I have been looking for Middle School Homeschool Blogs and have come up unsatisfied in the endeavor. I will share how we are learning/growing through this unmarked territory. Strange how there are 2 bazillion sites/pages on preschool to instruct us how to play with play dough, but not as much for Junior High or Middle School. Sigh.

One tip that I have heard many a time, and even read an article this morning sent to my email – is that the Middle/High Schoolers are too lax. In their writing, science, and organization. Great Kids, Great Learners, Great Citizens and the like, but since we are so focused on not doing School at Home, there is a disadvantage to the first term in the public setting. So – that said, I am taking the advice from two people in particular – and making a notebook for Nathan. He will work on his schoolwork on loose leaf paper this year, then slide the finished paper into the corresponding folder in his trapper keeper.  I will check his work maybe every day, but most likely on Fridays.  I pulled apart a bookshelf, emptied its contents, and set up a shelf for his books and folders. I will keep him responsible for the discipline to know where the books are and where his papers are. This is a somewhat new thing, as I usually pull out what we are going to work on next.

Last week we started with Saxon 7/6. The DIVE CD will be kept in his trapper folder.  I am going to give him the student tests in the back and figure out what lesson to start on. It seems like a huge waste of time to do the insanely simple minded chapters in the beginning just to keep occupied.

Today we started Writing Strands 3. It went really well. Nate laughed at all the appropriate jokes that he read and was really into the text. He finished Day One, and so far, I can see us working this into each morning after AWANA T & T Book 2 and breakfast. I think I will look for the book Christian Kids Explore Biology by Stephanie Redmond. I like it so much more than the the A Reason for Science that we had been working on. 

Any tips and advice are greatly appreciated, any encouragement and support is also welcome!