Eighth Grade Homeschool Curriculum {2014-2015}
I’ve already adjusted to homeschooling four teenagers. I’ve even celebrated my oldest son’s graduation–a bittersweet moment, for sure. But now I am realizing that this is Keaton’s last year before high school.
I’m not too intimidated by eighth grade. Been there, taught that.
But seeing my fourth child enter eighth grade? As my kids would say, “It blows my mind.”
I’m not that old, y’all. Really.
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Eighth Grade Homeschool Curriculum Plan
Math – Math-U-See Epsilon
Keaton will be finishing up Math-U-See Epsilon in the early part of the school year. After that he will jump right into Zeta with a goal of completing it by year’s end.
Although many students take pre-algebra in eighth grade, I’m comfortable with Keaton taking it in ninth grade instead. The important thing is that he is building a solid foundation of math skills that will serve him well throughout high school.
English – Easy Grammar Plus
We’ve been using Easy Grammar for quite a few years now–it’s definitely a family favorite. Keaton will be doing one approximately one fourth of Easy Grammar Plus this year, completing the rest over the next three years.
Spelling – Spelling Power
Keaton is a natural speller and sails right through the word lists in Spelling Power. He typically spells words orally, practicing only the words he misses.
Vocabulary – Working with Words 8
These inexpensive vocab workbooks fit Keaton’s independent learning style perfectly. Lessons are short and manageable, yet still challenging. Another family favorite!
Writing – Jump In
We didn’t accomplish nearly as much as I’d hoped last year in writing, so Keaton will be using the same course this year. I really like this book; we just need to spend more time actually doing it.
(Oddly enough, I really dislike teaching writing. I’d rather teach just about anything else–even chemistry or geometry!)
Literature
Keaton will be reading several books to go along with his PA history studies, as well as a literature anthology:
- William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All (Heroes of History)
- Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia (Landmark Books)
- The Light in the Forest
- The Cabin Faced West
- Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison
- Of Places (anthology from ABeka)
PA History – State History from a Christian Perspective
In Pennsylvania students are required to cover PA history twice, once during elementary grades and once at the secondary level. This course is well written and can be easily adapted. Keaton will also be using the State Study Notebooking Pages from NotebookingPages.com.
Science – School of Tomorrow Science PACEs
Keaton loves to work independently, and PACEs are his top pick for science.
Bible – Studying God’s Word
This is a new curriculum for us this year, but I couldn’t find much out there that was suitable for Keaton’s independent learning style.
Anyone used this before?
Art – Creating a Masterpiece
Keaton used some of the art DVDs from Creating a Masterpiece last year. He did extremely well with the DVD instruction, making this an easy choice for this year.
Interested in seeing last year’s curriculum choices for seventh grade? Here is our Seventh Grade Homeschool Curriculum Plan from 2013-2014.
We have used Studying God’s Word for a few years now. We are not quite to the 8th grade level, but have really enjoyed the lower level books. It has been a great help for my oldest to become a more independent learner. I like the practical approach to studying the Bible and my boys have done well with it. We have used levels A-E. My 6th grader will be doing Level F this year.
Ooh, I hadn’t seen those state notebooking pages before, Judy! We’ve incorporated odds and ends of notebooking into our years before and I think we’ll have more such things in high school – it’ll help Sarah get some of the “documentation-y” stuff she needs while still giving her a framework to work in; she does better with things that have some kind of structure than open-ended reports or projects. Thanks for sharing!