Reflecting on 2nd, 5th, and 7th Grades in our Charlotte Mason homeschool {a year late!}
Nell asked me if I'd put our 2025-2026 school book pictures on this blog, and in sitting down to do that, I realized this long-neglected blog never saw a homeschool 2024-2025 post! So, here I attempt to remedy that in order that my apparently very sequential brain can proceed to move forward to the more recent past.
Fall of 2025 saw our twice-weekly co-op entering its second year, with eight families participating. It continued to enrich the girls' lives both socially and academically -- as well as my own.
Nell, Grade 7
Math: Nell worked in the Life of Fred series for 7th grade, doing Fractions and then Decimals and Percentages. We also spent a substantial amount of time with Caleb Gattegno’s first and second volumes of mathematics for hands-on work with manipulatives and a deeper understanding of, and fluency with, numbers. This was a math book I picked up to do with Molly (2nd grade), but we often ended up doing it as a family because I quickly saw the benefit for my older children, as well. There were also weekly math games at co-op, drawing from books by Denise Gaskins as well as a variety of math card games and board games; she particularly enjoys the card game “Proof” and got quite good at it.
Writing: Nell continues to show a love of writing both prose and poetry. 7th grade brought an increased amount of writing, adding to her frequent written narrations more specific writing projects including persuasive essays and other creative writing assignments. She also wrote several original poems, both as school assignments and for personal enjoyment in her free time.
Literature: A few of Nell’s favorite literary works from the past year include My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Emma by Jane Austen, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. As a family, our summer travels in 2025 took us to Hannibal, MO, to visit Mark Twain’s boyhood home -- a particularly meaningful visit after enjoying some of his writings recently.
Nell also read Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and The Tempest by Shakespeare. This is a subject we do at co-op -- I highly recommend doing subjects like this in community whenever possible!
Social Studies/History: In our Charlotte Mason homeschool, my children in upper grades are usually studying several "streams" of history at any given time.
We studied Ancient Rome from the time of its founding through the reign and death of Nero, using H.A. Guerber’s The Story of the Romans. Topics covered included Roman mythology, the early seven kings of Rome, the Roman social classes and governance, various Roman war campaigns, gladiators and other events in the Colosseum and Circus Maximus, the revolt of the Roman slaves, Julius Caesar, the first and second Triumvirates, Antony and Cleopatra, Caesar Augustus, Nero, and the persecution of Christians.
Simultaneously, in US History, we covered the years from 1800-1900, using books including A School History of the United States by Stephenson, The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic by Guerber, Makers of the Americas by Marion Lansing, and American History Stories by Mara Pratt. First-person narratives and primary source documents were read including Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Charles Carleton Coffin’s Eyewitness to Gettysburg, and A Discourse Occasioned by the Death of Lincoln by Andrew Stone. A big focus was, of course, the abolitionist movement and the Civil War, but there was also The War of 1812, Westward expansion, and then Reconstruction, the Transcontinental Railway, and more, including Little Bighorn (a site we also visited last summer at the culmination of our school year).
Geography: Co-op brought weekly map drills for both world and U.S. geography. We studied world geography using Halliburton’s delightful Book of Marvels, and delved into U.S. geography with books including The 50 States by Gabrielle Balkan and National Parks of the U.S.A. by Kate Tiber, culminating in the summer cross-country family road trip where we traveled through NY, PA, OH, MI, IN, IL, IA, MN, SD, MT, WY, ID, NV, CA, UT, AZ, NM, CO, KS, MO, and WV. We enjoyed the beauty of National Parks including Yellowstone, Zion, and others!
Plutarch: Nell worked through two of Plutarch’s Lives in 7th grade: Alcibiades and Coriolanus.
Science: Nell’s 7th grade science studies were broad, including:
- One term of Earth Science/Geology (Aerial Geology, Mary C. Morton). She concluded the term with a written paper and oral class presentation on the geology of the region of Cape Cod, MA.
- One term of Astronomy (The Planets, Dava Sobel), which she really enjoyed -- not surprisingly, since Sobel is a writer first who happens to write on scientific topics, and Nell is always ready to appreciate the perfect turns of phrases. Sobel had plenty to offer her in this regard!
- One term of Botany (First Studies of Plant Life, George Francis Atkinson), which she really enjoyed and has talked about often since. She propagated plants by taking cuttings from shrubs and tending to them, grew a variety of plants from seed, watched seeds germinate and grow in a glass jar for easy observation, dissected seeds and labeled their parts, and drew numerous sketches tracking the growth of her various plants and labeling their parts. She observed leaves and plant stalks under a microscope, and much more -- a very enjoyable term for her.
Marie, Grade 5
Math: Marie developed solid skills in multiplication and division. She worked primarily in the Life of Fred series, finishing Ice Cream and Jelly Beans. We also utilized Making Friends with Numbers by Edric Cane, and Caleb Gattegno’s first and second volumes of mathematics as mentioned above, and like Nell, she did math games at co-op.
Writing: Ree enjoyed continuing her work on cursive as well as calligraphy / hand-lettering. She took down brief dictation passages as a regular part of her school work and her spelling and grammar (which haven't come easily) improved noticeably.
Literature: A few of Marie’s favorite books from the past year include My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan, and The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Bradley. With Nell, at co-op she read Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and The Tempest by Shakespeare.
Marie also enjoys poetry by Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein, and read poetry by Wordsworth, Longfellow, and Whittier. We visited the Whittier homestead on a field trip, and Marie memorized poetry including The Lady of Shallot by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Social Studies/History: Since we covered two streams of history in our co-op, and Marie and Nell were in a combined history class at co-op, Marie's history studies ran very much parallel to Nell's as above, although on our days at home they read different biographies.
Geography: This was also largely covered in classes she shared with Nell, and mirror what's written above!
Plutarch: Marie read selections from Plutarch’s Lives for Boys and Girls by Weston, including Aristides, Themistocles, Pelopidas, and Timoleon. She observed artwork and other illustrations featuring the Ancient Greek world, and wrote a narration on the life of Pelopidas.
Science: Marie’s science studies were broad, including:
- One term of Sound Waves (The First Book of Sound: A Basic Guide to the Science of Acoustics by Knight), covering topics such as resonant frequency, how the ear receives sound, sound wave shapes and models, how sound travels through various materials, sound vibrations, the Doppler effect, and echolocation.
- One term of Earth Science (First Book of the Earth by Sevrey), covering topics including composition of the earth, rock families, land forms, crystals and minerals, earthquakes, volcanoes, geysers, tectonic plates, the water cycle, and erosion.
- One term of Chemistry (Matter, Molecules, and Atoms by Parker), including topics like how to categorize materials, states of matter, solubility, molecular theory, surface tension, physical and chemical changes, history of chemistry / alchemy, elements, compounds, mixtures, and acids and bases.
Additionally, we read selected chapters from The Storybook of Science (Fabre), A Child’s Book of Nature (Hooker), and more.
Molly, Grade 2
Math: Molly enjoys math! We continued to utilize Caleb Gattegno’s methodology for her second grade year, working with Cuisenaire rods. Molly finished the first volume (Qualitative Arithmetic - the Study of Numbers from 1 to 20) and began the second textbook. Molly was able to think about relatively complex questions such as “What number plus 5/6 of 12 is equal to 2 times 5?” I was, frankly, impressed with how the method enabled her to think about numbers. Like her sisters, she participated in and enjoyed math games weekly at co-op, too.
Phonics/Reading/Literature: Molly read above grade level, enjoying books including Turn Homeward, Hannalee, The Happy Orpheline, A Wonder Book (Hawthorne), My Side of the Mountain, Farmer Boy, Understood Betsy, and a variety of other books, including They Were Brave and Bold, a collection of American tall tales. She was able to read a substantial amount of her own school material as needed, which was very helpful to this busy homeschooling + working mom of five! At co-op, she heard fairytales by Hans Christian Andersen (The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea, The Nightingale, The Snow Queen), The Brothers Grimm (The White Snake, Jorinda and Joringel, The Valiant Little Taylor, The Queen Bee, The Goose Girl), and John Ruskin (King of the Golden River).
Social Studies/History: In studying U.S. History from 1800-1900, Molly heard selections from Land of the Free by Enid Meadowcroft, and Meet the American Indians from the Step Up series. We also read selections from James Baldwin’s 50 Famous Stories and H.E. Marshall’s An Island Story, as well as a biography of Thomas Jefferson from the Step Up series, a story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from the same series, Annie Oakley from the Childhood of Famous Americans series, and Oft Told Stories of Lincoln by Mollie C. Winchester (a sweet vintage book I had in my collection).
Geography: Molly studied regional U.S. geography using Tree in the Trail by Holling C. Holling, The Buffalo Are Back by George, and Along the Santa Fe Trail by Mullin. She also read Little Folk in Modern Lands by Laurence, covering the countries of Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Canada, and Japan. At co-op, Molly participated in weekly map drills for both U.S. and world maps. She also engaged in mapmaking activities drawn from Mapmaking with Children by David Sobel, including drawing maps of her room, her neighborhood, her town, and her state. She also mapped storybooks including Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh by Robert Burleigh, mapping Lindbergh’s journey across the Atlantic.
Science: Molly’s co-op science class covered topics including:
- Cultivated crops: Vegetables by Barbara Beck, The Fruits We Eat by Gail Gibbons, The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons; planted basil and tracked sprouting and growth across a term, categorized various produce as fruits or vegetables, cut open and examined differing pumpkins and gourds to note similarities and differences, discussed plant parts, and which fruits or vegetables come from those parts (e.g. tubers, roots, bulbs, seeds, fruit, stems, leaves, etc.).
- Weather: The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola, Weather by Seymour Simon, Lightning by Seymour Simon, Storms by Seymour Simon, Weather Words and What They Mean by Gail Gibbons, The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassino. The class created a model atmosphere with all seven layers in a jar, attempted to look at individual snowflakes with a microscope, discussed symmetry in snowflake shapes, discussed types of clouds and created cloud diagrams with cotton balls.
- Insects: Hexapod Stories by Edith Patch; focused studies on bumblebees, Mourning Cloak butterflies, dragonflies, and fireflies through reading chapters on those insects and making models of bees and fireflies.
Further natural history studies included selections from Through Four Seasons by Edith Patch, First Lessons in Nature Study by Edith Patch, Bird Stories by Edith Patch, All Creation Waits by Gayle Boss, The Stay-at-Home Birds by Mae Norton Morris, accompanied by nature journaling of local and migratory birds.
Together
Art: In our co-op, all three school-aged girls studied and engaged with art by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Mary Cassatt, and John Constable. They also enjoyed art classes with our amazing co-op art teacher Kerrie, continuing to develop skills in drawing and painting, and did a term of clay modeling as well. They also practiced fiber arts including knitting and crocheting, as well as other handicrafts including paper quilling, needle felting, and embroidery. And all our kids keep a nature journal of sketches and watercolors.
Music: By the end of 7th grade, Nell was working on von Weber’s Country Dance on violin. She performed the lively third movement of Seitz’s Concerto No. 1, which helped develop her shifting skills and accuracy with harmonics. She practices three-octave scales as well as double-stops. Her interest in studying the piano in a more formal method grew, and she learned the first movement of Kuhlau’s first piano sonata — quite a leap from the John Thompson books she had been playing from in our very informal and haphazard piano "lessons" before! She also continued participation in church choir three times weekly, singing works in multiple languages including German and Latin including major works of the English choral repertoire. For the second year in a row, Nell was selected as soprano soloist for Allegri’s Miserere Mei, Deus, as well as several other pieces.
Marie continued to learn the violin, performing Spanish Dance by Moszcowski and beginning Suzuki Violin Volume 3. Marie sang in the church choir with Nell, and was also selected as soloist for a variety of pieces over the year.
Molly began to learn the first of the Bach Minuets in Suzuki Violin School Volume 1, and also sang in the church children’s choir.
In our co-op's Composer Study class, which I teach, we studied Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Tchaikovsky, utilizing books including Story-Lives of Master Musicians by Harriette Moore Brower and Famous Composers for Young People by Gladys Burch and John Wolcott, and listening to many works by each of these composers.
All three big girls enjoy singing folk songs, sometimes with Nell strumming the ukulele, and they are all able to make up delightful vocal harmonies. They also sang folk songs and learned folk dances through our co-op.
Poetry: All the girls enjoyed poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein for fun, and we read poetry by Wordsworth, Longfellow, and Whittier, culminating in a visit to the Whittier homestead on a field trip. Nell memorized poetry including Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, which quickly became a particular favorite. (Her little sister Sylvie would beg at bedtime, "tell me snicker-snack! say snicker-snack to me!") She also took a scansion class all year at co-op, learning about poetic feet and meters. Marie memorized The Lady of Shallot by Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Molly memorized How many seconds in a minute? by Ronsetti, The Snowflake by de la Mare, Spring Morning by Milne, and several Psalms.
Physical Education: Nell and Ree continued their weekly ballet classes. All three big girls continued to learn Swedish Drill through co-op, participated in frequent games of four-square, and enjoyed lots of time on our backyard trampoline. Molly learned a lot of jump-rope rhymes, and all the girls spent a lot of time outdoors on bikes and scooters whenever the weather was nice!
It was a busy year for all of us, and with a four-year-old and a toddler along for the ride, too! Amidst all the "real" school mentioned above was plenty of the even more important stuff -- we watched baby birds grow in a nest on our back porch, leaped in the waves, Sylvie learned to ride a two-wheeler, we adventured and tried to take on the world in a variety of ways, and we attempted to hone investigative skills from the earliest of years - or something like that. And a million other things from the sublime to the mundane! Of course, our cross-country road trip that culminated that school year was a highlight, which really deserves a blog post of its own (but will likely never get it unless I find myself with more free time than I've had in a while!).
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