Order With Me For Next Year: Homeschool Curriculum Picks for 2025–2026 (4th & 8th Grade)
It’s that magical time again—📦 Order With Me For Next Year! The moment I saw the announcement that it’s Kit Day, I knew what had to happen: furious planning and lightning-fast clicking to get our homeschool curriculum in the cart and on its way.
Hey friends, I’m Shanna from Making Everyday Magic. We’re a homeschooling family of four, stepping into our ninth year of homeschooling this fall with a 4th grader and an 8th grader—and yes, we’re going full steam ahead into planning for the 2025–2026 homeschool year.
Let’s walk through exactly what I’m ordering, why I’m ordering it, and where I’m getting it from. This is your behind-the-scenes peek into how I curate our homeschool year—from Timberdoodle to Royal Fireworks Press, Evan Moor, and more. So if you’re ready to order with me for next year, let’s get into it!
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Starting With Timberdoodle Kits
Every year, I love to start with the Timberdoodle site on Kit Day. Even if I don’t buy a full kit, their curated curriculum bundles are such a great starting point. You get a big-picture view of what’s trending, what’s new, and what might be missing from your plan. Bonus? Free shipping and deep discounts.
For 4th grade and 8th grade, I’m customizing our kits to fit our needs—keeping the good stuff, skipping what we already have or don’t need (no thanks, Story of the World), and adding in the new finds that spark curiosity and joy. Think alabaster carving kits, drawing fundamentals, and thinking skills games. Customizing is the name of the game.
What’s In My Cart: 4th Grade Highlights
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✏️ Language arts and math staples
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🎨 Drawing & art books
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🧠 Thinking skills games
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🗺️ Geography and flags
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📓 Evan Moor’s Animals book – already a hit in our house!
My youngest flew through that Evan Moor Animals book in less than three weeks and already asked to do it again—so yes, we’re doing it again next year!
8th Grade Essentials
Over on the 8th grade side, we’re being choosy. This year, it’s about depth and mastery.
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✒️ Michael Clay Thompson language arts from Royal Fireworks Press
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📚 Custom Timberdoodle picks that work with our flow
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🧮 Denison Geometry—our math of choice (waiting to order for timing)
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🌍 Black American History from Crash Course & supplementary resources
RFWP is my go-to for building strong thinkers and expressive writers. MCT remains a core part of our upper-grade homeschool. And yes, the full-color packages make me swoon.
Don’t Forget the Extras
You know I’m grabbing extras from:
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📚 Barnes & Noble for quick pickups
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📦 Amazon (trying to resist—but it’s just so convenient!)
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💻 Teachers Pay Teachers for geography and enrichment picks
Sometimes the little things—like fun geography packs or a fresh pencil set—are what keep the momentum going all year long.
Why I Order Now
I like to order early. It gives me time to spread out the budget, plan calmly, and (let’s be honest) nerd out a little with my planning and organizing before we dive into our end-of-year wrap-up and summer travel. Planning in May gives me breathing room in June.
Also, by ordering now, I can keep my eye out for summer sales, budget effectively, and make sure everything arrives in time for our August start.
Final Thoughts
This is how I plan. This is how I spend. After nearly a decade of homeschooling, I’ve learned that starting early, staying flexible, and picking what works for us makes all the difference. If you’re diving into your own curriculum hunt, I hope this helps you feel a little more prepared (and a lot more excited).
So that’s it, friends. Order With Me For Next Year—done and dusted!
Keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming post on budgeting our homeschool buys, as well as my science deep dive and more fun planning updates. Until then, happy planning and happy ordering!
