What curriculum/books should I follow to teach 2 students one in the 7th grade and one in 8th grade that are homeschooling?

The bare minimum depends on your state and the kind of homeschooling you want to do. For instance, where I live no testing is required, and I'm a very relaxed, unschooly kind of homeschooler and we do very little structured "lessons" and don't use a curriculum, but build stuff around our interests. If you want to find out more, you might start with a basic introductory book on homeschooling--there are a million out there now that talk about how to find out what the laws are, the different ways people homeschool (so you can make that decision about what you think is important for you and your kids), and even review curricula. There are even http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764508881/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/-type books that really break it down. You might want to look at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761527885/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0609805851/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761517278/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761563601/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculumhttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805431381/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ Also: http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp You do need to educate yourself about homeschooling before you can homeschool your kids. I wouldn't have checked your posting history, but that you have asked several questions that could have been answered with basic research like a google search suggests that information-finding is not one of your strengths. There are probably hundreds of books about homeschooling in print now, and an overwhelming array of curricula from every perspective from classical (learn your Latin and Greek!) to literature-based to unit studies (building a unit covering a variety of subject areas around one topic). You're asking like there's one answer to your question and there is not.

Is there a reason that you are only willing to teach the bare minimum to these kids? That's not really the point of education.

The "bare minimum" attitude and failure to even google (let alone do heavier research) for this information, plus http://ask.metafilter.com/117281/Best-Male-Enhancement http://ask.metafilter.com/129842/mysterious-bites-every-morning-i-wake-up http://ask.metafilter.com/127359/Not-sure-if-i-need-a-bose-or-nonbose-stereo-for-my-98-nissan-maxima-se http://ask.metafilter.com/110222/Will-she-get-pregnant-or-not http://ask.metafilter.com/112057/Are-there-any-effective-birth-control-pills make me worry about your readiness to teach, honestly, especially at a 7th and 8th grade level. You don't seem all that informed about the world or knowledgeable about how to answer your own questions (other than by asking people). Teaching isn't about just reading straight from a textbook--it's about using the information you have (and are given by the textbook) and shaping it so your students can understand. They're going to be asking you questions and you need to be able to answer those without coming here. Sorry if this seems jerkish.

Being ready to teach and ready to homeschool aren't the same thing. I also think if you have to ask so basic a question, you're not ready to undertake homeschooling.

I hate to come across as snarky and superior, but I'm not sure you're ready to teach 7th and 8th grade English based just on your writing style in this question. Now, perhaps you just use a casual style when writing on the internet, but you make some pretty obvious grammatical errors and the style of your writing is a little awkward. I know the saying is if you can't do, teach, but you still have to be doing better than your students.

Aren't there state guidelines or at least suggestions here?

Requirements differ by state. There are tons of resources online to provide you with further information and curriculum. Did you google before asking this question?

I am ready to teach... just need to know what is the bare minimum

You need to hook up with some real info before you pull the kids out and insist on doing this yourself. Metafilter isn't specialized for this and you aren't giving us any background - state (NJ?), reason, particular problems if any. This is more a resource for particular problems (can't find a good science module, for example) versus what you've given us. Find out what your state requires of homeschooling if you don't want to use a pre-existing/pre-made program. That you haven't done that, echoing above posters, is scary. Teaching != homeschooling. I also, during my period as a tutor, did work with some homeschooler groups and found it wasn't worth it for my mental health - and that was three hours a week. It isn't just a financial / quality of education decision. Part of it is examining yourself and finding out if this is *best* for your children. It's a lifestyle, not just 6 hours a day. Meeting minimums is not best for them. It's not even a good stop-gap.