How to Homeschool an 8 Year Old

What Should an 8 Year Old Be Learning?

Typically 8 year olds are in grade 3. At this age, children start to develop more complex skills in math and language. Pronunciation and reading skills greatly improve. When it comes to math, 8 year olds are typically introduced to multiplication concepts at this time, and it’s also important that students have a solid grasp on their addition and subtraction fact families. Age eight is a common year to learn about:

• multiplication and division
• creating and illustrating simple stories
• rules for specific team sports
• different art and music styles
• relationships between natural systems of the universe
• organizational methods such as Venn Diagrams and story maps

When it comes to math, it’s important that students master their math facts early on. Time4MathFacts is a fun, engaging way for your 8-year-old to gain the skills and knowledge to be successful in math.

How to Start Homeschooling an 8 Year Old

If you are familiar with the character “Tigger” from the Disney cartoon version of A.A. Milne’s beloved classic “Winnie the Pooh,” then you probably have an inkling of what it is like to be an eight year old. On any given day they can be “bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy” and certainly, “fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!” But that also means you will need an organized homeschool plan to keep your child on task. To understand how to homeschool an 8 year old, you can begin with the following steps.

• Step 1: Spend some time figuring out your child’s ideal learning style preferences.
• Step 2: Choose a homeschool curriculum (or a mix of curricula) for your eight year old that will best fit with that style or styles.
• Step 3: Determine your overall homeschool goals for the year.
• Step 4: Create a flexible homeschool schedule that allows you to focus on those goals. (Flexibility is key. Schedules are not fixed; they are meant to work for you and to shift as your needs shift.)
• Step 5: Have fun learning together!

Homeschooling Planner

Start planning out your homeschooling days with this free easy to use daily planner.

Get Started With This Daily Planner

What Should a Curriculum for an 8 Year Old Look Like?

Traditionally, eight year olds follow a third grade curriculum. However, one of the beauties of home education is the ability to adapt your program to your child’s specific needs. Is he more advanced in reading and ready to progress to the next grade? Does she need remediation in math from a previous grade? All that and more is possible when you are homeschooling!

As you choose a curriculum for your 8 year old, you’ll want to seek out a program (or mix of programs) that:

• Meets all your state homeschool requirements
• Fits within your homeschool budget
• Covers all the core subjects such as math, language arts, science, and social studies
• Prepares your child for any potential standardized tests they may be required to take in your state
• Allows you to track your child’s learning and create a homeschool portfolio of their progress
• Makes learning fun!

How Time4Learning Helps You Homeschool Your 8 Year Old

Many homeschooling parents report to us that they feel overwhelmed in trying to figure out exactly what to teach their children. Time4Learning understands that home education is a responsibility you don’t take lightly, and that you want to make sure your child is progressing appropriately. Our program takes the guesswork out of the homeschool day by providing multimedia lessons in multiple subjects that can be correlated to state standards.

Some of the reasons that Time4Learning is so popular with families who are homeschooling elementary age children include:

• Detailed lesson content so that parents can explore lessons in advance
• A secure, ad-free online learning environment
• Access to curriculum for both the grade above and the grade below your registered grade level for customized learning levels
• Animated, interactive lessons that feel more like video games than learning exercises
• The option to work through the curriculum sequentially or pick and choose lessons according to your needs
• Flexibility to use the curriculum as the core of your homeschool or as a supplement to other programs
• Comprehensive curriculum that meets all state learning standards

Is Time4Learning the only online curriculum you can use when you homeschool your 8 year old? No. You can compare Time4Learning to other popular online curricula, to see which curriculum may be the ideal fit for your child. Remember that you can always choose to blend the best parts of more than one curriculum (called an eclectic approach) to truly fit the needs of your 8 year old.

Tips for Homeschooling an 8 Year Old

Your 8 year old is growing and changing right before your eyes, and homeschooling allows you to not only be present to see their development first-hand, but to be able to adapt their learning accordingly. You may notice that your child is ready to learn more independently this year, and wants to have more input into decisions about what and how they learn. This is a positive thing! Take the time to listen to your homeschooler’s feelings, and incorporate their wishes as much as possible into your homeschool plan. This will help them be more engaged in their own education.

There are other things you can do to enhance your homeschool experience this year too. Below are some additional tips for teaching your eight year old at home.

• This is a terrific year to introduce word searches and other similar word games as students are familiar enough with letters, words, and sounds to be able to start having fun with them.
• As with most ages, your eight year old will likely both crave structure and resist it. It’s always important when planning your homeschool day to find a balance between scheduled lessons and creative free time.
• Organized play is an important part of homeschool activities for 8 year olds, so if there are homeschool play groups, athletic opportunities, church outings, or even neighborhood park activities available to your eight year old, you may want to give them a try.
• Homeschoolers don’t have to study every subject every day. Some homeschoolers focus on one subject per day, some do specific subjects on specific days, and some use a block schedule approach with different subjects at different times of the year.
• Planning homeschool lessons can be as involved or as simple as you want it to be. Some homeschool parents find that they need to plan out most every detail of their homeschool day or week, while other parents are fine with jotting down some general things they want to cover and letting the flow of the day dictate how they get lessons accomplished.
• Have your child help you with meal planning by writing a grocery list and coming along to purchase items.  Once you get to the supermarket, they can help you weigh produce, compare healthy versus unhealthy foods, and calculate savings on sale items. They’ll practice their handwriting, spelling, and math, not to mention learn important life skills.
• Resist the temptation to compare your homeschooling methods or your child’s progress with other traditionally schooled students or even other homeschoolers. In fact, one of the brightest benefits of homeschooling is finding a learning path that is unique to your family.