Homeschooling Middle School: Curriculum Choices for Grade 8
Inside: Are you homeschooling middle school? Many ask what we are using for our Grade 8 curriculum. Sharing our homeschool picks for the year!
I am so excited!! Choosing, planning, and researching a curriculum is one of my favorite parts of homeschooling. I seriously get so excited to buy school supplies, books, and more!
Today I thought I would share with you “THE PLAN,” also known as curriculum choices for our grade 8 homeschool year!
Disclosure: I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
I am calling it “The Plan” as this is what we hope to go with, however, sometimes the curriculum we pick doesn’t always work for us. Or we change direction mid-year to follow a new interest.
That is the freedom of homeschooling your child. You can change things around to figure out what is working and what isn’t.
After sending in our Year-End Reports, according to the Law I need to send in a list of curriculum/subjects we plan on studying the next year. I didn’t want to share that with you until we received our approval.
I will be breaking this into two posts, one for my daughter who is entering grade 8 this year and one for my son who is entering grade 9.
How We Choose Our Curriculum:
When choosing the curriculum for my daughter, there are 3 basic steps I take.
Step One: Review Your Last Year’s Homeschool Choices
The first thing I do is review with her what we did last year. We talk about what she liked and what she didn’t.
This is key because it helps me get a great idea of how she is learning and how to improve our homeschool to fit her unique learning style, interests, and needs.
She finished grade 7 like a pro but there were a few things that didn’t work for her.
TIP: When doing a review with your children it is key to ask open-ended questions over closed. The more information you can get the better decisions you’ll be able to make.
Step 2: Research What Is Required
Next, I check to see what is required if anything by law. I use the Department Of Education Website to print off the reporting forms and see if anything has changed.
This is important as many provinces and states have their own requirements. Make sure you meet them!
Websites for more information are:
For information about other countries, please contact your local department of education.
Step 3: Research Homeschool Curriculums
Now for the fun part! Gather a list of ideas.
I start with The Well Trained Mind to see what homeschooling programs and resources I might want to include. I love the lists in this book!
That being said, I do not follow it to the letter or even close. I love the ideas then take it and make it work for us. I highly recommend you do the same for your family, your child, and your schedule.
Then she agrees to our list, she will spend time testing them out before we send in our “Homeschooling Middle School Plan” for approval.
This plan is subject to plan but we don’t need permission to change it up mid-year. After all, the best part of homeschooling is being able to tailor your homeschool to your child’s needs.
If something ends up not working, we will switch gears as needed.
Curriculum Choices Grade 8:
Here we go!! Below you will find our final choices and what was submitted.
Note: The curriculum is broken down by subjects to fit our homeschooling and learning style. You can read why our homeschool looks like school at home for more information.
Language Arts (English)
We are using English 8 from Easy Peasy Homeschool.
One of the things I love about Easy Peasy English 8 is that it touches on all the different mini-subjects such as grammar, reading comprehension, and writing.
Reading List For English 8:
This program includes books to read. You do not have to purchase them. As E-books do not work for every child, I am including the list below.
Reading List:
- Grammar Land, Nesbit;
- Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan;
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Verne
- The Tempest, Shakespeare
- The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde
- The Gift of the Magi, O’Henry
- The Ransom of Red Chief, O’Henry
- The Cask of Amontillado, Poe
- The Necklace, Maupassant
UPDATE: They now have a new system where you can log in and get your assignments. I have not used this but I hear it is great. Try it out for your homeschool!
Homeschool Spelling:
Spelling is not included in Easy Peasy English 8. We are using Spelling Workout F.
SPELLING WORKOUT HOMESCHOOL BUNDLE LEVEL E COPYRIGHT 2002
Spelling Workout Teacher’s Edition Level ESpelling Workout: Level E
We love using this workbook for spelling. What is great about it as the list of words is written in cursive writing, I feel this is really important for the children to be able to read cursive and write it as well. It is a dying skill.
How I Use Spelling Workout:
I didn’t want to add “one more thing” to our homeschool. At the same time, spelling is a needed skill.
When you begin a new lesson, it starts with a story. Next, you get a list of spelling words with a tip for grammar at the top. Lastly, there are little boxes or activities using the list words.
To prevent overwhelm and keep it fun we read the story and the list on day one. Then they need to do one box a day. It takes around a week or so to do a lesson.
Every so many
As a working mom, this spelling program works great for our family, it only takes a few minutes to complete, completely independent (unless they don’t understand something), has a built-in dictionary and it takes a few minutes to check each day.
We will be working on using audiobooks along with corresponding Notebooking Pages. I plan on trying this again as it was an utter fail last time.
As for Reading List, you can find it below along with the books listed in her English 8.
Math:
We are using Easy Peasy Middle School Math Step 2 and Step 3.
She started Step 2 last year and will be continuing on with it this year. I know it can be confusing when a program isn’t named, “Geometry” etc.
This level is like general math in that it covers developing their skills in counting, number comparison, geometry, money, time, measurement, fractions and graphing. She will also practice her skills using worksheets and online games, quizzes, and activities.
UPDATED (2019) Easy Peasy has updated this math course and added printed workbooks you can purchase for learning offline. Both the Workbook and Parent’s Guide can be purchased on Amazon.
EP Math 6/7 Workbook: Part of the Easy Peasy All-in-One HomeschoolEP Math 6/7 Parent’s Guide: Part of the Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool
You can create an account or you can skip it and just bookmark the page. We plan on doing a “day” a day. The course is designed for 180 days however I encourage my kids to work at their own pace. If we get stuck we take more time.
Science
We are diving into Chemistry/Physics this year from Easy Peasy.
Oh, the excitement on this one. My charming daughter has been wanting to study Chemistry for years.
This course has tons of hands-on experiments and it looks like it uses basic items you would find around your house. I am looking forward to doing this with the children on my days off.
In this course, we will be using level 5-8! You can now purchase the printable worksheets on Amazon!
EP Physics/Chemistry Printables: Levels 1-4: Part of the Easy Peasy All-in-One HomeschoolEP Physics/Chemistry Printables: Levels 5-8: Part of the Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool
These books contain the sheets you would print if using the online course at Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool.
History
We are using The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume Vol. 4
This program continues to be well-loved in our house. This has been our favorite for years.
We have purchased the textbook, I will be purchasing one activity book this year for the activities, recipes, and coloring pages. We also have on hand The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia which I am beyond thrilled to try.
The Story of the World Activity Book Four: The Modern Age: From Victoria’s Empire to the End of the USSRStory of the World, Vol. 4 Test and Answer Key, Revised Edition: History for the Classical Child: The Modern AgeStory of the World, Vol. 4 Activity Book, Revised Edition: The Modern Age: From Victoria’s Empire to the End of the USSRStory of the World, Vol. 4 Revised Edition: History for the Classical Child: The Modern AgeStory of the World, Vol. 4 Bundle, Revised Edition: The Modern Age: Text, Activity Book, and Test & Answer KeyThe Kingfisher History Encyclopedia (Kingfisher Encyclopedias)
How I use Story of The World:
Story of the World can be overwhelming to those just beginning to homeschool. I highly recommend taking any homeschool program or resource you use and make it your own!
This is how I fit Story of the World into our busy homeschool life.
We do history 3 days a week:
Day 1:
I read aloud from the textbook. Then I ask the questions from the activity book and the kids answer orally.
We add the dates and characters to a timeline. I use a timeline from Notebooking Pages. I have the kids either write one paragraph summarizing what they learned, color a coloring page or map activity provided in the workbook.
Day 2:
I read aloud from the textbook what is left in the chapter. Most chapters are divided into 2 subheadings. I ask the questions from the activity book and the kids answer orally.
Again, we add the dates and characters to our timeline. I have the kids either write one paragraph summarizing what they learned, color a coloring page or map activity provided in the workbook.
Day 3:
On this day we pick one of the extra activities to do. Sometimes it is a game we make from scratch. Cook a meal. Make a craft.
Again, always do what works for you. This is how I use Story of The World in our homeschool.
Geography
We are using History-Geography, which is from Easy Peasy Year 3 History for Geography.
Although technically our study of Story of The World contains geography we wanted to use this program as well.
We used the levels of 5-8 sections and did not create an account as this is new in the update.
They now have a printed book that is a companion to this course. It contains all the worksheets as well as the things to print and cut out.
I suggest carefully ripping out the pages for cutting when the day comes to use them. becuase the pages are NOT perforated. Also, this is NOT a stand-alone workbook. It is to be used along with the online course.
EP Geography and Cultures Printables: Levels 1-4: Part of the Easy Peasy All-in-One HomeschoolEP Geography and Cultures Printables: Levels 5-8: Part of the Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool
She will be reading Around the World in 80 Days to go with the program.
Homeschool Middle School Electives:
I love electives as they offer a great chance to really dive into the interests of my child!
Music
She will be using Music Modern for music.
She has no desire to learn an instrument so this will be a nice course for her as it covers a variety of 20th-century composers and their music and is not time intensive.
Art
This kiddo is my artist and I hope to really allow her time to work on her art this year.
She will be using Art-Modern as a program. We will see how it goes.
I’ve stocked the shelves of our bookshelf with different “how to draw” books such as Learn to Draw Horses & Ponies and Learn to Draw Pets.
Schoolhouseteachers.com also has many art programs which we will also be checking out.
How to Draw 101 AnimalsHow to Draw Pets: Easy Step-by-Step Drawings! (Dover How to Draw)Horses & Ponies: Step-by-step instructions for 25 different breeds (Learn to Draw)
Some of her favorite art supplies can be found here.
Typing/Computer
This is not required by the school board but is required by mom.
In this day and age with much being online, typing is a skill she will need. She is choosing which online program she will use.
For computer, she will continue on where she left off last year with level 3. She will be reviewing internet safety as well as learning programs such as paint and PowerPoint.
Here is a list of typing programs (free) we have used in the past:
Need resource ideas? Try: Frugal or Free Homeschool Resources
UPDATE: We now prefer Typesy as our typing program. It is fun and engaging. You can read our review here: Best Homeschool Typing Tool – Make It FUN To Teach Kids Typing!
Foreign Language
American Sign Language! We will be reviewing the ASL Summer Camp program, as we have not been practicing at all! Then if all goes well we will continue on with the next program, ASL Done Right.
UPDATE: These programs do not seem to be available anymore.
You can find her older videos on Youtube which we enjoyed!
Health & Physical Education:
We do a lot of exploring, camping and hiking outside. We also walk, swim, bike and play different sports as a family. We have set 30 minutes of outside time each day for them to run and play without screens!
This is a great way for your kids to dig in and explore nature.
For more structured learning we are using Easy Peasy PE/Health-Odds, levels 5-8.
Middle School Homeschool Reading List:
They were able to choose their own books this year. This is what we have planned.
Not all books have been pre-read, if you are using this list for inspiration for your own kids, I highly recommend reading the reviews before deciding which ones for your family.
Grade 8 Book List:
- Ellie McDoodle: Best Friends Fur-Ever
- Peter Pan (Scholastic Classics)
- Mud-Puddle Poodle
- Friday Barnes, Girl Detective
- The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable
- Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women
- The Little House Collection
- The Wind in the Willows
- The Last Safe House
- Jacob Two-Two-‘s First Spy Case (Jacob Two-Two Adventures)
- Stop That Stagecoach (Canadian Flyer Adventures #13)
- What Katy Did
- Danny Champion of The World
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cabin Fever
- MacDonald Hall #6, Lights, Camera, Disaster
- Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison
- The Trumpet of the Swan
- Schooled
- A Girl Of The Limberlost
- Alice, I Think
- Surviving the Applewhites
- Book Scavenger
The Homeschool Curriculum Grade 8 Plan:
So that is our plan for grade 8 this year!
We are super excited. I hope to share updates, book lists, and reviews of curricula as we use it. Along with any “extra’s” that might find it’s way into our homeschool.
Are you homeschooling 8th grade? What are you using? Let us know!
Take care
Jen
PS. Do you need more homeschool curriculum ideas? Check out this page!
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Hi, I’m Jen. I help working moms juggle their career and homeschool their kids by providing support, systems and tools. You are warmly invited to Join the Online Community Here!
