5 Workable Ways to Homeschool Middle School and Still Have Fun

Here are 5 workable ways to homeschool middle school and still have fun.

5 Workable Ways to Homeschool Middle School and Still Have Fun

I remember when my kids were first starting the middle school years, feeling pressure to *prepare them for high school!*. It felt like we were supposed to *get serious* and throw all our delight-directed learning out the window in order to start pushing heavy-duty educational experiences.

Fortunately for my kids, I was surrounded by a variety of homeschooling families:

• high-performance families who started high school maths and sciences in middle school
• unschoolers who continued to follow their self-directed programs
• eclectic families who felt led to mix and match according to each student’s needs

We chose the eclectic route because we wanted to introduce a few slightly more rigorous learning methods but mostly still have fun. That worked for us!

You’ve noticed that there’s not ONE right way to homeschool. That statement is true for homeschooling elementary school. It is true for homeschooling high school. It is just as true for homeschooling middle school.

Here are 5 workable ways to homeschool middle school and still have fun:

Textbooks. You don’t have to go high-pressure, textbook all-the-way. We decided to do a science text in 7th and 8th grades, to give our kids an ease-in to the more textbook-y world of high school. (We had always used texts for math, so we kept that up.)

Real books. Language Arts and History remained real-book oriented. Weekly trips to the library helped. We introduced a few no-busywork Writing Guides and Literature Guides (that’s where the 7Sisters Middle School Essay Writing Guide and Literature Guides came from).

Co-ops & other group classes. Much of our Language Arts, History and Art courses included fun and useful activities in co-ops and/or homeschool group classes.

Experiential learning: projects, field trips, service opportunities. One of the best things about our co-ops and our own family values is experiential learning. Our kids learned best (at all ages) with a hands-on approach. This included various

• hands-on projects
• LOTS of field trips
• service-learning opportunities at church and in our local homeschool youth group

Combination. Combining all the learning avenues was best for us for homeschooling middle school. There’s not one right way to homeschool middle school. What works for you?

Need more encouragement? Listen to this Q&A: Homeschooling 6th through 8th Grade with Natalie Mack and Heather Frommack.

Have fun with this middle school acrostic.

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5 Workable Ways to Homeschool Middle School and Still Have Fun