Our Charlotte Mason Homeschool Eighth Grade Plans

(Please note that I have linked to the book lists on the AO website to respect their licensing terms and the hard work they’ve put into such an amazing curriculum that they offer for free. Books that use affiliate links here are not listed on the AO website.)

It is much to be wished that thoughtful mothers would more often keep account of the methods they employ with their children, with some definite note of the success of this or that plan.

CHARLOTTE MASON (HOME EDUCATION)

And suddenly, here we are at my oldest’s last year before high school. As with just about every advancement and development his whole life, except for the early ones, which didn’t hit me in the same way, there is a part of me that is mourning. I wrote that motherhood sometimes feels like a continual loss, and I have been experiencing that acutely lately. And then I remind myself that I still have five more years of school with him. And that is enough in that moment.

My planning this year looked quite a bit different than it has in years past. Rather than ordering all of the books for the coming year in April or May, I waited until the summer so I could really look through them and decide which ones I felt we would do and which ones we were going to skip. Also, rather than waiting until two weeks before the school year started to really begin planning, I made it a slower process that I worked on through the summer. I started just after we finished our exams for last year by doing a year-end review and making notes about things that I wanted to do for the coming year, lists of tasks I wanted to accomplish before the school year started, and items I wanted to purchase to make learning more efficient for us. The CMEC 2018 Retreat recordings were instrumental in this, and, as I’ve said in other posts, I highly recommend them. I listened to and took notes on Celeste’s “End-of-Term Reflection: The Mother’s Key to Hope and Growth” talk and then made myself a template with all of the questions she goes through at the end of the year with her students so I could do the same with mine each year. Also helpful were the “Pre-Reading as Scholé: Teaching with the Posture of a Student” and “Of Midges and Methods: The Practices of a Prepared Teacher” to get a better routine of pre-reading and preparing in place before the year started.

Though I won’t be doing the beautiful notebooks that Celeste showed as examples in her talk, I did get two 3-ring binders (one for each kid’s readings), dividers, and page tabs. I will be taking notes as I go through my pre-reading as well as labeling maps and learning right along with my kids. I feel like this will better prepare me to not only discuss the topics we read about but also have maps, terms, and names ready for the lessons. I didn’t make it as far in my pre-reading as I had hoped over the summer, but I’m thankful for the progress I did make and how it is all unfolding.

Before I get to the list, I wanted to add a note about narrations. I have him narrate every book, whether I am reading it or he is. This year, he will be reading more books than any other year in the past, so for the books he reads on his own, I’m giving him the option of doing verbal or written narrations, though I will require at least two written narrations from his non-science readings. Aside from his science narrations, which he will write in his science notebooks, he usually chooses to type his written narrations.

And now, on to our year 8 plans!

Morning Time

Morning Time Resources
Stories of the Saints
Imaginative Prayer
Our 24 Family Ways
Laying Down the Rails and Laying Down the Rails for Children

Our Morning Time routine has worked well for us for several years now, so I have a few minor changes, but overall, it will remain the same. Last year, I included readings from Saint and Heroes (on the Year 8 Bible/Spiritual Formation list) or Stories of the Saints on feast days but then didn’t read anything else during that time on non-feast days. This year, on non-feast days, we will start with an exercise from Imaginative Prayer on Mondays and then go through Our 24 Family Ways Tuesday through Thursday (we don’t have Morning Time on Fridays). I have owned Our 24 Family Ways for several years now, and we have memorized all of the ways, but we have never gone through all the family devotional sections, so we’ll continue doing one per day until we finish the book.

I also decided to bring Laying Down the Rails for Children back into our Morning Time. I’ve used this in the past and had mixed success with it, but after doing Celeste’s year-end reflection that I mentioned above with some of the questions asking what habits or character traits I’d like to help grow in my children, I feel like it’s a resource that I’d like to use again. I don’t know that we will use it exactly as written, but I’d like to at least have it as a framework to focus on better habits. I also read the section in Laying Down the Rails about repairing the rails, as one of my children has developed a bad habit that falls into one of those categories. Re-reading the section from Parents and Children that’s included in that, as well as the suggestions for steps to take and specific habits to focus on was also helpful. Instead of The Book of Virtues that we’ve been reading on Mondays, we’ll focus on our habit that day.

On Thursdays, we’ll read the last week of entries from Rural Hours (scheduled in Year 8), and if there are none, we’ll keep reading Lay of the Land, which was scheduled for Year 7 but we did not finish.

Bible & Spiritual Formation

Bible Reading Schedule & Spiritual Formation Book List Here
SPCK Bible Atlas
Bible Resources

I decided to combine both kids into one Bible reading last year, so we re-did all of the readings my son did in year 6 (which are now the Year 7 readings) so that my daughter could catch up, and we’re back on track this year to follow the Year 8 schedule for both kids. We will do Bible lessons all together.

I started to read The Screwtape Letters over the summer and decided that it would be a book we’d read together as there are a few chapters with adult topics. The chapters are short, so I think it will also be a good opportunity for discussion.

I haven’t started The Pursuit of Holiness yet, but I have heard mixed reviews about it, so I’m keeping an open mind about possibly dropping it at some point. B will read this one on his own.

Of the two missionary biographies, I chose Jungle Pilot as I read many good things about it on the AO forums. He will also read this one on his own.

Citizenship

Citizenship Book List Here
Plutarch Schedule Here
Plutarch Resources

My daughter will join us for Plutarch this year, which I look forward to! Plutarch has been a surprisingly enjoyable part of our week for both of us, so I’m glad she will also get to partake in that now. We will do these readings all together.

Government & Economics

Government & Economics Book List Here

I thought Richard Maybury’s Whatever Happened to Penny Candy in Year 7 was fantastic, so I’m looking forward to going through his Justice book this year. B will read this one on his own.

Current Events

World Teen

I debated switching us to World Watch News this year, but I think I will wait until my daughter is older and she can join us. I will continue printing off two to three articles for him per week and require that at least one is a written narration. Last year, I printed out a world map and had him label the places he had read about in the news, so I’ll have him do that again this year.

Spanish

Tierra
Simple Spanish Year 1

In Term 1, we will continue what we did in Term 3 last year by using a modified version of Simple Spanish Year 1 with the following schedule:

• Monday – Hymn (I will try to match this to a hymn we’ve learned in English already); Series
• Tuesday – Bible Verse; Book page
• Wednesday – Folksong; Series (also review old series)
• Thursday – Poem; Book page

I was also mistaken last year when I said that the creator of Tierra is not going to continue making it, so I will also wait for her next theme to come out, and we will use that during one of our terms as well. We will do all of our Spanish activities all together.

Geography

Geography Book List Here
AO Forum Year 8 Map Resources
Seterra Maps
National Geographic Map Maker
Geography Resources

For Term 1, I chose 1493 for Young People as I got Mann’s Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 from the library last year and found it fascinating. We will move on to Kon Tiki in Terms 2 and 3. B will read both of these on his own.

As I’ve been pre-reading, I’ve also printed out maps appropriate for the books we’re reading in all subjects that we can label as the year progresses. Map drills have been problematic the last few years, and I haven’t been good about getting them done, so I’m hoping tracking each of the stories along on a map helps with our geography knowledge.

Scouting

Scouting for Wild Ones

We didn’t do Scouting in Terms 2 and 3 last year but will pick it up again in Term 1 with some homeschooling friends.

History & Biography

History & Biography Book List Here
Year 8 Historical Documents Printable (you will need to join the Cheat Sheet group on Groups.io to access the file)
Book of Centuries

For our main history text, we are continuing with Arnold-Forster’s A History of England. I chose this book after reading several posts on the AO forums about it that suggested the readings might be a little more doable than Churchill. It ended up being a fantastic choice as Arnold-Forster’s writing style is enjoyable, concise, and instructive. I also appreciate the key events and people lists at the beginning of the chapters, which have made putting entries into our Book of Centuries much easier! I will read this one with him.

We will do all the rest of the readings as scheduled. B will read the speeches, The Voyage of the Armada, and Bacon’s biography on his own. We’ll read A Man for All Seasons together (I got two copies per the recommendation of a friend who did Year 8 last year). I was hoping to find a dramatic reading audiobook version of that book, like the Arkangel recordings we use for Shakespeare, but I didn’t have luck with that. Another suggestion on the AO forums was to watch a production of the play on YouTube before we start the book, but I think we might just try to read it before we watch it.

Literature

Literature Book List Here
Shakespeare Schedule Here
Shakespeare Resources

Despite my daughter’s request that we never do another tragedy ever again (she wasn’t a huge fan of King Lear or Julius Caesar last year :)), we are following the Shakespeare schedule as written. You can read about how we do this on the Shakespeare resources page.

We’ll also do the rest of these readings as scheduled. Generally, I like to have him read his literature books on his own, and we will do that in at least Term 1, aside from Everyman, which I will read with him. I will note in my year-end recap post if we make any changes to that.

Poetry

Poetry Selections Here

Shakespeare and The Fairie Queene start off this year’s poetry selections! Then we’ll move on to John Donne, George Herbert, and John Milton. Aside from Shakespeare, I am not very familiar with any of these poets, so this will be a learning year for both of us. I will read these with him.

Logic

Logic Book List Here

We’ll continue with How to Read a Book. I found it very interesting last year, and I’ve taken some of the ideas to heart when deciding whether I want to read (or buy) new books. I read this book with him.

Science

Science Book List Here
All Three Terms: Sabbath Mood Homeschool Form 3-4 Botany Living Science Guide
Term 1: Sabbath Mood Homeschool Form 3-4 Astronomy Living Science Guide
Term 2: Sabbath Mood Homeschool Form 3-4 Tech & Engineering Living Science Guide
Term 3: Sabbath Mood Homeschool Form 3-4 Geology Living Science Guide
Various books from the Sabbath Mood Homeschool living science books lists
Cognitive Surplus Notebooks
Science Resources

As with the last four years, we are straying from the AO schedule the most in science. We will be doing the Sabbath Mood Homeschool (SMH) schedule this year with a full year of botany (one lesson per week), and then a second science focus for each term (three lessons per week). These guides are set up for him to mostly do science on his own, so I am fairly hands-off in this area. I also splurge in this subject and get nice dot-grid notebooks for each science subject from Cognitive Surplus since he handwrites all of his narrations for science. I am actually probably more excited about these notebooks than he is, but that’s okay. I bought most of the items needed for the experiments from Home Science Tools when they were having a sale earlier this year, and I have a special basket where I put everything he’ll need for the coming week’s experiment when I’m doing my Sunday prep work. With astronomy in Term 1, I’m also taking advantage of the free shows at the United States Air Force Academy planetarium, which is about a half-hour south of us, and we’ll be attending at least one of those.

From the AO schedule, we are skipping Adventures with a Microscope, Signs and Seasons, the Kepler biography, and the William Harvey book. We are reading First Studies of Plant Life, but we will be using the SMH schedule and guide for that. B will most likely read the other science books on his own, but I will make a note in my year-end recap post if that changes.

Nature Study

Nature Study Book List and Recommendations Here
Nature Study Schedule Here
Ambling Together Nature Study Guides
Nature Study Resources

We will be following the AO nature study schedule again this year. I am so thankful for the Ambling Together guides and will use those as a framework in Terms 1 and 3. We only have nature study once per week, so I usually go through and choose just two things from her suggestions each week. In Term 2, I’ll put together my own schedule for weather (she is doing soil that term) using the resources on my nature study page. I’ll share the resources I end up using for that at the end of the year. We do nature study all together.

Math

RightStart Math Level H

Math is the area that has caused me the most turmoil this summer. I was going to share the whole story, but a lot of it is just rambly and the product of a homeschooling mom who is kind of freaking out that her son is approaching high school. In a nutshell, at the end of the last school year, I really started looking at what he might need to accomplish in high school and decided that we’d switch to Saxon Math for this year as I wanted to get started on Algebra. Then I started looking at Art of Problem Solving math and decided that was the route we’d go. Finally, after chatting with friends who have older kids and have homeschooled through high school, as well with my chemical engineer husband who is far more mathematically inclined than I am, we decided to stick with RightStart for one more year and then switch to Art of Problem Solving (as recommended on the RightStart Math website) for high school. So that’s the plan. At least for now. 🙂

Language Arts

Grammar/Mechanics

Grammar and Composition Book List and Recommendations Here
Junior Analytical Grammar and Mechanics  (JAG)
Grammar Resources

We are a little more than halfway through the Junior Analytical Grammar Mechanics book, so we will continue with those lessons until we finish the book, which I assume will happen before the end of the year. And then he will be done with grammar!

Dictation

Spelling Wisdom Book 2
Post-it Page Markers
Spelling Resources

We finished Spelling Wisdom Book 1 last year and moved on to Book 2. We spend about 30 minutes doing a spelling lesson, and depending on how long the exercise is in Spelling Wisdom, we can get one or two done during this time. I’m not sure if we’ll finish Book 2 this year, but if we do, we’ll move on to Book 3.

Copywork

Copywork Resources

Copywork will continue as it has, with one handwritten page per day. He usually writes out his recitation pieces, but I also try to find copywork files for specific AO years that others have put together when he gets through the recitation pieces.

Repetition/Recitation

Ruminating on Recitation Article (read this first!)
Recitation Guidelines and Student Log (updated in 2021)
Recitation Resources
AO Recitation Recommendations for Year 8

We’ll continue with repetition as we’ve been doing it for the last few years, with him reading aloud to me his Old Testament selection on Mondays, New Testament on Tuesdays, Psalm on Wednesdays, and poem on Thursdays. I’m also pondering switching up the poem with a passage from Shakespeare, but I’m not sure that will actually happen. I’ll share what he learns for repetition in my year-end recap post.

Art

Art Book List and Recommendations Here

We missed the last reading of The Story of Painting last year, so we’ll have to catch up. Otherwise, we’ll read the schedule as given.

Picture Study

Term 1 – Albrecht Dürer
Term 2 – Caravaggio
Term 3 – Rosa Bonheur
Picture Study Resources

​We’re studying two artists I greatly enjoy this year: Albrecht Dürer and Caravaggio. I am not partial to the art of Eugène Delacroix, so I decided to do a contemporary of his who painted a lot of animals (which my daughter will love): Rosa Bonheur. I hope to have a Picture Study Aid covering her art available in the future!

Drawing

Lily and Thistle Nature’s Art Club
Art Resources

We will continue with one drawing lesson from Nature’s Art Club every Friday, finishing the drawing portion and moving on to colored pencils this year.

Music

Composer Study

Composer Study Schedule Here
Tillberry Table Beethoven Composer Study Guide
Tillberry Table Vivaldi Composer Study Guide
Composer Study Resources

I will be using the Tilberry Table Beethoven guide for Term 1, but I decided to put together my own studies for Terms 2 and 3 as Heather doesn’t offer guides for Vivaldi and Chopin at this point (she released one for Vivaldi after I published this post!). Jennifer Taylor modeled composer study for us beautifully at the Charlotte Mason Educational Retreat earlier this year, and though I really appreciate Heather’s guides, I also feel a lot more confident now putting together my own study if needed.

Hymn/Folksong

Hymn Schedule Here
Folksong Schedule Here
Hymn/Folksong Resources

We don’t follow the AO schedule strictly with hymns and folksongs as we only do two per term rather than a new one each month. However, I do generally pick from their selections. I haven’t decided on all of them for this year yet, so I will share what we go with in my year-end recap post.

Physical Education

We are going to be sticking with archery for physical education this year. We took a class together earlier in the year and learned the basics of archery, and now we need to make time to get our bows. B wants a compound bow, which is a little more complicated to buy than a recurve, but once we have what we need, we will visit some local free ranges to practice as often as possible. We will also continue going on hikes a few times per month.

Handicrafts

Term 1 – Sewing School 2

We went through most of Sewing School 2 last year but didn’t get to the projects, so we’ll be working on three machine sewing projects over the course of Term 1 (I may even pull out my copy of Sew Everything Workshop and make something as well!). I have a few things in mind as options for Term 2, including cardboard modeling and pyrography (we’re also taking a one-time leatherworking class at a local store!), so I’ll share at the end of the year what we end up doing.

Free Reading

Free Reads Book List here

​B hasn’t already read any of the books on this year’s free reads list, so we have a lot of choices here!

And there’s our Year 8! As I mentioned a few times in this post, I’ll be sharing everything again in my year-end recap post in June. That feels far away, but I know it will come quickly!

Enter your email address here to get updates and exclusive downloads, including a free Picture Study Aid!