Curriculum Picks - Revised Again

A lifetime ago (in mid-April) I posted our curriculum pics for 8th grade and 11th grade for the 2018-2019 academic year.    Our course lists were tightly tied to our co-op plans and schedule, and included classes that neither me or the kids were happy with, but we were doing that whole bend over backwards thing to make co-op work for everyone else.

Then it happened, one of our dedicated families got a job transfer out of state and the group had to back up and punt.   I lined up a new family and new classes,  revamped the schedule and bought curriculum based on the new offerings (still not what worked for us, but I told the kids we'd just have to make it work this year).

Two weeks before I left for Haiti, my new co-op family contacted me to say they were enrolling in private school and wouldn't be homeschooling or attending co-op in the fall.  This left us with only 2 middle schoolers (on very opposite ends of academics), and four high school students.  Try as I may, I just couldn't pull another family out of thin air to made the middle school more bigger, so we lost the other middle school student and two high school aged siblings.   This left us with only three total students, two of whom are mine.   At this point, I pulled the plug on co-op for the fall and decided to try to do something monthly with the group to keep the relationships strong.

So....after all of that, I've have to sell lots of new curriculum that we'd bought, take a financial loss on most of it and just chalk it up to "this is why I hate co-ops", ahem.    The good news is that I've been able to actually pick the classes that we wanted and both the girls and I are thrilled about that, so here's what we are doing:

8th Grade - Lindsey

Math -   Lindsey will be doing Algebra 1 this year.   I'm telling you, finding a higher math that works for us and is affordable has been my biggest struggle with high school.   This year she'll be using A Fresh Approach Algebra I.  1 high school credit

Foreign Language -   Even though she has three years of Latin under her belt, we'll be adding Spanish this year using LifePac Spanish I.    Olivia will also be taking this course along side her sister.   1 high school credit

Science - We will be using God's Design for Science - Weather and Water and also reading through the Apologia Anatomy & Physiology.   Both of these books were bought to accommodate the ever changing co-op class list and since I have both, we'll just do them even though they really have no correlation to anything else we're doing this year.


Spelling -  We're going with what we've used in the past, Christian Liberty Press 8th grade spelling.   This is the last year in this series, and focuses on vocabulary and word origins as much as spelling.

Language Arts - Learning Language Arts Through Literature - Gray Book although, we will be using the older version (since I already have it on hand), and because the reading list of the old one includes the book Across Five Aprils, which is one of my all time favorites.

History - Lindsey will be studying U.S. history through the end of the Civil War using a out of print work text I found at a thrift store...yes really.   We'll also be adding a timeline to her studies.

11th Grade - Olivia

Foreign Language -   Even though she has three years of Latin under her belt, we'll be adding Spanish this year using LifePac Spanish I.    Lindsey will also be taking this course along side her sister.   1 Credit

Geometry - We'll be sticking with what works, so this year's pick will be A Fresh Approach Geometry.  While math may never be Olivia's strongest subject, she really liked the way the Algebra II was done and wants to continue. 1 Credit

Art:   Olivia has loved her art class this year and wishes to continue using the same program.   She'll get to explore the world of color as she works through Artistic Pursuits: High School Book Two - Color and Composition.  1 Credit

World History - We'll be using Abeka World History and Cultures .  I had already bought all of the items for co-op for this class, so we decided to keep it since Olivia needed a world history credit, and since I can't afford to lose that much money at this point.   1 Credit

World Literature- We'll be using Abeka World History.   Again, this is one I'd bought for co-op, but it will work for us and that whole can't not use it after we paid for it comes into play.  I'll be adding some writing assignments as well.   1 Credit

Grammar:  We will be killing two birds with one stone here.  Olivia will be working through Barron's SAT and ACT Grammar Workbook both to prepare for the upcoming tests, and to strengthen her understanding of grammar.

Science -  Veterinary Science - Preparatory Training through Texas A&M.   This is something we'd had planned for several years and had to keep kicking it out to make the co-op thing work for everyone.   I've finally been able to work it back in and we're all super happy about it.   1 Credit

There you have it, the final revision for the 2018-2019 academic year!