Hi Lauren, Did you see my comment? Warmly, Sunny
Hey Sunny! I’m really sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Thank you for nudging me.
I have been SO PLEASED with Algebra I! My 7th grader is taking BJU’s 7th grade math, where they introduce many of the concepts for Alg I. So I can see that if my 9th grader had taken BJU in 7th or 8th, she would be incredibly more prepared for Alg I. It’s slow-going for us (often- we spend 2 days on a lesson) because she had such a rotten year with Pre-Algebra.
The teaching helps in the manual are excellent. Admittedly, I’ve had to re-teach myself most of Algebra I, but it’s been easy with their clear examples and lesson examples. I DO have to study our lessons each week, but I realize this might not be the case for most mothers. 🙂
BJU Math is teacher-intensive, but I am SO THRILLED that we’re using it for Alg I. I have had to cut way back on other subjects I would be very involved in (discussing literature or history in a very in-depth way) in order to fit in 30-45 mins of Algebra each day, but it’s been very worth it.
As for Geometry… yikes. I had a very bad experience with Geometry in high school and truly hated it. I would have to teach myself Geometry from the ground up, and in all honesty, I’m not sure I want to do that!! There’s many other things I would rather study.
That being said, I’m considering the Distance Learning option for Geometry, which is self-paced. The problem is I won’t be able to help her should a problem arise with her understanding a concept. This has happened with my 11th grader who is taking BJU’s Pre-Calculus with the DL option. I have to spend a lot of time trying to help him figure out where he’s gone wrong in some of the concepts/problems.
All of that to say, I’m undecided about BJU’s Geometry only because I don’t want to learn it myself (Yes, I know this sounds selfish! Just being very honest.) If I can’t find her 1) a local geometry class or 2) an online live class that uses an actual textbook, I’ll consider teaching her with BJU.
The Cumulative Review sections – LOVE them. They are applicable and timely. They help pinpoint problem areas that are hiding. 🙂 I usually assign her half of the problems each lesson. If we end up doing a lesson over 2 days, which is often, she ends up doing all of the Review problems over that 2 days. They are very beneficial to her as she’s not the strongest math student.
Please let me know if you have more questions! I promise I’ll get back to you quicker this time. Thank you for waiting on me!!
xoxo, Lauren
Hello Lauren, I know you are one busy woman! I am truly so thankful you took the time to reply!
I appreciate you sharing your observations and thought processes about BJU Math before Algebra I, DLO and the teacher-intensive nature of the program.
It’s great to hear that the Cumulative Review sections are helpful. I hear so much about the review section in the Saxon Math program. It’s great to hear positive things about BJU’s review.
Kind thanks,
Sunny
P.S. I’ve been enjoying your Telegram posts 🙂