How We Used Digestible Discoveries as a Full Middle School Curriculum
- Learning Integrated
- Aug 25
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 29
When I first developed Digestible Discoveries, I thought it would just be a fun supplement to our homeschool days.
What I didn’t expect was that with a few carefully chosen novels, it actually worked as the backbone of our entire middle school curriculum.
Why Digestible Discoveries Worked for Us
Each issue of Digestible Discoveries comes with 20 mini-lessons that covered history, science, art, and language arts. The lessons were short but meaningful, which made them easy to fit into our routine while still keeping the kids engaged.
What stood out to me was the way everything tied together around a monthly theme. Instead of jumping from one subject to another, my kids saw how history, science, and literature connected — which made learning feel more natural.
To round it out, I decided to add novels. That simple step transformed it from a supplement into a full curriculum.
The Novels We Paired with Issue 1-
Explorations and Discovery
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm- This book was a favorite. It was funny and thought-provoking, and it tied in beautifully with the science lessons about discovery and innovation. We had some great discussions about how far science should go.
Exploring the New World- An Interactive History Adventure (You Choose Books series) by Melondy Herr- This series was a big hit because of its interactive format. Since the magazine issue covered exploration in history, the kids got to “step into the shoes” of explorers and make choices. They loved debating what they would have done differently.
Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission by David Long This nonfiction book paired perfectly with the space lessons in Digestible Discoveries.
Lives of the Scientists by Kathleen Krull -This one gave us short, quirky biographies that fit right alongside the magazine’s history and science lessons. The kids enjoyed picking scientists to read about and even did little presentations/projects on their favorites.
Explorers: Amazing Tales of the World's Greatest Adventures by Nellie Huang - This one was a fantastic addition for background knowledge. It was packed with colorful visuals, bite-sized facts, and timelines that helped anchor the bigger exploration stories. My kids often flipped through it on their own, and it worked well as a reference alongside both Digestible Discoveries and the “You Choose” book.
How It All Fit Together
Here’s how we used it:
Digestible Discoveries provided the main lesson for the day.
The novels and reference books gave us a deeper dive into the topic or added a story-based perspective. The kids kept a reading log journal while reading the novels.
We wrapped up with a journal entry, a discussion, project, or a quick activity.
In just a couple of hours, we managed to cover history, science, reading, and writing without it feeling overwhelming or scattered. Everything connected, and that kept the kids interested while keeping me from burning out.
Looking Back
What started as a small supplement ended up being our main curriculum for middle school. With the novels added in, Digestible Discoveries covered everything we needed besides math.
It was flexible, affordable, and — best of all — fun. Looking back, I can honestly say it made our homeschool days feel connected, intentional, and memorable.
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