Starting Year 8 Maths Books

Posted on August 14, 2023 by ofamily

This is the second time round that I am going to be doing Year 8 academics with one of our kids and there are lots of things that worked the first time around with my daughter that we will stick to but there are also some things that we need to change. One of the main reasons that I need to change some of our year 8 resources is so I can manage my time better and have more time for our IGCSE work. Luckily for me, my son is actually quite an independent worker and is quite capable with his academics so I know we can make a few changes and he will be totally fine. So one of the fist things that I know we are changing is the way we do our Year 8 Maths compared how we did it with my daughter.

For my son’s Year 8 Maths we are going to be using the Mastering Mathematics series book 2. I used this series for my daughter’s Year 9 Maths and was so impressed with it that I switched and used it for my son’s Year 7 (which is just completed) and am now going to use it for his Year 8. Honestly it is everything we need in 2 books (possibly 3 books if you are like me and enjoy having both of the practice books).

This series is split into 3 levels. So in theory Book 1 would be for Year 7, Book 2 for Year 8 and Book 3 for Year 9. Now within these 3 levels you get 3 different books. The main thick one is the student book, which contains all the explanations, worked examples and then questions for the kids to work through. No matter what you need to get this book (this is the main book).

There are also 2 practice books for each level. A practice book called Develop and Secure and a practice book called Extend. These contain extra practice questions (I want to stress there are no explanations in the practice books just questions for the kids to work through). You can choose if you want to use a practice book or not and you can choose which one suits your kids level. In the past I have actually gotten both practice books because with Maths there are sections which my kids naturally excel in and then we use the extend and there are sections that they need a bit more practice in and then we use the Secure and Develop. The decision on which practice book you get really depends on your knowledge of your own kids Maths level. (both of the photos below are from the Secure and Develop practice book)

Okay so contents wise what exactly does the Book 2 in this series cover? (The chapters in the student book and the practice book are identical – in other words the cover the exact same topics in the exact same order). Really it is everything they need to cover in their Year 8.

There are so many things that I like with this series but I want to start by stressing that all answers to all the questions are available (I get really frustrated when I get a workbook for the kids and there are no answers). To get the answers simply go onto the Hodder website and look up the Maths Book on the left hand side of the page there is a box which says quick links and inside that it says Answers. Click on the answers, it will take you to a page which allows you to download all the answers free of charge. All you need to do is download them and print them out and there you have it, all the answers for all the questions in the book.

Okay so what is it about the student book that I like. Everything, yip I like everything about this book. I like that they explain all the concepts and always include lots of worked examples. This means that the kids are able to work fairly independently – there are times when you need to help explain something but really for the most part, mine just get on and once they have read through the worked examples they normally know exactly what they need to do.

Then I like that the exercises are split into 3 different bands with each band getting more challenging. This means the kids can start with some easier examples and then work up.

I also like that they include Review exercises at the end of each chapter and then have progress review activities about every 2 or 3 chapters. (I am a big believer in practicing Maths and revising what we have already covered). I have found these Review exercises and the Progress review sections to be one of the best parts, really love that they have included these.

For our style of learning this series suits us. It allows my kids to work fairly independently and it gives me confidence in knowing that we have covered everything that we need to.

You can get mastering Mathematics directly from the Hodder website or from Amazon

Mastering Mathematics Book 2 (is the student book)

Practice Book 2 Develop and Secure

Practice Book 2 Extend

If you kids are at the KS3 level you may also find this series useful – KS3 maths catch-up book

Admin – I do include Affiliate links. If you follow an affiliate link and go on to purchase that product, I will be paid a very small commission, however your cost will remain the same. I only include affiliate links for products that we use and recommend.

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Year 7 Home education resources that worked for us

Posted on August 3, 2023 by ofamily

Every year I try and write posts where I show which books we are planning on using for our home education and then at the end of the academic year I try and write a summary post on the resources that really worked well for us. Obviously what works well for me and my kiddos is not going to be the solution for everyone but I know that it is really useful to read these type of posts when you are trying to decide, hopefully someone will find it handy.

So these are the Year 7 (UK based) resources that worked well for my son and myself.

Year 7 resources that we used in our home education and recommend

Maths. We have used the Mastering mathematics Book 1 this year and I loved it. I loved it because it just made Maths easy for me, I did not have to do lots of prep work or worry that we were covering everything, we just worked through all the chapters in the book and that way I knew we had done everything that we needed to do. The student book includes explanations, worked examples and then exercises (the exercises are split into 3 bands with the activities gradually getting harder). So really it is everything you need. We combined the Student book with the workbook. I have used this series with my daughter and I am now using it with my son. I really feel like it has taken a large amount of work off my shoulders (compared to when I used to search for all the Maths resources online). It is everything I need in a book and the explanations are spot on. For KS3 Maths I highly recommend this series.

Mastering Mathematics Book 1. KS3 Maths resource perfect for Year 7 home education

Science. With Science we used a combination of two very different resources. Every week my son watched and participated in the Theatre of Science Home ed lessons. We love these sessions. They are really well done – informative and interesting at the same time. Lara always includes a worksheet which we download and print out before the lesson and then my son just logs on and works for the roughly 45 minutes. Brilliant and well worth the small monthly amount that we pay (the payment is optional but I think it is worth it as I really want her to continue creating these lessons).

We also reused our Activate 1 Science books. He had already done some of these sections when his sister used them so we really dipped in and out and covered the sections that he had either missed or we felt he needed to redo. The Activate 1 range includes a Student book (which is the explanation) and comes with 2 workbooks (which have answers at the back). We used the Student book together with the workbook, so he reads a section and then does the corresponding page in the workbook (you can choose from a foundation or higher workbook). I want to mention that we have looked at a few different KS3 science ranges and the Activate range is the one that I really like – it is well laid out, explanations are good and the workbooks includes practice questions. It really ticks all the boxes for us.

For English we used quite a few different resources over the past year but there are 3 that really stick out for me. The Get It Right Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation book and the Get It Right Boost Your Vocabulary book. Firstly both of these books come with answers. And as I needed my son to do more independent work this year having books with answers really became important. We also really liked the format. My son’s least favourite subject is English. He reads a lot and enjoys reading, but when it comes to doing English activities, well he would much rather sit down and do his Maths, Science or History than English. So I needed resources that were not too drawn out, that got to the point, had some activities, but not too many or he would get bored. And these two books just seemed to be at that level for him. The explanations were concise and the activities where enough to make him practice without being too long winded.

Year 7 resources that we used in our home education and recommend

Then we also stuck with some of our Rollercoaster books. The Rollercoaster series are a set of books aimed at KS3 kids which are all brilliantly written (well we recommend all the ones that we have read so far) and they all come with lesson plans and few resources that you can choose to use if you want to. Really a helpful set of resources if you are a home educator.

Year 7 resources that we used in our home education and recommend

History. I feel like I keep talking about our History books but I really do love the KS3 History books written by Aaron Wilkes and this one Invasion, Plague and Murder is brilliant for year 7. They are well written and interesting and they are brilliant at helping the kids to structure longer written questions. I really love this aspect about the books, they way they set out step-by-step how you should tackle written questions. Just brilliant. Also I want to stress content wise I feel like they hit the right balance. I have used other History books for this age range and I felt like those were too brief and the questions they included were too basic.

Now these are NOT all of the books that we used in my son’s Year 7. In fact we used a whole lot more but these are the ones that really worked well for both my son and myself. These are the books that I can confidently recommend.

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Oaka Books – Coastal Processes and Landforms Pack

Posted on July 20, 2023 by ofamily

Over this past year I have not been writing as many posts about the Oaka Books Topic Packs as I used too. And it is not because we have stopped using them, it is because I am using a lot of the packs that I used with my oldest with my youngest, so I have already written posts about the packs. But even using them a second time around I am still loving them. They are still one of my “go to” resources for wrapping up and revising a topic. And the games are still major winners with my kids and myself (really wish we had resources like this when I was a kid). But as luck would have it, I actually just used a topic pack with my son that I never wrote a post on so finally I have a good excuse to talk about the Topic Packs again. The Coastal Processes and Landforms KS3 Geography pack.

The Coastal Processes and Landform Topic Pack includes a Topic Booklet (your notes), Write Your Own Notes booklet (where the kids fill in information) and an Active learning game (a mini board game).

The format of the topic booklets is what first attracted us to these topic packs. The pages are split up into boxes of information – all with a diagrams and key facts. It makes it very easy to digest the information and to remember the facts.

And there are never more than 4 blocks on each page so the pages are never crowded (I hate educational resources where they try and crowd too much onto a page).

Then the Write Your own Notes booklet is basically a copy of the Notes booklet but they have left key words and phrases out so that the kids have to recall the information themselves and insert the key words and phrases into the gaps.

I have found this format is really good for kids who are not that keen on making their own notes. And the fact that they do have to recall the information and think a bit about what they just read really does help to ensure they remember the facts. If you are using these packs for the first time please do not ignore the Write Your Own Booklets, I have found this very straight forward step of filling this booklet in helps a great deal.

And finally the game – we love these games. It is always a great way to check what the kids have understood and what we may need to possibly go back over again. The games are always my kids favourite part.

So even though I have not been writing as many posts about the Oaka Books Topic Packs as I used to they are still being used in our house and they are still one of my favourite resources for KS3.

Oh and in case you missed an earlier post we have also been using some of the GCSE packs – which we also love.

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My First Book of Microbes

Posted on July 13, 2023 by ofamily

My kids have always found Biology fascinating but I must admit I never enjoyed Biology, I was more of a Physics and Chemistry person. As a result I have always been on the lookout for good quality, engaging and accessible Biology books but also books that do not take a topic and dumb it down. My first book of Microbes, is one of these books, it takes a complex and confusing topic and explains it in a clear and concise way using lots of engaging illustrations and diagrams.

I must admit that when I used to think of Microbes I never thought it would cover such a wide range of items. So I was surprised at how much has been included in this book – from basic cell structure, to bacteria, viruses, algae, fungi, phages, infection, antibiotics, transmission, vaccines and the great epidemics in history. Really a lot has been included.

The “sub-topics” tend to be laid out over a double page. And they keep the written words to short paragraphs, with lots of diagrams and illustrations on the double page so you never turn a page and feel like you are being overwhelmed with a huge mountain of information.

For kids who are visual learners this book is brilliant, the diagrams and first rate, in fact one of the comments we had was “I wish we could turn all of these diagrams into a large poster”.

But I must admit the wording is just as well thought out. They really have explained these concepts in a concise and clear manner. Even thought the book is aimed at kids in the 8+ age range I will totally admit that I enjoyed reading it and I have suggested that both of my older kids read it as I know it will reinforce concepts that they have covered (are busy covering in Biology).

Oh and I also enjoyed the fact that where possible they included a bit of “fun”, they spoke about our defenses like a castle and made a few of the microbes look super cute.

Personally I think this is a great little book that does a super job explaining some rather complex Biology.

You can get a copy of this book directly from Amazon – My First book of Microbes. I have not spotted it at any bookstores.

Admin – I do include Affiliate links. If you follow an affiliate link and go on to purchase that product, I will be paid a very small commission, however your cost will remain the same. I only include affiliate links for products that we use and recommend.

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Some thoughts on home educating in primary years

Posted on July 6, 2023 by ofamily

I have been thinking about this quite a bit lately and there are a few words I wish someone had told me when we were new to our journey. I really don’t mean this to sound preachy and I totally agree that everyone should do it differently (home education is all about what suits your kids and your family) but I think some people may need to read this.

With Maths please do not worry about taking it slow. And I really mean this. If your kiddo is struggling with a Maths concept which is suppose to be “taught” in the current year but they just can not get it. Don’t worry. Give them a break let them focus on some other Maths and come back to it in 6 months or 12 months. With Maths it is more important that they understand the Maths and it is NOT important in what order you do it or what year they do it. Rather take the Maths slow and let them really grasp the basics. In later years the fact that they understand the concepts will help them a great deal.

Read, read and then read some more. And I don’t mean stress about their reading level. What I mean is expose them to stories, you read to them, they sit with you and follow as you read, let them listen to audio stories. Just fill your home with stories. You can never go wrong by reading too many good books. And please don’t fall into that trap of thinking they are too old for you to read to them. Listening to a good book together is a joy, no matter what your kids ages are.

Don’t stress about handwriting when they are little. Some kids are just going to develop differently and for some kids handwriting comes much later, that is okay (in fact this applies to reading as well, so if your kids only read confidently later, it is okay). If they are struggling with handwriting rather spend some time doing fun fine motor activities and lots of art with them, their hands may just need a bit of extra time to develop and strengthen.

Creative Writing. When your kids are writing please don’t stress about what they are writing. If they want to make shopping lists for you, create animal fact pages, if they want to just copy out a story, whatever form of writing they are doing is good. Don’t fall into that trap of thinking they have to be writing about x or y or writing in a certain format. Just enjoy the act that they are writing and encourage them to write. My kids wrote all kinds of things (most of which I am sure would never have been accepted as part of the school curriculum) but I never worried about that I focused on the fact that they wanted to write and enjoyed writing and let them just go for it. Now I have a teen you spends ages creating her own stories and another one who also still gets out a book to create some wonderful world that blows my mind. Writing is good, it does not have to fit into some box that someone decided.

Don’t be scared of not following the set curriculum for the year you kids are in. One of the best things we did was letting our kids deep dive into a topic – we went Viking crazy for over 6 months – it took all kinds of forms and the kids learnt an incredible amount. We also did a lot more world history than what the schools would have done, but we loved it and my kids gained a better appreciation of other countries. We spent ages and I mean ages on dinosaurs and animals, but that extended into our English and Maths. If your kids find a topic interesting they will naturally pay more attention and you will be amazed at how much more they learn and how that learning extends into different areas.

Don’t forget about “life skills”. It is really easy to get caught up in ticking all the boxes that you think you need to cover (ie academics) and then forgetting about every day skills. But here is the thing your kids are at home with you so make the most of it. Teach them about basic home skills – they can make their beds, fold laundry, help with the cooking and don’t forget to bake. Baking together is such a fun activity, and it develops Maths skills (fractions, doubling, halving are all a part of baking), plus after you have baked something everyone gets to eat a tasty treat. They can be involved in menu planning, helping you do a shop and seeing if they can stick to your budget. Let them be involved in the home stuff, you will be amazed at how much they learn by just helping you.

And when everyone is feeling that they have had enough (and I mean the home education parent as well), take a break, go for a walk, go and do something fun, get out the house.

Everyone kid and every family is different, so what works for one family is not going to work for you but that is the beauty of home education, don’t be scared to just be you and do what works for you and your kid.

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