Freshman Year Thoughts | Language Arts

Our selection for Language Arts for next year was a pretty simple one...this year we have absolutely loved everything about Oak Meadow's 8th grade English course that it just makes sense for us to continue on the OM path. It's very rigorous when it comes to the writing portion (which Zoey loves) and the books that were selected for the literature selections were amazing.

Resources we are thinking about and/or interested in for 9th grade language arts:

- The Hero's Journey Literature and Composition Coursebook (hoping to purchase the syllabus during Oak Meadow's online sale)

The following books I am planning to look for on Thrift Books or to check out from the library as they are needed. 

- The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer
- Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson
- The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank
- Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
- Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
- House of Light, by Mary Oliver

These will be purchased through Oak Meadow during their online sale...

- A Pocket Style Manual, by Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers 
- Write It Right: A Handbook for Student Writers (Oak Meadow Books)
- Two blank journals (one for each semester)

Freshman Year Thoughts | Art

Zoey is really excited about what we have planned for art next year. She took charge of this coursework selection herself and we've actually already picked up the necessary books (through Thrift Books) and have most of the actual art supplies on hand already from my years of collecting art stuff...helps that my dad is an artist and much of my stuff has come from him over the years.

Resources we are thinking about and/or interested in for 9th grade art:

- Oak Meadow's Drawing and Design Fine Arts Study
- Oak Meadow's Drawing and Design Syllabus (planning on picking this up during OM's sale)
- The Art of Seeing (I was able to pick up an older publication of this at Thrift Books for super cheap!)
- Art supplies needed for this course which we already own:

drawing pencils (any type, ebony pencils are excellent)
drawing paper, two sizes, notebook size and larger
watercolor paper or a textured paper
kneaded eraser
charcoal sticks or pencils
black, white, and gray construction paper
color pencils
soft pastels (any number of colors)
oil pastels (any number of colors)
painter's tape

Optional
watercolors 

If our budget allows, I also thought it would be fun for Zoey to participate in some of Jane Davenport's online workshops. It's an artist that she admires and it's something that she could do at her own pace. Perfect for homeschooling!

I'm so happy that Zoey gets to participate in figuring out what we will be working on when it comes to homeschooling. It's great for her to own the experience and she's already mentioned how excited she is about art "next year" more than once since we've decided. 

Homeschool Update - Two Months into 8th Grade

Wow, it's been awhile since we've updated the blog! We've been busy this school year and I have to say, we are in absolute LOVE with our choice of using Oak Meadow's 8th grade curriculum! I dare say, it's the perfect fit for us. We are using Oak Meadow for everything except math this year, (we are using, and still are enjoying Math-U-See for math). As a parent, I appreciate that all of the lessons are laid out clearly and directed to the student. Each Monday, Zoey and I will sit down and go through what the weekly lessons are to be in each subject and talk about the expectations, discuss any problem areas or questions, etc. Doing it this way, we both are able to foresee what subject may need more time or we are able to plan ahead for special activities or projects that require supplies, etc. She then gets started in on one main subject, (Civics/Social Studies, English/Literature, Physical Science or Health) along with her math. She does math every day and is able to work on her other, chosen, subject in great length the rest of the day until she feels satisfied that it's complete. If she needs more time or is getting burnt out on something, she can allow for more time on that subject at a different time or day. This schedule is working out amazingly well for both of us. She is able to really dig into one subject and get the most from it using this block style schedule. 

Her days generally look like this:

Monday: Math, English, Literature, Reading, Grammar, Dance/Pointe, practice guitar

Tuesday: Math, Civics, Vocab (from English the day prior), Guitar Lessons

Wednesday: Math, Physical Science, Physical Science labs/experiments, Health, practice guitar, Youth Group

Thursday: Math, Vocab (from English), any Reading or Writing assignments that she may need to finish up from English or Science, Ballet/Pointe, practice guitar

Friday: Math, anything left over that needs completing, Spanish (Duolingo), practice guitar

Here are some snapshots of what Science looked like today. She is currently learning about Newton's Laws of Motion and these were some hands on activities suggested by Oak Meadow. I love that OM offers different ways to reach different kind of learners in every single lesson. It means that things are really sticking with Zoey this year well after a particular lesson is through. 

I love what we are doing so much, so very thankful we came across Oak Meadow in our search last year. We hope to share updates more frequently from here on out!