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Wow! I’m not sure how my youngest is going into 8th grade, but here we are. It is incredible how fast time goes by. It seems like just yesterday I was pulling my hair out trying to find a spelling program that would work or a math program we could stick with. Now, I’m planning out his 8th-grade curriculum.
As you can tell, my homeschool journey has been a little bit of a roller coaster ride with my son. But, I think every family has one kiddo that keeps them on their toes trying to find a curriculum that will work.
I’ve mostly figured out what works for my 13-year-old.
Most of my struggle is due to not wanting to buy the more expensive curriculum. So, I’d buy something cheaper that didn’t work and purchase the program I didn’t want to spend the money on later on.
I’ve learned the hard way. It’s best to just invest in the curriculum that will work than waste money on programs that won’t.
And for some reason, my son has expensive taste. Or at least, it is the more costly curriculum that seems to work. Oh, well. Live and learn.
So, as we start into our seventh year of homeschooling, I kind of got a handle on what we need to use for his 8th-grade curriculum.
Let me share what we will be using. It may help give you some options you hadn’t thought of before.
Table of Contents
8th Grade Curriculum Picks
As a bit of background, we tend to use Classical materials and a literature-based curriculum. Plus, we use a mix of secular and Christian materials. Since I work with the Homeschool Review Crew, we review various materials throughout the year. Some we will keep in our homeschool, and some we use for several weeks.
8th Grade English Curriculum
English Communication Skills by Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum (PAC)– I reviewed this product earlier this year, and my boy enjoyed it. It is a straightforward format. Kids read a short text, answer questions, work or vocabulary, and practice grammar in the context of the reading. Kids can easily work on this independently.
Fix It! Grammar from Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)- My son LOVES this grammar program. Grammar is taught using quality literature. Kids fix the errors in the sentence or sentences and mark mistakes. It is fun and only takes about 15 minutes a day to teach.
Structure and Style Level B Year 2– As you can see, we are big IEW fans. Not only do we use their grammar, but we use their writing program. It teaches kids in a fun way through engaging videos. My kids love Mr. Pudewa! Plus, the program teaches the steps to write good writing pieces. It is pricey but worth every penny!
All About Spelling- I will forever shout to the rooftops about this spelling curriculum. It is the one spelling program that works for my son, and we use it yearly. The multisensory approach is excellent for a variety of learning styles. Plus, kids really learn to spell. Read my full review to learn more and see why I love it so much.
By the way, my son loves it too.
We are halfway through Level 7 in All About Spelling, which is the last level. From there, we may try SchoolhouseTeachers.com. They have a spelling program we may give a try.
Vocabulary Quest– To add a little fun to our studies, I just bought Vocabulary Quest. It is an online vocabulary program that looks like a video game. I figured it would interest my son. Kids do battles, play games with their vocab words, and can get new battle gear. The one thing that sold me was you buy it once. It isn’t a yearly subscription program. We’ll see how it goes.
Math Curriculum
CTCMath– We used CTCMath exclusively last year and will stick with it this year. My son likes the short video lessons and the practice sheets. I like that the teaching and grading are done for me. I have reviews from 2020 and 2021. A new one for 2022 will come out soon.
CTCMath doesn’t only have 8th-grade curriculum but also math for Kindergarten up to Calculus.
Prodigy– On Fridays, I tend to add fun things to do. For example, my kids often play the free version of Prodigy. It is an online math game in which kids solve math problems and battle other kids online. We use it as a fun way to review.
8th Grade Curriculum: History
Connecting With History– This will be our second year of Connecting with History from RC History. It is a classical, Catholic-based history program. It follows the classical approach with beginner, grammar, logic, and rhetoric levels and is also a literature-based program.
My kids LOVE it.
It gets expensive buying all the books, but my kids love doing the books, timelines, maps, projects, and writing assignments. Plus, there is memory work too. You can adapt it to fit your family’s needs. It is so much fun.
8th Grade Curriculum: Science
Journey Homeschool Academy Earth Science Explored Level B– I used Experience Biology with my 9th-grade daughter last year. I was so impressed with the program that I decided to go with their middle school Earth Science program for my son’s 8th-grade curriculum this year. All he has seen is the textbook, and he is excited to start.
The program is taught through online videos. Plus, kids have lab assignments too. Kids watch the videos, learn to take notes on the lesson, answer research questions based on the video and text, take a quiz, and do labs. Journey Homeschool Academy provides all the help you need to grade and track grades for your kids.
Art
Nature Art by Lily and Thistle- We began the Nature Art course for science and art last year. We started work on the watercolor classes. Each month, there are a couple of watercolor projects. The program uses videos to teach kids how to paint different plants, animals, and things in nature using watercolors. There are also fact sheets, YouTube videos on the topic, and poetry.
Once we finish a couple more months (we bought the program in November of last year), we will move into the drawing and colored pencil nature classes. I’ll have to write a review sometime to share more about it.
If nature isn’t your thing, there is also a Watercolor School with a variety of projects. This looks like a lot of fun, too.
You can use this program with elementary kids, but it can also work for an 8th-grade curriculum. It is easy to adapt to different ages.
ARTistic Pursuits– We have used a few ARTistic Pursuits art programs. They are reasonably priced and offer many different options for art. We have done a couple of drawing classes (one with a book and video and one with just a book) and a watercolor pencil course.
Each book includes a lesson on the technique, practice assignments, art history, and a final assignment that wraps it up. The online video are a great tool to help kids learn the techniques.
We will finish up the Drawing class we have been working on this summer for a Crew Review. I’ll link it when my review is complete.
Activity-Pak: Artists from Home School in the Woods– Home School in the Woods has fabulous history curriculum. This particular program is an history study of famous artists and their art techniques. Kids learn through hands-on projects. When they finish their projects, kids put it all together into a lapbook.
Plus, there is a fun file folder game to make and play. It is a great review game!
It is easy to adapt the Artist lapbook for kids in grades 3-8. However, even my 9th grader enjoys it.
Other 8th Grade Curriculum Picks
Physical Education
For physical education, we will use American Coaching Academy’s Habit Trackers, which provide exercises you do in circuit training style. You choose a challenge and track it for 30 days, helping to build good physical fitness habits.
My son will also be doing the Personal Fitness Merit Badge through Scouts, BSA. He is working on his final requirements to reach Eagle. The Personal Fitness merit badge will improve overall health and help encourage a healthy lifestyle. You don’t need to be in Scouts to download the workbook and use it with your own kids.
Other Electives
During the year, I will add in other electives. Some may be from reviews I do with the Review Crew. I also get different electives for my kids through SchoolhouseTeachers.com. They have an abundance of courses for families to choose from. I’m looking into some of their computer courses for my boy.
More Curriculum Help
So, that is what we have planned for my son’s upcoming 8th-grade curriculum. All are excellent quality curricula worth looking into if you are stuck on what to do. It is shaping up to be a fun year filled with curriculum my son helped to pick out. I always get my kids involved in planning our homeschool year.
Are you overwhelmed with picking out curriculum? Hopefully, these suggestions will help. If you need more help, I have some tips to help you take the stress out of planning. Plus, you might want to take a look at the following:
- 4th and 6th Grade Curriculum
- 5th and 7th Grade Curriculum
- 6th and 8th Grade Curriculum
- 7th and 9th Grade Curriculum
- 10th Grade Curriculum
- Favorite Homeschool Products Reviewed
My kids are two different learners, so the choices are sometimes quite different for both. So if you need more help than with just 8th-grade curriculum picks, look at some of the other grade levels above.
I hope you have a fantastic school year.
Happy Homeschooling!
