We are at the 9ish week mark of the homeschool year for 8th grade. This year, we are doing almost all new to us curriculum. I wanted to start working toward a more rigorous schedule this year as we head into high school. I put all the links to the curriculum I am discussing. I have no affiliate relationship with any of these companies, it is just if someone wants to take a look.
Math – We had a rough year last year with unexpected family events, which led to not a great year in math. With that in mind, I wanted to repeat Algebra but start with some review. I picked up Elementary Algebra from Masterbooks.
I like Masterbooks because it is very open and go, I don’t have to take a class to figure out how to use the curriculum. It also gives mastery and confidence. We will spend a semester in this book and when the 14yo is feeling confident we will move ahead.
The downside is that it is not where we want to be, so I am not sure it is as rigorous as I would normally choose. I also feel like what the student workbook gives doesn’t always match up with the teacher guide.
Overall, I give this math curriculum an 8/10.
https://www.masterbooks.com/highschool-math
Language Arts – We wanted to try something different this year. We have done several YEARS of IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing). This year, after reading some many positive reviews on facebook, I decided to try EIW (Essentials in Writing).
On the positive side, the lessons are short and easy to understand. I have little problem translating where he should be and what I see in the schedule in the teachers manual. There are also videos, which I didn’t do a lot of video classes this year, so that is nice.
The downside is … I just don’t like the curriculum. The answer manual is in super tiny print that is hard to read. It is hard to follow the answers. I don’t feel like he is learning to write like he did with IEW. We have already discussed and said we will move back to IEW next year, but will keep going with this to get a different perspective.
Overall, I give this language arts curriculum a 3/10.
Science – We went with our old favorite again this year. This is the one of maybe two curriculum vendors that is a repeat for us. We are doing Apologia Physical Science, which is for 8th or 9th grade.
On the positive side, they give a great schedule. It matches up with the book. I also buy the testing service, so his tests are scored. The experiments almost always involve food! Apologia gives such a depth to science that I don’t have to worry they miss anything, there is just no way.
Not a lot of downside to Apologia. It is one of the best curriculums we have used.
Overall, I give this science curriculum a 10/10.
https://www.apologia.com/subject/science/physical-science/
History – I did a lot of research before this year. History is probably my favorite subject to teach and to learn. I chose Guest Hollow’s High School Early American History Curriculum because I really wanted to try a literature based curriculum.
On the positive side, it is a well thought out curriculum. It gives so many options for reading and videos that the information is going to make it into the kids heads one way or another. If your student likes graphic novels, it has those, but at the same time if your kid hates graphic novels you can skip them (I have a graphic novel hater btw). It also rates the choices so you know which ones are must haves and which ones are more optional. I am able to really easily put everything into google classroom and organize it that way. I also like the spine they use for the curriculum, so that made it an easier decision.
On the downside, it is initially super hard to navigate. It is not as open and go. I almost needed a class to figure out how to use the curriculum. But, now that I understand the method to their madness, I think I could use any of their curriculum with confidence. I am going to hold judgement for now on the amount of output required in the class. I want to see how it progresses as we go along, but so far seems like low output. I am not very concerned about that, there is a lot of input happening!
Overall, I give this history curriculum a 9/10.
Geography – Here is the other vendor that is a repeat for us. We are using Campfire Curriculum’s 50 states this year. The curriculum is broken into regions, we started with New England and are now in the Mid-Atlantic. Each region contains about 5-6 states broken in two lessons each. A lesson could last as long as you want, it is pretty robust curriculum.
Lots of positives here, Campfire is a really robust curriculum. You can go as far down a rabbit hole as you want and they will hold your hand the whole way. Each state gives you so many things to do! There are recipes, hefty projects, faith talks, and sightseeing projects for each state. The curriculum is pretty straightforward and easy to use.
For me the downside is having to chose. I feel like we underutilize the curriculum when there are so many choices.
Overall, I give this geography curriculum a 9/10.
https://campfirecurriculums.com/product/geography/
Foreign Language – For Italian, we are still using Rosetta Stone. I would love to find some really great Italian language curriculum if anyone knows any!!
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