Homeschooling 8th Grade: Our Curriculum Picks

The older my kids get, the more excited I get about their school. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun watching my little ones learn the basics (though admittedly, I really don’t like teaching the basics). But there’s something about the rich topics they get to dig into as they get older that makes me wish I could go back to school!

I admit it—I’m a total nerd and would be a perpetual student if given the chance. I guess the next best thing is getting to learn a little beside my kiddos.

8th Grade Curriculum Picks

This year is Bradley’s 8th grade year and he’s got some amazing things he’ll be learning! Ready to eavesdrop on what our plans are for 8th grade? Let’s go…

Omnibus 2: History, Literature, and Theology

For a second year in a row, we’ll be doing Veritas Press’ Self-Paced curriculum for Omnibus 2 (both primary and secondary). While you might look at the book list (see below) and wonder about assigning a student so young such heafty books, I can assure you, Omnibus was, by far, Bradley’s favorite subject this year.

When the primary and second courses are taken together, students earn 3 credits: history, literature, and theology. This upcoming year’s course is focusing on the Middle Ages.

With the self paced courses, students watch lectures each day and read the assigned passages. They learn from experts in the field, hear fantastic interviews, debates, and are challenged with interactive exercises. Quizzes and exams are built into the course, which makes grading easy on mom :).

Here’s are the course book lists…not for the faint of heart or the weak reader.

Primary Course Reading

• Eusebius’ Church History
• Confessions
• On the Incarnation of Our Lord
• Ecclesiastical History of the English People
• The Rule of St. Benedict
• Beowulf, translation by Heaney
• The Song of Roland
• History of the Kings of Britain
• Macbeth
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• Divine Comedy: Inferno, translation by Musa
• The Canterbury Tales
• The Bondage of the Will

Secondary Course Reading

• The Hobbit
• The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Two Towers
• The Return of the King
• The Nine Tailors
• The Dragon and the Raven
• Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Winning His Spurs
• Henry V
• King Richard III

 

Math

This year’s goal for math is to finish up Saxon Algebra 1 and dig as far into Algebra 2 as we’re able.

There’s no hiding it, Saxon Algebra courses are not fun (take it from a mom who went through all the Saxon math books), but they are robust and will prepare Bradley for college level math courses.

 

Writing

We’re switching things up this coming year. In the past we’ve used Institute for Excellence in Writing for our curriculum—which we enjoy. But Bradley recently heard of the One Year Adventure Novel. He checked out the sample course material and videos online, and he got excited…really excited.

There is nothing like teaching your student a subject they’re truly excited to learn about. I just had to say, “YES, of course we can do this next year.”

The One Year Adventure Novel course includes videos, writing exercises, and assignments that will walk the student through writing an adventure novel in one year.

He’s excited about this course, and I’m excited that he’s excited :).

 

Grammar

Like his younger brother, Bradley will be using Fix ItI for grammar this year. We appreciate this curriculum from The Institute for Excellence in Writing because it offers a nice balance of learning the parts of speech and practical application of grammar.

If you’ve never heard of Fix It, it’s a unique curriculum where students work through a whole book throughout the school year. This year Bradley will be working through book 4: The Little Mermaid. [Edit as of July 2022: Fix It! has updated their books for each level, and level 4 is now Mowgli and Shere Kahn. The Little Mermaid is level 6.)

Each week students have a short passage they use, to learn how to identify parts of speech, find and correct errors, and more.

 

Classes Through Co-Op

Bradley will be taking just a couple classes through our co-op this year. Unfortunately the offerings at our local co-op, just aren’t lining up to what we’re looking for as much as I wish they were!

Science

Bradley will be taking astronomy this year. His dad, Luke, is teaching Logic level astronomy for the 3rd time at our co-op (we’re on a 3 year science rotation). Consequently, this course will be the exact same content as Luke’s Experience Astronomy course you can purchase for your own students online!

Students love taking this interactive class that gets them out under the stars!

Latin

Bradley will also continue to take Latin through our co-op. We are blessed with a talented teacher who makes the course fun and easy (well, as easy as it can be). They’ll be using the Henle Latin book for this course.