Choosing Curriculum

I had a friend tell me recently that curriculum is not necessarily a set of homeschool books. It is whatever tools you put in your toolkit to guide your kids through meaningful learning experiences. That description reminded me that we are teaching all of the time (as all parents are), so doing so with specific intentions and resources (curriculum) is what we call homeschool!

That being said, it is probably the most asked question from prospective homeschool parents, "What curriculum do you use?" I have blogged about my journey (scroll all the way down on this page) in choosing our homeschool resources. How did I come to those choices? I did three basic things: I asked myself what mattered to me, what my priorities are, and what sort of lifestyle I wanted to create through homeschool. Then, I paid attention to my kid, spent time over a summer exploring local resources, "shopping" online and requesting demos to play with, and paying attention to when and how she got excited about learning. Lastly, I found a few parent vloggers and curriculum reviewers that I resonated with, wrote down their recommendations, and dug deeper. I have added those to the teacher/admin resources page under the topic "homeschool advice."

When we tried something we both loved, we stuck with it. When either of us didn't, we tossed it and tried the next thing on the list! To make your online "shopping" easier, at the bottom of this page, there is a curriculum resource library that I have curated. You can filter it based on approaches, subjects, etc.

Curriculum Resource Library

Click Here to See Resource List (or scroll down for filters)

Quick reference spreadsheet: Public $ for Homeschooling

NOTE: Click on the tags below - the more you click, the more narrow your results.

Go To List

Florida Virtual School

high school programs. Used by REACH Charter School as their virtual option for 9-12 grades. There is normally a cost to use the curriculum as a non-Florida resident, but it is free through REACH

Gather Round Homeschool Curriculum

Christian Curriculum covering all subjects other than math.
Gather 'Round Homeschool is not just a curriculum, it is really an entirely new way to homeschool. Targeted lessons that challenge and inspire curiosity in our students and are age/stage appropriate. One beautiful teachers guide and then connecting student pages that spider web into the amazing connections of social studies, science, history, reading, writing, spelling, grammar, geography, art, Bible, and more!

Gizmos

With over 450 virtual, interactive STEM simulations all aligned to the latest standards, Gizmos help educators bring powerful new learning experiences to grade 3-12 classrooms.

Guest Hollow

Guest Hollow is a small homeschool materials company that specializes in creating unique and engaging curriculums, printables, and books (all in digital format for download and viewing online) for homeschool instructors. As a literal ‘mom & pop company’, we pride ourselves on excellent customer service and offering the most interesting and easily followed schedules available. Our fun and flexible curricula are specifically designed to captivate both gifted and reluctant learners. Our award-winning materials cover grades ranging from Pre-K through High School. (free online textbooks for world history, biology, geography, and government or the biology workbook)

Food Hero

Food Hero is a nutrition program that serves impoverished communities. In addition to their public school programs, they offer free materials for youth and family nutrition information. On their website, you will find foods that are available in-season in our area, simple recipes to go along with them as well as recipes categorized by ingredient. Have you ever had a bag of beans in the cupboard you aren't sure what to do with? Food Hero to the rescue! They also have gardening tips, guides and plans.

Generation Genius

Engaging science and math lessons for k-8

Grace Cascade Christian Schools

Grace Cascade Christian Schools delivers a challenging academic program in a caring Christian environment.

Harbor and Sprout - Unit Studies

Harbor + Sprout Elementary Unit Studies are created for children aged 3-12. Each lesson is family-style and allows for each of your children to complete the same lessons in different ways specifically tailored to their needs. Lesson plans are divided into 4 distinct learning levels which allow you to simplify or expand upon lessons for each child as you see fit. Units are delivered as digital downloads to allow you to save, keep, print, and use for your own family or classroom's use for years to come. Discover the joy of "kitchen table learning" as you all experience the joy of learning- together!

Freckled Fawn Nature School LLC

Providing your child with Green Time - Place based, play and experiencial learning based, nature based preschool.

Generations

Christian homeschool curriculum.

Greenways Academy

An online school offering full-time or part-time, a la carte classes, tutoring, and electives as well as an international program

Heritage History

The Heritage Classical Curriculum is a free, versatile study program based on traditional, public-domain student histories. It combines the best 'story-based' histories of the past with helpful study aids, interactive quiz games, and a timeless "living books" learning philosophy. It is an excellent resource for homeschoolers, independent learners, or curious dabblers.