7th Grade Home School Curriculum

Don’t hit the panic button. Your 7th grade home school curriculum needs can be met. If the prospect of teaching teenagers frightens you, take a deep breath and read on. I have successfully (definition: my teens have become productive members of society, they’re very well-adjusted, and we’re still friends) prepared two sons and a daughter for adolescence and kept my sanity.

Preparing for Adolescence

• Preparing for Adolescence: Caution Changes Ahead by Dr. James Dobson - This is a great book for parents of soon-to-be adolescents on how to survive the coming years of change. This guide includes open discussions with real teens. Every Christian parent facing the teen roller-coaster years needs this book!
• Parenting Today’s Adolescent: Helping Your Child Avoid the Traps of the Preteen and Teen Years by Dennis Rainey, et. al. - "Normally confident moms and dads grow weak-kneed when their children enter - gasp! — puberty," say the Raineys.

  The publisher explains: Barbara and Dennis Rainey, parents of six teenage or older children, map out the unfamiliar, demanding landscape of both pre-adolescence (ages 10-12), as well as the teen years that follow. "Preadolescence is when convictions are shaped; adolescence is when convictions are tested," they advise parents.

  In Parenting Today’s Adolescent the Raineys help children and parents build a satisfying relationship while forging a vision for a productive, God-honoring life—before, during, and after adolescence.

• So You Want to be a Teenager: Godly Advice for Preteens on Friends, Love, Sex, Faith and Other Life Issues by Dennis Rainey, et. al. - In this essential read for preteens, the Rainey children, Samuel and Rebecca Rainey add their perspective on such topics as friends, peer pressure, boundaries, dating, and sex. Short, concise chapters are filled with engaging illustrations and practical applications.

Praying for Your Teen

• Why not assure your teenager that you’re praying for him/her today? This pocket token and prayer is a wonderful reminder that they don’t have to go through adolescence alone. (the Teen Pocket Token is from Abbey Press, CJ affiliate)

Preparing the Curriculum

• Homeschooling: The Middle Years: Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the 8- to 12-Year-Old by Shari Henry - This is a very basic book. However, if you are beginning your home school adventure in the 7th grade, this book will get you started.
• Homeschooling: The Teen Years: Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the 13- to 18-Year Old by Cafi Cohen - It would be a good idea to purchase this book as well as the Middle Years book (mentioned above) for a more comprehensive look at your 7th grade home school curriculum, as well as options for this whole age group.
• Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool through High School by Rebecca Rupp - No matter what grade you start your home school journey on, this book will walk you through the steps to creating an individual curriculum designed especially for your child.
• The Big Book of Home Learning: Junior High through College, Latest Info. & Educational Products by Mary Pride - Very thorough look at the resources available to those teaching teens (pre and post).
• Christian Home Educators’ Curriculum Manual: Junior/Senior High by Cathy Duffy - This is a comprehensive review of the curriculum options available for the 7th grade home school curriculum plus this whole age group.

Helpful Links

Scope and Sequence (refers to what you need to teach at every grade level) sources:

• Core Knowledge
• A Beka

General 7th grade home school curriculum resources

• www.middleschool.net - This site has a very comprehensive home school section to help with your 7th grade home school curriculum.

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