Our Top Picks for the Best 8th Grade Homeschool Curriculum

Looking for 8th-grade homeschool curriculum? Thinking of the middle school years can come with a little apprehension. But after years of homeschooling, these are the resources we have grown to love for the middle school years.

Before I give you my opinion on the best 8th-grade curriculum, please note that there are many differing views on what should be taught and when it should be taught. I’m not seeking to refute anyone or call names. I’m sharing what has worked well for our homeschool after combining my experience in the classroom with teaching at home. Remember, that’s your job too. Seek out what works best for your family, and don’t worry about what everyone else says!

How many hours do you homeschool a day?

I know you are wondering about this because everyone does. It typically takes my kids 3–4 hours to complete an 8th-grade homeschool curriculum. In the classroom setting, kids are expected to focus and pay attention for much of the day, but you don’t have to do that at home. There’s no need to stand in line, sharpen 28 pencils, or participate in that fire drill one more time.

At home, your eighth grader can focus on the material at his or her level, so it really only takes 3–4 hours to get everything done. If it’s taking longer than that, you may want to reassess the level and your student’s workload.

Of course, this doesn’t mean your child is finished learning in 3–4 hours a day and will waste the rest of the day vegging into the land of no knowledge. If you encourage enriching activities (and limit screen time), your child will literally NEVER stop learning. And by middle school, kids have specific interests they can spend extra time exploring.

What should my child be learning in 8th grade?

Middle school is such a fun time for students. Eighth graders are starting to discover their individual areas of interest. Their reading and math foundations have been laid. And now it’s time to really dive into other areas of study.

By eighth grade, your student should be learning fully independently. If your student still leans on you to help with schoolwork, I highly recommend that you make responsibility your focus. They are plenty old enough to handle their own work. And with high school around the corner, you want them to know how to learn on their own. If this is still an issue in your homeschool, this post will give you 5 simple steps to teaching responsibility.

Typical 8th Grade Homeschool Subjects

• Language Arts
• Math
• Bible
• Social Studies
• Science
• Art
• Physical Education
• Music
• Life Skills

In the next section, we will take a look at each subject’s recommended curriculum, as well as when and why you should teach it.

But first, we need to make sure you are legal. It’s very important that you know your state requirements. The most reputable place to find these laws is the HSLDA website. Note that I didn’t say to ask your friend who has been homeschooling for many years (that’s a big mistake—look them up yourself).

Most states are pretty light on requirements for middle school. Some have general guidelines for core subjects. Occasionally, you’ll find a strict state that requires specific hours to be completed. Again, the only way to know what rules you have to follow is to check the site yourself.

One thing to note is that even if you are required to teach science, for example, it doesn’t typically say that you must use a textbook that covers 180 days’ worth. As homeschoolers, we have the freedom to teach the way our kids need us to teach them!

8th Grade Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum

Reading

By 8th grade, your student will be getting much of their reading from science and history. So they don’t really need a specific reading curriculum. Instead, I have my kids keep a journal.

There are 30 different half-page writing prompts to get kids thinking about what they read that day. The purpose of reading is to understand. Find out more about creating your own DIY Reading Curriculum here.

Spelling

In 8th grade, my kids are using IEW’s Phonetic Zoo. We use this program throughout middle school. There are 3 leveled CDs that are self-paced for independent learning. They teach rules and jingles. Kids write the words and keep practicing them until they are mastered.

Once these CDs are mastered, spelling is no longer a subject in our homeschool. Occasionally it comes up naturally in writing, and we learn from there, but no additional curriculum is needed. For some of my kids, this happened before 8th grade. For others, it happened in early high school. Either way, it’s fine. Let them grow at their own pace.

Grammar and Writing

This is the one subject that often tips parents over the edge, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Grammar is simply learning to understand how sentences are put together to convey a clear thought. When your kids are first learning to read, grammar is relatively irrelevant to them. That’s understandable. However, it quickly can become a natural part of the conversation.

For 8th-grade homeschool curriculum, we pick up formal writing. At this time, we add in a more in-depth grammar curriculum. We love Easy Grammar for this. It really is, well, EASY. The goal is simple and short assignments to help teach the concepts that will help your kids become better writers. From now to high school, this is a skill we want to focus a bit more time on. This will enable you to focus on writing killer essays when it’s crucial instead of needing to figure out an adverbial clause in the thick of it.

For the writing component, check out IEW. This program includes a systematic approach to writing with instructions for students and parents. Many parents choose to do this in a co-op setting, which is an excellent option.

8th Grade Homeschool Math Curriculum

There are probably 100 great 8th-grade homeschool math curriculum options out there. But by far, this is my favorite math curriculum for middle and high school.

As a mom, I love the instant grading feature. This makes my homeschool day so much easier. I also love that my kids get immediate feedback when a problem is incorrect. So often, students do the whole page wrong only to learn they have to start over again. Teaching Textbooks doesn’t allow that to happen.

Read more about why we love Teaching Textbooks here.

One final thought: If math really is more than you can handle as a homeschool parent, rest assured you can always outsource it to a co-op or online class. Sometimes taking the subject outside of your realm is good for your student and your relationship!

If your child struggles with math, I would encourage you to check out this post for ideas too.

8th Grade Homeschool Science Curriculum

Eighth-grade homeschool science curriculum should focus on laying a foundation. Explore as many ideas as you can and look for your child’s interest. In fact, I highly recommend letting your kids pick what they want to learn about!

8th Grade Homeschool History Curriculum

Just like science, 8th-grade history is a great time to let them choose topics they’re interested in. This will keep them engaged and increase their passion for history.

Our favorites:

Bible Curriculum for 8th Grade

Don’t neglect the most important subject in your child’s life! While I believe that our faith should be woven through every subject and every moment of our school day, we also need to be intentional about teaching our kids about God.

8th Grade Homeschool Curriculum for Electives

Middle school electives are generally disguised as “extracurricular activities.” Families often do music lessons, sports, or similar opportunities. This is GREAT! Just be sure you keep your purpose in focus. At this age, it’s less about perfecting a skill and more about pursuing the interests your kids have. 

Try to expose them to all of the fine arts (music, art, drama) through homeschool classes, museums, and shows. You never know how God has gifted them! Exposing elementary kids to sports tends to be easier because there are so many teams to choose from.

Just remember to keep your purpose in focus. I always remind myself that Michael Jordan didn’t even start playing basketball until he was in junior high. Forcing a four-year-old to play soccer against his desires won’t create a prodigy. 

Use the middle school years to dabble and explore. Take field trips. Participate in one-day classes. Work hard on life skills. You’ll be thankful you took this approach.

Here are some courses I recommend:

Fine Arts Electives

Still Singing: Hymn Stories for every season is a music appreciation curriculum that includes language arts and history too!

Sounds of the Masters is great if you are ready to start letting your middle schooler log high school credit. This 24-week music appreciation course guides students through seven major eras of Western classical music—all from a biblical worldview.

• Voice lessons (Here’s a place that does online lessons.)
• Piano lessons (We take local lessons, but this online option is interesting.)
• Artistic Pursuits
• Academy of Arts Ministries (drama)

Health and Life Skills Electives

• Bitsbox (computer coding)
• Latin for Children
• 4-H gardening, animal care, etc.
• Sewing, crocheting, knitting, etc.
• Care of their space (make your bed, tidy your room, empty the dishwasher, etc.)

Check out our extensive list of homeschool electives here.

More Christian Homeschool Curriculum

Using my expertise as a certified educator and 12+ years of homeschooling, we’ve created a comprehensive list of the BEST Christian homeschool curriculum for each grade level. You’ll find each of them linked below.

• Preschool Homeschool Curriculum
• Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum
• First-Grade Homeschool Curriculum
• Second-Grade Homeschool Curriculum
• Third-Grade Homeschool Curriculum
• Fourth-Grade Homeschool Curriculum
• Fifth-Grade Homeschool Curriculum
• Sixth-Grade Homeschool Curriculum
• Seventh-Grade Homeschool Curriculum
• Eighth-Grade Homeschool Curriculum
• High School Homeschool Curriculum

Still struggling to see how everything fits together? Get a better overall vision for Christian homeschool curriculum in this post.