{I've been lurking for a long while on this board. Your question made me register.}
I would teach the logarithms as just base ten logs initially, explaining that the number represents how many zeros after a number. log_10(100) = 2, as in 2 zeros after the first digit. Note that earthquake magnitudes scale as log_30, though.
The Richter scale represents the unit measure of the maximum sweep of the s-wave arrival on a certain type of 1930s seismograph placed 100 km from the source.
Now that seismograph:
*Realize that no one uses the Richter scale anymore. The scale is only valid for that type of seismometer and only valid for the Los Angeles basin.
*The Richter scale has been replaced by a variety of measures, all scaled to give approximately the same value for a given event. Each point of magnitude on any scale represents about an additional factor of 30 in total energy release. That's energy release, not displacement or acceleration. I would probably skip that distinction for an 8 year old, though.
*Use the Mercalli scale to give him a decent sense of what the different magnitudes mean.