Technically, you could homeschool with just a library card . . . but most parents feel more confident and comfortable with something guided for at least math and language arts — the sequential skills subjects. For science and social studies, library books and community resources can be easy options for covering topics those subjects. For more information on what learning objectives one might cover in various subjects, check out the scope-and-sequence checklists linked from What Should I Be Teaching?.
There are some curriculum programs that are available at no or low cost. However, most programs that come at no cost still require a computer, internet access, and possibly a printer. Here are some options:
- The Good and the Beautiful is a solid overall curriculum and quite affordable.
- Discovery K12 all subjects, free; secular
- Easy Peasy is free. (Basically, students follow different links for the instructional part of their lesson and then the practice part.)
- CK12 Math Free online math program (secular)
- The Homeschool Scientist has free science projects/lessons for all ages.
- MobyMax (secular) K-8 all subjects. Designed to fill in learning gaps.
- Khan Academy- Hundreds of lessons that review various concepts. They offer full curriculum programs for some subjects and grades: https://www.khanacademy.org/ (secular)
- Anton is an app-based program offering math, language arts, and science free of charge. (secular)
- Rounded Schoolhouse is $19 per month for the full curriculum and online class model, $49/month if you want full teacher support included as well. (secular)
- Freedom Homeschooling (not a program, but a list of free/very inexpensive materials the author found)
- Miacademy is another popular online program (they also have a program for high school) Secular
- Virtual Homeschool Group offers some free online live and AYOP (At Your Own Pace) classes for middle school and above
All of these offer a pdf file option which could save you some money:
- Schoolhouse Teachersoffers a variety of courses. A lot of them are in pdf format so, you’d only need to print off what your student needs. This is an inexpensive and fairly simple way to get started right away. Another plus is that it is a family membership so multiple students can take advantage of the course offerings. Some are year-long materials, while others may be short introductory classes.
- Getting the most out of using digital curriculum lists a printing option that can save you some money, too!
- The Good and the Beautiful- This is the link to some of the materials they offer as a free download.
- Plain and Not So Plain offers free homeschool resources for grades 1-8.
- Our Journey Westward inexpensive, individual unit studies that come in a pdf format, mainly for science and some history
- Productive Homeschooling– Notebooking templates for all subjects and all ages
- Teachers Pay Teachers-This is a great resource for finding lesson plans on specific skills (e.g., writing a topic sentence or long division practice). They may have some full curriculum programs as well. All of the materials are created by teachers for teachers.
- Gather Round Homeschool- Gather Round incorporates aspects of the Charlotte Mason educational approach, traditional worksheets, and unit studies.
MORE CURRICULUM IDEAS….
The burning question for most new homeschoolers is….How do I pick curriculum?
A lot depends on your child’s learning preferences, attention span, interests, your budget, your vision for your day, etc. Here are just a few examples of curriculum suggestions, if you want something “outlined” for you:
- Five in a Row unit studies based on classic children’s books (add math and phonics)
- My Father’s World all inclusive (Great combo of CM, unit studies, and classical) – Not exactly inexpensive, but thorough and includes lots of books and games
- A Year of Playing Skillfully play-based, activities-based, and nature-focused learning for preschool through age 8
- Add the Wonder unit studies (nature based; add math and language arts) preschool through 8th grade
- Timberdoodle can be all-inclusive; secular version available; more of a STEM focus than some
- Gather Round Homeschool unit studies; add math
- Queen Homeschool (Charlotte Mason approach) all inclusive
- Simply Charlotte Mason
- Konos character-based curriculum (unit studies with lots of hands-on and real-life application) One book can provide eight or nine grades of activities
- The Three R’s of Learning by Ruth Beechick (math, language, and reading intro for K-3rd)
- Mommy, Teach Me (Montessori approach) by Barbara Curtis (HSLDA bookstore)
- Project-Based Homeschooling (Mentoring Self-Directed Learners) by Lori Pickert
These are all compatible with a Charlotte Mason approach, which can be very budget flexible. If you want to put something together yourself, many of the materials above can be customized — helpful info is at www.amblesideonline.org.
Some of those (above) may necessitate adding math & language arts, so here are some items to check out:
- Learning Language Arts through Literature lesson planned for you; all LA subjects integrated into one lesson each day
- Language Lessons for Little Ones Queen Homeschool
- Language and Thinking for Young Children & The 3 Rs of Learning (preschool-2nd)
- Language Lessons for Today grades 2 & up
- Language Lessons for a Living Education
- Logic of English
- Miquon Math hands-on, Montessori-ish
- Shiller Math hands-on, Montessori
- Making Math Meaningful workbook approach, literally scripted for the parent
- Life of Fred Math math in a story format
- Right Start Math hands-on math
- CTC Math computer based
- Math Lessons for a Living Education
- Math on the Level
- Charlotte Mason Elementary Math series
- Principles of Mathematics
- The Sir Cumference series
- The Key-To Series for mastery of each math topic
- The Art of Problem Solving
- Math-U-See upper levels
- Saxon math (While this is a spiral program, it can work if you still work toward mastery and possibly shorten problem sets – we did odds & evens!)
- Ray’s Arithmetic
- VideoText algebra
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A LA CARTE options – Think of this as selecting from many options on the homeschool “menu” – The skills subjects of math and language arts, with science and social studies added for content. Below are some examples of various mix-and-match combinations, and again, AmblesideOnline.org offers some mix-and-match guidance. (Note that these are just a handful of the many, many possible options – I’m trying to give you a taste of the variety without overwhelming you too much!):
SAMPLE 1
- English: Learning Language Arts through Literature www.commonsensepress.com (Lesson planned day by day)
- Math: CTC Math https://www.ctcmath.com/how-it-works/home-school (online) or Making Math Meaningful (www.cornerstonecurriculum.com) or Miquon (www.miquonmath.com)
- Science: Science in the Beginning www.bereanbuilders.com or Apologia (www.apologia.com); Great Science Adventures (www.commonsensepress.com)
- History/Geography: Notgrass History www.notgrass.com
- Fine arts could be local, as well as PE/health and library skills
SAMPLE 2
- English: Language Lessons for Little Ones (www.queenhomeschool.com) or Logic of English (www.logicofenglish.com)
- Math: Math-U-See https://mathusee.com/ or Life of Fred math (www.lifeoffred.com) or MCP Math (see it at www.christianbook.com)
- Science & History: : Elemental Science (www.elementalscience.com) and The Story of the World (www.welltrainedmind.com) OR The Good and the Beautiful (www.goodandbeautiful.com)
SAMPLE 3
- English: Language Lessons for a Living Education https://www.masterbooks.com/language-lessons-for-a-living-education-series
- Math: Math Lessons for a Living Education https://www.masterbooks.com/math-lessons-for-a-living-education-series/ or Miquon Math
- Science, history, etc.: Five in a Row or Beyond Five in a Row (www.fiveinarow.com based on classic kids’ books) or Prairie Primer (www.cadroncreek.com – based on Little House on the Prairie books)
SAMPLE 4
- Any language arts program above
- Any math program above
- PLUS Gather ‘Round or Five in a Row
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
- Video on homeschooling on a shoestring.
- Do I Need a Curriculum for Kindergarten?
- What to Do with Your Young Learner
- What Should I Be Teaching?
- Homeschool Fun & Games
- Learning through Play
