Curated guide

Best Middle School Homeschool Curriculum (Grades 6-8)

23 curricula in this guide

Middle school is the transition from elementary basics to high-school-level rigor. Curricula at this level introduce pre-algebra, more complex writing assignments, and laboratory science. Many families also begin transitioning to independent learning during these years.

Our top picks support that transition. Teaching Textbooks lets math-anxious tweens learn independently with video lessons and auto-grading. IEW builds the structured writing skills they'll need for high school essays. Apologia introduces conversational, college-prep science. Consider also starting a foreign language at this stage — most colleges expect 2-4 years of one language.

Editor's selection

Our picks

Teaching Textbooks

Self-teaching digital math curriculum with video instruction and automatic grading. Designed for maximum student independence — minimal parent involvement required.

3–5 6–8 9–12

$49–$84/year

IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing)

Institute for Excellence in Writing

Structured writing curriculum using the Structure and Style method with engaging video instruction. Teaches reluctant writers to produce organized, stylistic prose through nine structural models.

3–5 6–8 9–12

$169–$289/grade

Apologia Science

Apologia Educational Ministries

Rigorous college-prep science curriculum written from a young-earth Christian perspective. Conversational writing style with notebook-based learning and strong lab components.

PreK K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$42–$93/grade

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Duolingo

Featured

Gamified language-learning app with streaks, XP, and AI-adaptive lessons across 40+ languages. Best as supplemental vocab and exposure; insufficient on its own for high school foreign-language credit.

K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$0–$120/year

Khan Academy

Featured

Free, nonprofit, mastery-based online learning platform spanning PreK through college. Short video lessons paired with adaptive practice and unit tests, especially strong in math and SAT prep.

PreK K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

Acellus Academy

International Academy of Science

Fully accredited online K-12 school with WASC accreditation, AP courses, NCAA-approved cores, and military Tier I status. Same video content as Power Homeschool but with diploma, transcripts, and teacher support.

K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$2000–$4500/year

All About Spelling

All About Learning Press

Multi-sensory Orton-Gillingham spelling program using letter tiles and scripted lessons. Companion to All About Reading, with seven mastery-based levels and reusable materials.

K–2 3–5 6–8

$50–$65/grade

BookShark

Secular literature-based curriculum adapted from the Sonlight model. One of the few non-religious, book-rich options for families who love reading together.

K–2 3–5 6–8

$500–$1045/year

BrainPOP

Animated explainer videos with Tim and Moby covering 800+ topics in science, social studies, ELA, math, and arts. Strong supplement for visual learners and topic intros.

K–2 3–5 6–8

$295–$430/year

Build Your Library

Secular, literature-based curriculum following a historical timeline with Charlotte Mason methods. Teacher's guide PDFs are affordable; books purchased separately.

PreK K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$30–$60/grade

DreamBox Math

Discovery Education

Adaptive, gamified K-8 math platform with virtual manipulatives and an intelligent learning engine that tracks tens of thousands of data points per session. Especially strong in K-5.

K–2 3–5 6–8

$99–$150/year

Epic!

Byju's

Digital library of 40,000+ children's books, audiobooks, and learning videos for ages 2-12. Strong supplement for literature-based homeschools and voracious readers.

PreK K–2 3–5 6–8

$80–$144/year

Generation Genius

NGSS-aligned K-8 science and Common Core math video lessons with kid hosts, paired with lesson plans, worksheets, and hands-on activity guides. Top secular science supplement.

K–2 3–5 6–8

$163–$325/year

IXL Learning

Adaptive skill-by-skill practice platform with over 17,000 standards-aligned skills across math, language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish. Strongest as practice and diagnostic, not initial instruction.

PreK K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$79–$159/year

Khanmigo

Khan Academy

Khan Academy's GPT-4-powered Socratic AI tutor. Guides students to answers rather than giving them. Integrates with Khan content across math, science, humanities, AP, and SAT prep. $44/yr covers up to 10 children.

3–5 6–8 9–12

$44/year

Lexia Learning

Cambium Learning Group

Science-of-Reading, Orton-Gillingham-aligned structured literacy program for PreK-12. School-market dominant; available to homeschool families only through reseller Family Literacy Centers.

PreK K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$165–$175/year

MagicSchool

MagicSchool AI

AI lesson-planning toolkit with 80+ tools for educators — lesson generators, rubrics, worksheets, IEP writers. Targets teachers and parents who assemble their own curriculum.

K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$0–$100/year

Math Mammoth

Affordable, conceptual mastery math curriculum with self-teaching worktexts. Strong on mental math and number sense. Available as printable PDFs.

K–2 3–5 6–8

$30–$40/grade

Mathnasium @home

Mathnasium

Live online math tutoring delivered via webcam by trained Mathnasium instructors. Uses the proprietary Mathnasium Method. ESA-eligible in multiple states including AZ, FL, TN, UT, WV, and IA.

K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$2400–$4200/year

Oak Meadow

Waldorf-inspired secular curriculum emphasizing creativity, nature, and hands-on learning. Offers both independent homeschool materials and an accredited distance-learning school option.

K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$120–$2500/year

Outschool

Marketplace of independent teachers offering 140,000+ live small-group video classes, 1:1 tutoring, and self-paced courses for ages 3-18. Supplemental enrichment, not a full curriculum.

PreK K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$480–$2880/year

Power Homeschool

International Academy of Science

Self-paced video curriculum sharing identical content with Acellus Academy but without enrollment, accreditation, or teacher support. Significant 2025 price increase from ~$31/mo to $99/mo.

PreK K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$948–$1188/year

Prodigy Math

Prodigy Education

Gamified RPG math platform where wizard-themed battles are gated by adaptive math questions. Standards-aligned, free base game, ESA-approved in multiple states.

K–2 3–5 6–8

$59–$119/year

Rosetta Stone

IXL Learning

Immersive foreign-language program covering 25 languages using image-association lessons and TruAccent speech recognition. One of the few apps that can carry a high school foreign-language credit.

3–5 6–8 9–12

$149–$219

Singapore Math (Dimensions Math)

Singapore Math Inc.

Conceptual math curriculum using the concrete-pictorial-abstract (CPA) method and bar model problem-solving. Develops deep mathematical understanding through the approach that made Singapore a global math leader.

PreK K–2 3–5 6–8

$123–$169/grade

Time4Learning

Secular self-paced PreK-12 full curriculum with animated lessons, automated grading, and recordkeeping. Most popular secular all-subjects digital subscription.

PreK K–2 3–5 6–8 9–12

$335–$479/year

Common questions

Frequently asked

What should middle school homeschool actually cover?

The academic goal is transition: moving a student from parent-directed work toward managing their own assignments. Content matters less than the habits. Pre-algebra readiness, writing multi-paragraph essays, taking notes, and meeting a deadline without being reminded are what make ninth grade survivable.

Do middle school grades go on the high school transcript?

Generally no, with one common exception: high school level courses taken early. Algebra 1 and first-year foreign language taken in eighth grade are routinely placed on the transcript with the credit and grade. Ordinary eighth grade coursework is not.

Should my middle schooler start taking outside classes?

It is a good stage for it if you have access. Co-ops, online classes, and group labs give students practice with someone else's deadlines and grading standards before the stakes rise in high school. It is also a low-risk way to hand off a subject you would rather not teach.

How independent should a middle schooler be?

Aim to move from you assigning each day's work to the student working from a weekly list by the end of eighth grade. Expect this to be uneven and to require rebuilding more than once. The skill you are teaching is planning and follow-through, which takes several years and a fair amount of letting them miss deadlines.

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