8th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2025-2026

Bounce a ball. Throw a ball. Bat a ball. Catch a ball. Kick a ball. Spike a ball. Repeat. This is the rhythm of my youngest son's days. He’s an extrovert’s extrovert who never gets tired of a big crowd. He’s a champion of others and a loyal team player. Loves music, watching movies, and pet-sitting. Not a fan of bedtime or most board games. Hates Brussels sprouts, but is happy to put buffalo sauce on almost anything else. Much to my make-most-things-from-scratch mantra, Doritos are his love language. But if those are in short supply, he’ll also settle for your undivided attention. He may be the smallest, but he’s got a big heart!

Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2025-2026

Five more years — that's all the time I have left as a homeschool mom. How is that even possible? With my oldest two launched and pursuing their own career paths, and my middle two taking several dual-enrollment classes from a Christian University, most of my efforts will be directed toward my youngest son and his individual learning.

That said, there are still a few subjects/resources that all three of my remaining at-home kids will work on together. 

12th Grade Homeschool Curriculum 2023-2024

It's the final countdown for my eldest son. He's got nine more months of homeschooling left, and then he's off to do great things for the Kingdom.

In the meantime, he'll also be busy finishing up the final credits I planned out for him using the Brave High School Record Keeping for Homeschoolers pack. 

Here's what he'll be learning.

9th Grade Homeschool Curriculum 2022-2023

My middle son loves the great indoors. He’s an introvert who’d rather hunker down at home than be anywhere else. Loves legos. Reading. Legos. Writing stories. And did I mention Legos? He can be lured outside with the promise of a vintage car show, an impromptu game of PIG under the basketball hoop, or a one-on-one at the tennis court up the street. He has a knack for memorizing song lyrics, has a lot to say about the latest book he’s reading, and has an abiding love for tabasco sauce.

8th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2022-2023

If there was an award for the child with the most unique hobbies, I think my fourth born would definitely be a contender. His list of favorites includes metal detecting, blacksmithing, foraging for scraps of metal and antique bottles, curing natural clay and making pottery, collecting coins, fishing, drawing homemade field guides, and memorizing trivia. 

He’s my autodidactic. Always learning. Always doing. Curious. He’s the first one to find something fun to do with his time each morning and the last one out of the woods every night. If you need him, just follow the muddy footprints.

How to Host a Book Club for Reader-ly Tweens & Teens

In the last few years, I've noticed a trend on Instagram. My feed has been flooded with wonderfully curated pictures of poetry tea times and book adventure clubs hosted by area libraries, homeschool co-ops, or even just individual families. These posts usually start with some kind of convincing preamble like, "Do you have a child who doesn't like reading? Wanna get them hooked? All you have to do is host a monthly book experience to encourage even the most reluctant of readers to keep turning pages."

Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2021-2022

And then there were four. 

From here on out, my homeschool will get smaller and smaller. My daughter graduated last fall and my oldest son will soon follow in the next couple of years. So, it is with a mix of excitement and sadness that I make curriculum plans for a pared-down homeschool. 

Like in years past, we will adhere to a four-day-a-week schedule. When reading through our curriculum choices, you can assume that the following items will be used four days a week unless otherwise indicated. An item with an asterisk is new to us this year.

6th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2020-2021

This summer found my son hosting a pop-up pottery shop every few weeks; building a metal forge; fashioning numerous metal knives, hatchets, and swords; and building a tree fort from scratch. He's autodidactic and loves to make, create, and do. 

Up until this point, his insatiable appetite for busy has kept his curiosities on nature, science, and mechanical design, but now, at ten, he's beginning to wonder about other things--less concrete things. He's asking hard questions about the world around him and wanting honest answers. 

So this year, I've chosen a few weightier books for him; books that will hopefully steer him well into adolescence--books that will help him make sense of this crazy world in which we live. 

Co-op's Been Canceled, Now What? Learning Ideas for Already Homeschoolers

A global pandemic--contrary to what social media says, doesn't just affect the kids in the traditional classroom. In its own way, it affects us homeschoolers too. Granted, we're used to the logistics of learning from home. We don't have to scramble to find curriculum options. Our days already follow a somewhat organized routine. We chose this life. This feels normal to us.

But, homeschooling in the midst of a worldwide crisis is not the same kind of homeschooling that we're all used to. We, too, are stuck inside. We, too, face endless hours of sameness.

50+ Virtual Field Trips to Take When You're Stuck at Home

Stuck inside? Cabin fever getting the better of you and yours? There's no reason to let an at-home season or a closed-door policy keep you from great learning adventures. We are living in an unprecedented time of digital equity--an era when the whole wide world is as close as the click of a button.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love to venture out to see a great piece of art, a historical reenactment, or a breathtaking view of creation just as much as the next homeschool mom. There's no replacing the kind of learning and memory-making that can be had when you visit a museum or national park in person. But, I also know that when sickness, weather, or finances limit one's ability to see a site up close and personal, a 360 virtual field trip is the next best thing.

Online Extracurriculars for the Extra Curious Kid

Written by Chelsea Gonzales.

Extracurriculars are a great way to expand upon and enrich a homeschool experience, especially for the super curious kid who wants to know everything. That said, extracurriculars don’t fit well with every lifestyle. Traveling families like mine are always looking for lessons on-the-go.

Sneaky Learning Ideas for Summer Road Trips

What do you get when you combine seven people, one dog, a very small space, and eight to ten hours a day of unstructured togetherness?

Well, it depends on the season. 

Should all of that be tossed together in the dead of a tundra-like midwestern winter, I'd say you have a recipe for cabin fever with a side of seasonal neurosis.

But, should you be stirring that pot in the sunshine of summer, I'd assume you're cooking up road trip bliss.

Homeschool Shopping Show-n-Tell 2017

This past weekend, I had the privilege of presenting two workshops at the Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators annual convention that hosts parents from all over the midwest and parts of lower Canada. I met so many lovely blog readers and got to encourage and be encouraged by hundreds of homeschool momma warriors. 

We laughed a lot. We cried just a little bit. And we looped arms as we talked of scheduling and teaching with tots underfoot in sessions entitled...

Un-Harried Homeschooling: Scheduling 101

and

Help! I'm Homeschooling and I Have a Toddler Strapped to My Leg!

God's Girls Club for Tweens: GLAM Books

For the fifth summer in a row, I set aside time for discipleship...for passing on faith and femininity to my favorite girl.  It's not as if SUMMERtime is the only time I do this.  Summer just brings about a looser schedule and, with it, the opportunity to invite a few other young ladies to join us in our fun. It provides moments of intentionality...of purpose.  

This year, Sweetie Pea and I extended an invitation to ANY teen girl who wanted to join us.  I didn't want to limit our group to just our current social circles.  I wanted to open our doors and our hearts to new girls in our church and in our community...girls who needed to connect...girls who needed to know God's love.  And so, we invited ANY and ALL tween girls to join us...or at least as many as would fit in my tiny dining room...that would be seven.

Homeschool Co-op Class Plans 2014-2015

Lots of changes happenin' in our co-op this year.  

Lots of changes.

But, as with all changes, these alterations bring an element of excitement and anticipation.

Changes 

Changes in membership

Due to some scheduling conflicts, the Architect's family has opted to step out of co-op...at least for the year.  It was with much sadness that we said goodbye but with hope that we'd still have opportunities to play and learn with them in church and on special field trips.

Babysitter Training Resources for Tweens

As a responsible tween girl already more-than-experienced in caring for and loving little ones, my Sweetie Pea is well on her way to becoming an in-demand sitter.  While she has never officially babysat children alone, she frequently babysits her one-year-old cousin...maintaining FULL responsibility for her...at our home and under my supervision.  In addition, she has recently been hired by a young stay-at-home and formerly-homeschooled momma friend of mine to be a "mama's helper".  One day a week during the summer months finds her caring for the two oldest kiddos of that family (ages four and two) while the momma does the necessary clerical work of her husband's small business and cares for their newborn baby.  

End-of-the-Year Program for Homeschool 2014

After nine months of watching our children blossom through diligence and hard work, we, co-op moms, always enjoy celebrating their successes by hosting an end-of-the-year spring program for family and friends.  For the past six years, it has been a fantastic way to share what they have learned and to put an official "the end" on a wonderful year of co-operative learning.  (This post contains affiliate links.)

While the basic format for our program has remained the same over the years, each one has been slightly different.  This year, the mothers decided not to have an overall theme to each presentation. Each family could decide WHAT and HOW they wanted to share.

Independent Projects: 2013-2014 Update

Towards the end of the last school year, in addition to her mom-assigned fourth-grade curriculum, my daughter began completing independent projects.  At the time, I hadn't really heard or read much about this form of child-directed, self-teaching, and was not exactly sure what it should look like or be like.  While I am an eclectic homeschooler and delve into the shallow end of "un-schooling" occasionally, I have never jumped head first into ANY ONE style of learning.

Independent project-based learning, while not exactly "unschooling", has been a wonderful addition to her school days.  She has been able to freely explore topics that she is interested in or passionate about while still maintaining the consistency of other forms/methods of learning.

This first few projects and presentations were a bit of a learning curve for the both of us.  Eventually, she and I tweaked the original guidelines just a bit.

Raising Boys Who Will Be "Strong to Overcome"

It's no secret that to the best of our ability and with the Lord's help, The Hubs and I have firmly resolved to raise boys to be men.  Men who will lead with love.  Men who will know and trust the Lord. Men who will rise to the challenge of a life laid down in service to God and to others.  Men who will learn the value of hard work.

Because, let's face it, the world doesn't need any more men opting for extended adolescence.  We need MEN.  Real men.  Men who embrace their natural, God-given leadership rolls with humility.

Project Based Learning When You Live in a Tiny House

Water color paintings

Here's a simple homeschool math story problem to start your day...

If you crammed seven people into an acutely tiny house and encouraged the smallest five of those people to create and explore through a daily process of delight-directed learning, how likely are you to have project supplies covering every inch of the dining room table when it is time to eat a meal?

If you guessed "three times a day, nearly every day," you are correct!