HomeschoolHarvest wrote:So, he will be doing everything the youngers do in science, but not their experiments. AND the Apologia physical science along with it.
Yes, his Apologia is his science credit.
His ECC "science" is part of his ECC geography credit (i.e. "social studies"). So for instance on the sample grid, Tuesday and Thursday just have students preparing and playing the geography game (plus book basket time) for "geography." That is enough social studies through 6th grade, and those kids will learn a lot. But the 7-8th graders will do that and need a bit more. So they will also be included in reading about rainforests and rainforest plants on that day as part of their "geography" credit (meanwhile for the youngers it is their science credit, and they will be taking it further with an experiment on Tuesday and growing a plant or terrarium on Thursday).
HomeschoolHarvest wrote:So, for instance, on the sample under language arts it says "copy memory verse, dictation of memory verse, writing strands." He would do that but the English (ILL?) and Reading (is this book basket?) are for the youngers. English on the sample grid is blank, except for "letter," so I'm not sure what would be included in that. For reading my 8th grader would be doing "Bruchko." Did I understand this right?
On the "language arts" row:
Yes, your 8th grader would do the Bible verse work for Bible. And he'd do the writing strands on that row for the writing part of his "language arts."
So, everyone would do everything on that row, I just pointed it out so you could see how the different credits fill out for an older student.
And yes, English and Reading rows on page 1 grid are for 2nd-6th grades.
- English is PLL/ILL or whatever you choose for filling in those details on punctuation, poetry, etc., that aren't included elsewhere. Each child needs language arts at his own level, so it isn't filled in, but there is definite guidance in the beginning of the manual if you choose to use the MFW recommendations. 7-8th graders will be doing the grammar and literature studies over on their grid.
- Reading is not book basket. You'll see book basket connected to the geography section, and it's a part of learning about geography in many ways (cultures, fairy tales, recipes, history, etc). It doesn't require finishing the books or any particular books, just exposure and drawing interest.
- "Reading" for 2nd-6th graders means students should spend about 30 minutes a day, or a chapter a day, just reading at their reading level. Some folks really like to choose these books according to the topics of geography (using the ECC book basket list in the back for reading as well as book basket), and others like to use the extra list of "classics" in the back of the manual, or other books on your bookshelves.
- "Reading" for 7-8th graders is over on their grid, reading some more advanced biographies and some books that will be studied as literature (the lit guides and grammar are the "English" portion of their day).
HomeschoolHarvest wrote:Basically the 8th grader does everything the littles do (except his own language arts and math) AND all the supplements. Is that right? Sorry, it helps to talk this out. I'm sure when I get all the materials and look it over, it will all make sense. And if not, I'll be back with questions.
Yes, the 8th grader gets to still participate in the family studies. However, my 8th grader didn't spend as much time on some things as he did in 3rd, so the togetherness might vary a tiny bit. For example, ds loved the little songs sung by native children in 3rd grade and sang them often

In 8th grade, he was interested in listening to them once, but that was about it, no singing

Your 8th grader might decline to do some of the crafty art this year (other years, the art is not so crafty, but in ECC it is related to the cultures you study), and spend more time on his mapping than the youngers.
I do think it's okay to let an 8th grader move on to his own assignments in some instances, but I would NOT skip ALL of the hands-on, since we all benefit from learning things in different ways -- maybe you will require him to lead the geography game. You might have him help with cooking local recipes, in order to better get a "flavor" LOL for the unique cultures, and maybe everyone will dress up in a sari & dhoti when you are in India, because what better way to really understand that native clothing is not the same in all Asian countries?! With a larger family like yours, maybe the 8th grader could "present" his little country summaries to all the children when they are reading the "fascinating facts" from the Trip Around the World books? Well, I just made that up now
HomeschoolHarvest wrote:I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself because I'm so excited to plan and get started. I'm hoping to order some things this month.
I'm hoping this just helps you absorb things and doesn't overwhelm! I always need a few weeks to just absorb the coming year into my pores. It seems like a lot of subjects, and a lot of ages, but Marie really does make it all come together successfully.
Julie