When your children reach middle school age you start to realize that homeschooling has made a slight shift. Kids are older and ready for some independence (but not too much!). They have more questions and want to discuss everything with you (and may even question everything you ask them to do). It comes with the territory – and age.
If you’re looking for some advice and encouragement about homeschooling during these years, you’ve come to the right place! Learn everything you need to about how to homeschool middle school from some seasoned homeschool moms.
Top Tips on How to Homeschool Middle School
This stage of homeschooling is so different from the early years and requires a shift in the way you homeschool.
When kids reach the ages of 10-13, you’ll start to notice a change during your homeschool lessons. Instead of learning basic facts about math or history (or really any subject) kids at this stage are more interested in asking questions about the information and making connections between various topics. They may even argue with you! Middle school kids are capable of much more than learning basic facts and it’s the perfect time to capitalize on those questions (and directing that argumentative nature).
While homeschooling needs change they are also growing and changing physically – and that has its own challenges. One of the many benefits of homeschooling is that we are right there in the trenches with our kids as they experience these changes, giving us the chance to help them through these years.
The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Curriculum Options for Middle School is a HUGE LIST of Homeschool Curriculum Options for Middle School! While every possible option for middle school is not listed here, I have strived to include a wide variety of styles, prices ranges, etc. so you have a solid place to start.
Fostering a healthy relationship with your growing child is so important at this stage – and it isn’t without its own particular burdens.
One of the ways I encouraged growing independence was through interest-led science studies. I provided a set of guidelines and my daughter chose the topics that interested her the most. She selected her experiments and did all the work while following the guidelines I had set. It was a wonderful growing experience for both of us.
And, on the subject of independence, that is one of the hallmarks of this stage of growth. One way to begin helping your middle school age children to become more independent is by working with them to use their own planner. Using just an inexpensive planner (one you can even get at the Dollar Store), a set of colored pens, and a color coded weekly sheet that I created and put into a plastic page protector, I created a simple middle school planner for my son.
From the Curriculum Choice Archives
At The Curriculum Choice, you’ll find plenty of curriculum for those middle school years. Be sure to browse the menu at the top of the page to find reviews for products and curriculum for middle school. You might also enjoy these that we’ve selected from our archives.
- Choosing Middle School Homeschool Curriculum
- Middle School Etymology with King Alfred’s English
- Middle School STEM Activity Books
- History of Science Unit Study for Middle Grades
- Hands-On Electricity Education with Snap Circuits
- The Art of Argument
- Favorite Board Games for Family Gatherings
- Writing & Rhetoric
- First Form Latin
- Good Books with The Classical Reader
- Using Creek Edge Press Task Cards to Develop Independent Learners
- IEW Student Writing Intensive Level C
Homeschooling Middle School with Curriculum Choice Authors
The Curriculum Choice authors have active blogs where they regularly offer ideas and experiences about their homeschool adventures. Below are some of their experiences with homeschooling middle school children.
From Cindy at Our Journey Westward
The best of the best Our Journey Westward middle school posts have been gathered into one place for you in I Love Homeschooling Middle School. You’ll find links to posts about unit studies, nature studies, math lessons, gameschooling, co-op classes, and much more!
From Heidi at Starts At Eight
I am currently homeschooling middle school for my 3rd and final time. I have learned so much since getting my first through these years! You can find everything homeschooling middle school in one place at Starts At Eight on our Homeschooling Middle School Page. Everything from managing the life of a teenager to free printable planners, curriculum choices and more!
Tricia at Hodgepodge
Like the others here, I enjoy homeschooling middle school! This is a great age for me to continue to focus on my child’s learning style. This was also the age when we discovered Teaching Textbooks saved us with my eldest two – now homeschool graduates. Each one of my five children has a unique learning style. That’s why I shared the following when my middle girl was a middle schooler.
Kinesthetic Learner – curriculum and organization – She loves to make things. Do things. Move. Participate. Give her a display board for a biography report. Let her make a salt dough map. She loves to color while I read. Crafts, creations, busy. That’s her.
Middle School Homeschool Curriculum Choices – Making writing easy for her gives her a practical way to practice spelling. She can send a card to Grandma and Grandpa or to a pen pal, using all her creative juices. How do you spell….? she will ask. All without the aid of a list of words in a workbook.
BETSY @ BJ’s Homeschool
I had a lot of fun homeschooling our daughter during middle school. She was coming into her own, developing her own interests and beginning to work more independently. I have gathered my favorite posts together and put them on my page called BJ’s Homeschool – Middles.
There you will find our favorites for middle school curricula, for math, social studies, science, English and more. Plus creative ideas for creative writing, leadership, video-making and taking mini- nature road trips with your young teen.
Middle school was a very important time for my daughter and I to build up our relationship, mom to young teen. So by the time she started high school, she was still looking to me for guidance and support, as she tackled the struggles of growing up and becoming a young adult.
Do you think about college for when your middle schooler graduates? Do you wonder if there is something that you need to be doing now, to get her prepared? I wrote a post on that below, and really, if you are providing a solid homeschooling experience for your young teen, that is all you need to be doing!
7 Ways to Prepare Your Middle Schooler for College
THE CURRICULUM CHOICE REVIEW TEAM FEATURES
- Have you enjoyed this special post from our review authors? Our Curriculum Choice review team features a topic monthly. You can see all that our authors have shared on electives, math, curriculum choices and more under Review Team Features.
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Check Out These Middle School Articles from Our Sister Sites
Rock Cycle Activities for Middle and High School Homeschool Nature Study – This is a great homeschool nature study and a simple way to explore rocks as a nature study in your own backyard! ~ Homeschool Nature Study
Homeschool Nature Study for Teens: Tips for Learning and Fun – Is nature study still relevant for your homeschooled teen? Yes! It plays a crucial role in developing observation skills and much more… ~ Homeschool Nature Study
Why Homeschooling Middle School is Better With Hands-On Learning – Study after study has shown that learners of all ages do best when the material is presented in a multisensory format. Text combined with video, hands-on creative activities, and even art as a way to demonstrate understanding have all been proven to contribute to more successful learner outcomes. ~ You ARE An ARTist
Homeschool Art for Middle and High School – I wanted options for learning beyond a basic art class. More than that, my youngest son clearly learns best when art is a part of other academic subjects. I was pleased (and a little relieved) to see how many opportunities for older learners are included at You ARE An ARTist. ~ You ARE An ARTist
Unit Study Adventures™ are four-week studies that contain daily lessons for both elementary grades and Jr/Sr High grades. These studies offer an in-depth look at a topic (space, trees, cars, etc.) that takes into account many areas of the topic, such as geography, science, history, art, etc. Cross-curricular in approach (include history, geography, science, etc.), these unit studies have been written in a simple, ready-to-use format. The research and preparation work have all been done—all you have to do is open the study and let the adventure begin! ~ Unit Study by Amanda Bennett
~ Originally published November 2017, written by Tonia
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