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

OnFire Learning

The platform meets the learning needs of every teacher and student-from fully online options to blended classrooms and personalized learning. We customize a delivery model that fits your school needs.

Outschool (zoom classes)

zoom classes on pretty much anything

Prenda

We empower learners through tuition-free microschools - Prenda is a unique education option that connects students with local microschools. Caring individuals, called Guides, run these microschools from their homes or other suitable locations while Prenda provides the learning experience, state standard-aligned curriculum, and supportive community.

Progressive Phonics

Progressive Phonics is an all-in-one reading program that is easy, fun, and totally FREE---that's right, totally and completely free!

One Day Academy

The purpose of One Day Academy is to assist parents in the discipling and Christian leadership development of their children, by offering strong academic coursework, on carefully monitored campuses as well as Online, with faculty members who love the Lord and have served Him for decades.

We have over 20 physical campuses in the state of Texas, a new campus starting in South Carolina, and an online campus. What's unique about our Online campus is that we teach classes live.

Tuition:

As far as tuition, that is set by our individual faculty members and ranges from $55-$70 per month for 9 months.

Other cost includes enrollment fee ($75 before August 1st and $100 August 1st and after, this is per family, not per student), course registration fees (varies greatly), and the cost of curriculum.

Our classes are ala carte, so families are able to choose what is best for them and their individual student.

Parent Involvement:

All our teachers provide a grade at the end of the year. The amount of parent involvement in the weekly grading process varies based on the class. For example a high school English class has no grading by parents but a high school math class there is grading some of the homework and reporting it to the teacher to record and apply to the final grade.

We equate parental involvement to be that of a three-legged stool. The seat is a student's education, but in order for that education to be well balanced, you need all three legs: the ODA teacher, the parent, the student. We firmly believe that parents are called to homeschool and we are a tool in the parents' toolbox.

ODA doesn't provide transcripts, but we do offer grades that can be entered onto transcripts, but our Online bookstore does!

Power Homeschool

ONLINE HOMESCHOOL PROGRAM
Power Homeschool is the official provider of online Acellus® courses for parents independently homeschooling their children without teacher support.

Prep 4 Nine

k-8 Live online classes. Full curriculum is offered as well as individual courses. Classes are priced individually.

Read Theory

Improve your students’
Reading Comprehension
It’s free.
Personalized reading comprehension exercises for K-12 and ESL students.

Open Tent Academy

Open Tent Academy is a consortium of phenomenal instructors who offer homeschooling (and “after-schooling”) students an array of amazing live online classes (also recorded for asynchronous learning).

Prager U

We promote American values through the creative use of educational videos that reach millions of people online. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Prager University Foundation (“PragerU”) offers a free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education. Whether you’re searching for a deeper understanding, a new perspective, or a way to get involved, PragerU helps people of all ages think and live better.

Prodigy

Kids don’t have to choose between homework and playtime with Prodigy (There's no cost to you or your students and Prodigy is fully aligned with state standards for grades 1-8 math and grades 1-6 English.)

Ron Paul Curriculum

A student who goes through this curriculum, kindergarten through high school, will have a mastery of the foundations of liberty. There is no other curriculum on the Web to match it. Conservative civics lessons