The middle school years are the years that have been the most challenging for me to write about. As homeschoolers, we have experienced a wide range of schedules, abilities, and curriculum choices. And I finally put my finger on why this is: this period is probably the biggest transition in a student’s life; it’s not just education, but also emotions, hormones, and physical changes.
Middle school is an important time to be flexible! And it’s a very important time to give your kids the gift of a peaceful home life.
What is middle school?
In modern education, it’s roughly 6th-8th grade, or ages 10-13. In this period, a child might be catching up on a concept that was difficult in earlier stages, or might be plowing into high school level curriculum. It might also be both, depending on the subject.
Now, if you’re a typical American, you’re thinking in terms of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. If you went to public school, you may remember this as the worst, most awkward time of your school career.
I was homeschooled beginning in 6th grade (age 11). Thankfully, I missed all of that. As a mom of five homeschooled kids, I’m thankful that all of my children have missed that, too.
What I have learned over these homeschooling decades is that middle school is the important window when students are building on the basics of early childhood: reading, basic mathematics, and the physical act of writing. If you read my posts on elementary school, you’ll see what I mean.
- Homeschool 101: Year Round School
- Homeschool 101: Preschool
- Homeschool 101: Early Elementary
- Homeschool 101: Planning High School
- Homeschool High School: Transcripts and Graduation
Now is the time for students to learn how to communicate well through writing, to comprehend what is read, and to apply basic mathematics to more advanced calculations. And in my opinion, it’s time to grasp world history in a deeper way.
“I’m scared of middle school!”
Teaching middle school subjects scares a lot of parents, but it shouldn’t! This is a really interesting time, because your student is moving into deeper topics and applicable information. They’re honing skills that will help them throughout their whole lives. They’re also starting to think about things in a way they never did before. Moms and dads, you certainly want to be there for that!
What you’re probably actually afraid of is trying to be a public middle school teacher.
Even the hard stuff (at least for some of us) like math and science is not as scary as you might think. Homeschool curriculum is designed for parents to teach their children without the aid of a teaching degree. There are so many choices that include live, online sessions or video instruction, and every curriculum includes the answer key!
If you’re super nervous about a certain course, look for a tutor or class or co-op in your area that offers that option. We’ve made use of all three throughout our homeschooling years.
A basic middle school outline
(I do mean basic. There are many subtopics to have fun with besides these, and you should include what suits your family!)
Reading – No matter what the reading-instruction period of your child’s early years looked like, by now they should be able to read proficiently. Hopefully, they’ve also identified something that interests them enough to read about it voluntarily. (That is not to say that all kid will become avid readers by this time, but for a large majority it seems to be the case.) Regardless of interest, their ability should be pretty solid at this point.
I like to have my kids always reading something on their own, while we are also doing family read-alouds. Their reading material is a mix of books they choose and books I choose. The books I choose usually align with our history curriculum’s timeline in the form of historic fiction or classic literature.
I don’t worry about things like “reading level.” I know each of my kids’ abilities, so if they are solid readers by middle school, they read unabridged books. If they are still strengthening their skills, I will allow abridged versions of certain books.
One of the best parts of homeschooling is its flexibility. Each child is an individual, and their education can be tailored specifically to them. Consider this flexibility when thinking in terms of what “grade” your child is in. As homeschoolers, you don’t have to hold a child back an entire grade level because they may be behind in one subject. If your child needs more time on math or reading, give them more time in math or reading, but don’t repeat an entire boxed set of curriculum. That’s the public school way; you are not a public school. It’s very likely that the child who is slow in math is also advanced in something else!
I have some reading lists that you might be interested in.
Writing – Through the elementary years, we utilize copy work as the main source of writing instruction. The act of copying beautifully written pieces is a deceptively easy way to model this important skill. From the time the child is able to write letters, they begin to copy a sentence or two each day, and this progresses to paragraphs by middle school. Reading and copywork, practiced daily, are two very painless ways to lay a solid foundation in language arts. Read my detailed blog post on copy work here.
But by the ages of 10-12, we begin formal writing instruction with Structure and Style for Students from Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). I begin with Level B Year 1. It is a fun program that teaches students how to write well by giving them a starting point and then showing them how to improve a basic sentence or paragraph. Each lesson begins with video instruction by Andrew Pudewa, who has a fun and engaging personality. All of my kids and most of their friends have taken S&S, and love it.
(In high school, we typically use one or two of the IEW Themed writing courses to coincide with our history lessons, like United States History Writing Lessons, or Medieval History Writing Lessons. I like full immersion!)
Grammar – After a writing course, we will usually do a grammar course the next year. I also use IEW for this. Fix-It Grammar is fun and easy, and meshes well with the writing curriculum. (Read my review here.)
Depending on the year and the child, we’ve also reversed the Writing/Grammar order of courses, but we almost never do them simultaneously, and we never do both of them every year.
Read my comprehensive post on homeschooling the language arts here.
Math – This is very child-specific. Some children are math whizzes, and will already be in algebra at 10 years old. Some children are quite the opposite. My goal, no matter what the child’s ability, is that they are continually progressing. Some progress through math levels rapidly, and some need to move slowly through the material (sometimes repeating certain lessons) to master it.
You may be very tempted during this period to compare your child to other children his age, or to compare your homeschool to that of other families. Please hear me: comparison is the thief of joy and the source of unneeded stress. Focus on your child right where they are, and help them to progress consistently.
We use Math-U-See for all levels. Middle school math from MUS is typically Epsilon (fractions), Zeta (decimals and percents), and Pre-Algebra. But again, this can vary widely from student to student.
Math U SeeHistory – As homeschoolers, we have a lot of freedom in this area. While public school standards require certain parts of history in certain grades, homeschool laws in even the most restrictive states are fairly loose in this area. It really is up to the parents to make the choices!
In our homeschool, I teach chronological history starting with the biblical account of creation in Genesis and working our way methodically through to the 21st century. We do this as a family group, and have been doing so for over a dozen years. So, no matter what the age of my children, they all participated in the same history lessons together. (Read how we do that here.)
That means that middle school doesn’t have a specific history curriculum. My 10 year old and my 18 year old will be studying the same period at the same time. (This saves so much stress, time, and money. Trust me! Give it a try!)
Our curriculum choice has been Mystery of History for many years, and we weave in our state (Texas) history and American history with the big picture of world history. Read more about that here.
I don’t worry about state standards; I focus on understanding whatever time period we’re studying, and learning about the geography, literature, arts, inventions, and people of that time.
Science – In the middle school years, I like for my children to learn science on the historical timeline. A lot of this is naturally built in to Mystery of History, as the author includes many famous scientists and philosophers, as well as the things they thought and believed, and what they may have invented. But alongside Mystery of History, I really like Berean Builders science curriculum, because it also follows the historical timeline.
Berean Builders
General science is pretty standard in middle school, preparing the student for upcoming high school courses. Many companies offer some wonderful courses that teach biblical creation with foundational science. We like the 101 Series from Westfield Studios. This is also a fun time to let your student focus on something they really love, like geology, astronomy, dinosaurs, botany, etc.
Bible – The Bible is a natural part of our curriculum. We are deliberate about choosing curriculum with a biblical worldview. This is especially important in history and science. The resources we use don’t just print Bible verses in the margins of the textbooks; they teach about the history of our world and the nature of science from the view that God created the world everything in it.
Our children use various resources to study the Bible, too. First, they each have their own Bibles for reading. Second, we read together as a family. Third, they will occasionally do a Bible study curriculum on a certain topic that I have chosen (like the ones from Not Consumed, Daily Grace Co., etc.). A biblical worldview is not something that comes from a curriculum; it must be a part of everyday life – in school lessons, Bible study, and daily conversation.
Extracurricular – While you could do the standard piano lessons or P.E., this is another area that homeschool affords a freedom that should be embraced! The flexible schedule of a homeschooler gives your students time to really perfect a craft or pursue a hobby. Think outside the box. Don’t try to limit your child to the typical middle school schedule.
Around this age, my children have done so many different things, depending on their personality: drawing, painting, cake decorating, cooking, sewing, knitting, hairstyling, typing, various musical instruments, ballet, and paper making. Other families I know run the family farm, join the homeschool band, 4H, robotics, homeschool or county sports, martial arts, or run a family business.
Enrichment co-ops offer lots of opportunities in one place.
A note about high school prep
You may notice that there is a blurry line between middle school and high school for homeschoolers. A couple of my children have taken Biology when they were 12 or 13, or a similar high school course when they weren’t technically a high schooler. When completing a high school transcript, it is important to give your student the credit for a course even if they are not “high school age” when they complete it. A transcript is not about the years from 14-18, but about the work that is completed. Start a spreadsheet or keep a list somewhere of the “high school” courses that your child takes, even if they take them early.
One of my sons determined to graduate early, which is exactly what he did. I gave him a list of graduation requirements, and he completed them ahead of schedule. That means that he was doing some high school level work early. Flexibility!
A note about mastery
Learning to read more advanced works, to communicate well, and to use mathematics in everyday situations — these are key to all walks of life. Mastery is more important than “finishing the book.” Make sure that your students understand the material that is presented. If they don’t, pause and help them. Find a new approach, a video, a tutor, or another curriculum. Help them to master this basic knowledge (the three Rs) now. High school is a much harder time to catch up.
But what is K-12 anyway?
Everything in this blog post is based on the American Way of educating a child for 13 years. I have laid out the basic middle school plan with terms that everyone is used to. But I want you to understand that it does not take 12 (or 13) years to educate a child. I’ve written about this here, and I’m writing about it in detail in my upcoming new book.
My “middle school” approach, in our homeschool, is a nonstandard transition from learning to read, write, and figure, to using those skills to understand the world around us. So these years can happen from ages 9-12, or 12-15, or whatever your child needs.
I have observed that children don’t need 12 full years of math instruction, or grammar instruction, or history or science or anything else. They benefit from a focused plan that teaches them to read with proficiency, to communicate well, and to apply mathematics to the real world. Proficiency in reading allows all kinds of other things to be added to this short list (like history and science and anything else).
We are so used to the K-12 system because it’s been a part of our society for just over 100 years. But it’s not efficient, nor is it necessary.
So with everything I’ve laid before you regarding “middle school,” take what you’ve known all your life, and what is actually necessary, and create a “to-do” list for your children that doesn’t force you into a grade-level calendar. Plan, learn, and move forward. It might surprise you that “middle school” won’t be anything like your childhood experience!
If you would like to know more about homeschooling in general, visit my complete Homeschool 101 Page here. You’ll find a comprehensive list of blog posts, a link to my book Anyone Can Homeschool, and information on affordable consultations.
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