Eighth Grade Homeschool Curriculum ll 2024-25 Picks

It's hard to believe that we're entering our 13th year of homeschooling and my "baby" is going into 8th grade.  He's a young 8th grader at only 12 years old (hello, fall birthday), and would technically be in 7th grade if in public school.  However, we homeschool so his curriculum is sometimes all over the place and truthfully, he knows more about space the I will ever know in multiple lifetimes.  Seriously, this kid is a genius when it comes to science.

Being true eclectic homeschoolers, our choices reflect a wide variety of resources from secular to Christian... school in a box to a little Charlotte Mason... and a few surprises to savor this final elementary year.  It can't all be about science. :-)

So here's to 8th grade one more time.  And here's to what he'll be learning!

 Math:

I love the Sadlier Oxford series in the elementary years.  Seriously, it can't be beat!  He'll actually be in the purple book this year which I would label as Algebra I.  My daughter completed it in 8th grade and felt like her high school algebra was a repeat.  Sadlier-Oxford puts out a VERY STRONG math curriculum and it's allowed my other two children to sail through high school math.

We've also been working our way through this practical math series, adding in a new book each year.  This year, we're focusing on budgeting and adding up discounts, etc.  We'll probably do a few pages in this book each week to see how math applies to real life.

LA:

We're using a tried and true curriculum for our reading this year.  I love how Rod and Staff uses wholesome stories and Scripture to teach the elements of good stories and writing.  Although he'll be working in level 8, I feel that this program really is advanced.  It's made him an incredible reader.  

We'll also be using level 8 for his English from Rod and Staff.  This is the level where I typically need to the teacher's manual and we really slow down the pace.  Level 8 focuses on very in-depth concepts and actually addresses concepts typical of high school and even college level.

This is a new to us program this year.  Although Rod and Staff does provide some writing instruction in their English curriculum, I've always struggled to communicate to the kids exactly what I'm looking for in good writing.  And since he's taken all the IEW classes available at the charter school, we're trying something new.  I've heard good things about The Lost Tools of Writing so I promise to share more as we learn ourselves.

Science:

We love the Abeka science series in from about grades 4-8.  I generally only purchase the student text and we supplement with some hands-on projects as we find interest.  Abeka comes from a Christian worldview and weaves God's purposes in the subject matter.  I'll have him answer the review questions in the chapter and write my own tests based on what we focused on for each section.

Twice a month, he'll also be following along with the lessons from No Sweat Nature Study.  We love how Miss Cindy really makes the material come alive.  The lessons are well-researched and presented in an engaging way.  Plus there's tons of topics covered that we'd never think of exploring otherwise.

History:

Although technically a secular resource, we see a Christian worldview also woven throughout Story of the World.  This year we'll be in volume four, completing the cycle for the second time in his elementary years.  We sometimes pull project ideas from the resource book, but our main focus will be on reading the text, narrating, doing the map work, and supplementing with living books.

Bible:

Besides establishing a regular devotional time, we'll also be looking at Rod and Staff's Bible curriculum.  This curriculum runs from level 5-10, but that doesn't necessarily coincide with grades.  Rather each level looks at a different part of the Bible, what was happening culturally with the people, what was the background, etc.  This year he's in level 7 which works with level 8 to take a deep dive into the New Testament.

Additionally he'll keep reading through the Christian Heroes series.  I've picked out 12 books for us to read and be inspired by this year.

Morning Time:

Next week, I'll go more in depth into what exactly is in our Morning Basket, but some subject we'll explore this year include apologetics, Shakepeare, and the ballet.  These are enrichment topics that we'll be learning together with my 11th grader.

Outside Classes:

Robotics Class--Twice a week, he'll be taking a middle school robotics class.

Chess Class--Twice a week, he'll be practicing with a group of middle school and high schoolers, honing his chess skills.

Choir--This year he's moving on to the senior high choir and will be involved in that for about 12 weeks in the fall, and then 12 weeks in the spring.

Youth Group and Worship Team--He'll be entering his final year of middle school youth group where he'll also serve on the worship team once a month.

Trampoline-- 1-2x/week, he'll continue trampoline lessons in big trampoline, double mini, and some tumbling at our local gym.

A lot of the curriculum that we're using this year, we've used in the past with great success.  While I try to tailor our year to each child's needs, I also find that when we find something we like, it's best to stick with it.  So many of these curriculums are returning from previous years.  Plus, he's been very lucky to find several outside opportunities that fit his interests this year.  He'll certainly be busy, but I don't think my social butterfly would have it any other way.

What curriculum did you use for your 8th grader?