Middle school is the band everybody skips, and it is where most families get scared. Pre-algebra shows up, writing gets graded on argument instead of neatness, and your child stops wanting to be read to. Almost every homeschool catalog thins out right here. This one does not.
How to use it: one math book, ninety minutes of real work a day, and reading that respects them. A twelve-year-old who reads The Hunger Games in two days is telling you exactly what school should look like this year. Give them the series, then give them the books it was built from, and the literature takes care of itself.
The whole year on one shelf: 6th, 7th, 8th. For the reader: The Series Reader and The Hunger Games Shelf.
Why it works: Brian's Hunt makes the wounded dog's condition, signs of a dangerous animal, and Brian's knowledge of the Canadian woods drive the search for his Cree friends. Reading the animals and landscape correctly is how Brian decides where to go and what danger he faces.
Why it works: Northwind sends the orphan Leif away from a plague-struck fish camp in a cedar canoe along a wild, fjord-cut northern coast. Tides, winds, cold, disease, food, and encounters with sea life continually determine where he can travel and whether he survives.
Why it works: Brian's Winter changes the ending of Hatchet so that Brian must survive the Canadian woods as summer gives way to his most dangerous season. Winter conditions are the antagonist, making his reading of cold, shelter, food, and the changing landscape essential to every choice.
