8. The Complete Guide to Homeschool Curriculum
Quick summary: Finding high-quality, mastery-based, progressive, secular learning resources doesn’t have to be hard. Our team of child life specialists and teachers have spent the last three years and over 10,000 hours reviewing thousands of resources and choosing the best ones for every kind of learner. This guide contains recommendations for all-in-one curricula, math, and 27 electives ranging from coding to Sex Ed. To find the perfect curriculum for your unique child, try our curriculum planner.
Modulo’s Free Curriculum Planner: Choose a curriculum in 2-minutes or less
Ten questions to ask when vetting curriculum
Mastery Hours: All-in-One, Math, and Literacy curricula
27 Amazing Electives
Preschool Homeschooling Programs
Gameschooling and self-directed learning
Online Homeschooling Programs & Educational Software
Free Homeschooling Programs
Mastery-Based, secular homeschool curriculum in over 30 subjects
Finding the best homeschooling curriculum can feel like a daunting task for many families. While it’s exciting to be able to set your own goals and choose a curriculum aligned with your child’s learning, the choices can feel overwhelming. Since few homeschool curriculums are accredited, it’s difficult to tell if the curriculum is mastery-based, progressive, aligned with the science of teaching - and fun and engaging for students. It may also be difficult to discern if a curriculum has religious content since this is not necessarily advertised upfront, and many curricula are specifically designed for Christian families.
Fortunately, there’s no need to sift through thousands of comments from families on Facebook or Reddit groups to find high-quality, mastery-based secular curricula to suit your child’s learning preferences. We’ve done that work for you.
For the complete list of curricula recommended in this section, visit our guide to homeschooling on Modulo.
The Free Curriculum Planner: Choose your curriculum in 2 minutes or less
Our team of teachers and child life specialists has spent three years over 10,000 hours reviewing thousands of physical resources and adaptive learning apps - and testing them with our own students to ensure they’re accurate and engaging. We’ve created archetypes to match every curricula to help you find the right fit for your child.
Families who want to find a mastery-based, affordable, fun, and engaging all-in-one curriculum ideally suited to their child in under two minutes can use our free secular curriculum planner based on dozens of curriculum consultations with families around the world - or see all our recommendations by category here.
Families who want to learn more about all the wonderful secular homeschool curriculum options available and how we found and vetted the curriculum we chose to recommend can read on!
10 questions we asked when vetting homeschool curricula
At Modulo, we’ve spent the last three poring over tens of thousands of comments by secular homeschooling families, looking for the kinds of curricula people most often requested - and the curricula they most often recommend.
We gave particular weight to recommendations made by teachers and subject-matter experts who had used the curriculum themselves. From there, we chose our top ten favorite curricula options in over 30 subjects and tested them with our own PreK-12th grade students at Modulo to settle on our final favorites.
Here’s the approach we used to vet the curriculum we recommend in this guide and factors you might also want to consider as you explore all the amazing new homeschooling curricula becoming available every day!
General Considerations
At Modulo, we have developed a certain set of criteria we require that all the curricula we recommend match. Here are the questions we ask when evaluating new options:
Is it mastery-based?
A mastery-based curriculum will teach material progressively, with mechanisms to ensure students master one concept before moving on to the next. A strong mastery-based curriculum generally includes levels, rather than grades or ages, so children can move ahead at their own pace and not feel that they’re ahead or behind where they are supposed to be relative to others, only themselves. They often offer a placement test to help you know where to start. While mastery-based learning isn’t always the best choice for all subjects and all learners, we’ve found it’s the most efficient for most. Generally, a curriculum will advertise if it’s mastery-based, but it’s always good to ask other parents who’ve used it. With a few exceptions, almost all the material we recommend is mastery-based.
Is it accurate and up-to-date?
So many curricula have errors or are out of date. We’ve found mistakes in some of the most popular curricula used in 90% of US schools. (Actually, to be fair, in most cases, it's our kids at Modulo who found them.)
PreK-12th grade educational software is extremely complicated to design and can sometimes be buggy or have problems with its user experience that are unnecessarily frustrating for kids. Many of the families in SEA homeschoolers are teachers or scientists. Reading reviews of the curriculum on Common Sense Media or Facebook fan page and comments about the curriculum by other families in SEA homeschoolers can often help identify if there are a lot of mistakes.
We’ve done this work for you in our guide. We only recommend the most accurate, fact-checked curricula available.
Is it progressive and inclusive?
One of the number one reasons families choose to homeschool is that they find the social studies and literature programs at their schools to be limited in scope. We’ve carefully selected curricula that include the stories and voices of women and historically underrepresented groups. As educators, we believe that Language Arts and Social Studies curricula that are limited to the voices and stories of one historically dominant group do not provide a sufficiently comprehensive, well-rounded education to PreK-12th grade students.
Is it secular & grounded in scientific understanding?
The vast majority of physical homeschooling curricula are designed for Christian families. Many do not advertise up front that they are religious. We’ve talked to many families who thought they were using a secular curriculum and suddenly discovered a section on creationism or a reference to climate change being a topic “up for debate.” The group SEA homeschoolers with 80k members are vigilant about vetting content for even the slighted reference to religion, so families concerned can search for the curriculum in that group or ask other families for input. We used SEA to help discern if there was even the slightest religious content in a text. All the curricula we recommend are secular and based on up-to-date, peer-reviewed scientific research.
Is it fun and engaging for kids?
We all want to cultivate a lifelong love of learning in our children, and that starts with their curriculum. At Modulo, we’ve tested all our curriculum options to make sure that children actually enjoy using them and keep coming back for more. Our teachers have spent hours observing our children using these curricula over months and years. When kids tune out immediately or within a few weeks or months, we usually take that curriculum off our list of recommendations. While we may seem radical on this point, we don’t believe there’s a value in forcing a child to learn in a way that they don’t enjoy and that it sets them up in them in the wrong way for life.
Personal Considerations
Every family has different goals and preferences for how their child learns. Here are the key considerations we’ve taken into account. These are all factors we considered when selecting curricula and building this guide, so you’d have transparent, up-to-date information about the best resources available.
How much does it cost?
Different families have different budgets, and the most expensive curriculum is not necessarily the best. We’ve been careful to ensure that the curriculum we chose is worth the price and that there are many free and inexpensive options we recommend. Families looking for free resources can also check out our list of our top 222 free homeschooling programs. We have curriculum recommendations in every price range with transparent pricing to help families make good choices for their budget.
Is it a good choice for the way my child learns?
The beauty of homeschooling is that families can design the best learning plan for their children. When considering the best curriculum for your child, it’s good to consider what kind of activities they enjoy - or gravitate towards in their free time. We’ve worked with children with many different activity preferences, ways of thinking, and special needs and developed archetypes and curriculum recommendations around these archetypes. In our curriculum planner, we ask you these questions - and have been able to reliably recommend curricula that every child loves to every family. Another way to find this information is by going to a local homeschooling group, describing your child, and seeing if there are other families with kids similar to yours who have found a curriculum that works for them. A child who loves building legos might enjoy hands-on project-based materials, while a child who loves podcasts might enjoy curricula that have a lot of audio components. It’s always a good idea to try a curriculum and see how your child likes it. If they don’t enjoy the curriculum, find something else!
If my child has special needs, will it be a good fit for them?
At Modulo, we’ve evaluated the best curriculum for 10 types of common diagnoses, including profoundly gifted, dyslexic, and 2E. Since many families choose to homeschool because their child has special needs, there are recommendations curricula to support every child’s strengths and weaknesses in learning. Our section on cognitive diversity has specific recommendations for every learning difference.
Does it involve screens?
The jury is still out on the pros and cons of screen time. What’s clear is that not all screen time is created alike. The best kind of screen time is engaged, educational screen time (For example, where a parent or caregiver works through an educational app with a child). Adaptive learning apps can have a lot of advantages in terms of helping track students’ progress. Online classes can give students access to some of the best teachers in the world. However, screen time isn’t for every family or every child. The younger your child is, the more we recommend keeping screen time to a minimum. That’s why we’ve included many recommendations for physical and nature-based curricula to support learning.
Is it aligned with common core & state and federal learning standards?
As we’ve discussed, federal and state educational standards are designed to evaluate the progress of large groups of students. They are less effective in helping assess the progress of individual students.
Many homeschool curricula (such as Prodigy Game and Time4Learning) are designed to help children keep up with state standards - and will even give parents feedback on how they’re doing relative to peers at their grade level. In our reviews of homeschool curricula, we’ve made sure to offer information to families about how well the curricula correspond to state standards. Bear in mind that your child might learn more and go far beyond state standards if you choose a creative, innovative curriculum aligned with their interests and aspirations.
While we strongly encourage families to question their assumptions about school standards and not re-create school at home, but instead create their own goals and framework for experimentation, we understand that many families want to make sure they keep the option open to return to school. That’s why we’ve made sure to give transparent information about if each curriculum is aligned with standards - or even, if it isn’t, whether it still facilitates kids staying at grade level or above. In our section on accountability & support, we’ll give you a step-by-step process for creating a successful framework for experimentation for modular learning.
Mastery Hours: core subjects for your power hours
One of the trends we’ve observed among modular learners in the secular homeschooling community is that they tend to do 1-2 hours of 1-1 focused study every day. The rest of the time is reserved for self-directed learning, play, and extracurriculars. This usually happens in the morning (or whatever is the child’s most productive time of the day where they are able to focus best). There are so many hours a day when a child can concentrate intently on subjects that require single-minded focus. In fact, that’s true for adults too, thus the popularity of books like the 4-hour work week.
For Mastery Hours, Most families choose an all-in-one curriculum and a math curriculum - or an English Language Arts curriculum and a Math curriculum. Families with children who don’t know how to read use a literacy curriculum to supplement their learning.
Then families can choose all the electives they want to complement Mastery Hours.
Modular learners have developed these Mastery Hours to be more efficient and productive in their learning.
All-in-One Curriculum: This is everything your child would learn in school, aligned, if you so desire, with state standards. Families can find a core curriculum via the curriculum planner or check out our favorite all-in-one curriculum.
Math Curriculum: Families will want to find an accurate, mastery-based math curriculum. No all-in-one curriculum we’ve seen does an expert job of teaching math, so we strongly encourage families to choose a math supplement even if they have an all-in-one curriculum that includes math. Find a math curriculum in the curriculum planner or see our top favorite math for learning from home. Adaptive math apps work best when paired with a parent, caregiver, or tutor.
Literacy: Once a child learns how to read, they can do anything! Reading opens the gateway to self-directed learning and exploration in a way almost no other subject does. The literacy curriculum we recommend is based on the science of reading for the most reluctant to advanced readers. We have lots of great options for children with dyslexia and other reading challenges. If you’re unsure if you can teach your child, teaching them to read is a great place to get your toes wet and see how you like it! Some kids do teach themselves to read, while others don’t. If your kid is a self-taught reader, embrace that! There’s no need to force them to learn in a specific way.
Teaching your child to read is a great way to dip your toes into homeschooling and fit out if it's a good fit for you. Here are the top 5 programs to teach kids to read.
Our top picks for Mastery Hours: digital, physical, and nature-based
While we strongly encourage you to use homeschooling as an opportunity to customize your child’s learning, everyone asks us what we like the best. So here are our favorite tools for Mastery Hours for most kids. We strongly encourage you to use the curriculum planner to see which works best for each of your very unique children.
Digital: Khan Academy Kids (PreK-2nd) or Khan Academy (PreK-12th) for all-in-one, with Beast Academy for math and Homer for early literacy.
Physical: Torchlight Curriculum (PreK-5th) or Critical Thinking Company (K-12th) for all-in-one, with Right Start Math for math and Bob Books for early literacy.
Nature-based: Blossom and Root (Prek-2nd) or Magic Forest Academy (K-12th) for all-in-one, with Wild Math for math and Wild Reading for reading,
Cognitive diversity
Since so many families leave school because their child has a special need (dyslexia, autism, gifted, profoundly gifted), we’ve devoted an entire section to cognitive diversity and curriculum options for each learning type. Families can learn more about options for children with special needs there. It’s worth mentioning that Nessy is a game-changer for kids with dyslexia or any difficulty reading using traditional methods.
27 amazing electives
It would be impossible - and likely overwhelming - to include all of our favorite options for homeschooling curriculum in this one guide, so we’ve picked out our one or two favorites in each of our most commonly requested subject areas. To explore more resources in each category, just follow the link in the category title. Or view all our recommendations here.
Oops! We forgot to teach you this at school.
Somehow our school system seems to continue to neglect to teach kids some rather essential skills: for example, how to balance a budget or, you know, survive as a species.
Coding: We’ve been hearing for three decades that jobs in technology are the way of the future, but few schools offer kids the chance to learn to code. Try Codespark to get coding skills up to speed:
Financial Literacy: Some of us would have really appreciated being given a heads up about credit card debt and saving for retirement before we turned thirty. Don’t wait until schools finally start teaching about financial literacy, and go get FoolProofMe instead.
Environmental Studies: Climate change is real, but few schools go in-depth about the political and social implications it poses to our changing world. Give kids in-depth understanding and empower them to take personal action and effective civic engagement on the environmental issues which are making such an impact on their present and future reality with the Science of Climate Change.
Electronics: Did you know that electronics is different than robotics? With Snap Circuits, kids will learn all about physics, technology, and design of circuits using transistors and microchips, and how electrons move in semiconductors, conductors, vacuums, or gas.
Progressive Social Studies: One of the most compelling reasons families choose to homeschool is because they feel the literature, social studies, and history at their school are highly limited in scope. Families looking for a comprehensive curriculum that includes the women, Black, Native American, Latino, LGBTQ, transgender, and other traditionally marginalized groups that shaped literature and transformed the course of history, check out the Zinn Education Project or become a Worldschooler and take a trip around the world!
Robotics: Start learning to build robots and prepare for a job in AI (or just do it because it’s so much fun). Try Arduino Robotics Kit or join or start a local robotics club. 4-H offers great options in many cities.
Social-emotional curriculum: Social-emotional learning is a growing field in education but is still not integrated into many schools. These outstanding SEL curricula can help kids learn to navigate complex emotions in a changing world - and support families in communicating better with kids around learning and family life. Trying to find 10 easy steps to diffuse a tantrum? Peekapak, Generation Mindful and Janet Lansbury have you covered.
Sex Ed: It’s all the rage on social media that the kids in the Netherlands are getting a head start on sex ed. For a curriculum that gives kids the real deal on the complex world of fertility, pleasure, gender identity, sexual orientation, and more, check out amaze.org. As the name suggests, it’s pretty amazing.
15 more hot topics for Modular learners
These are the 15 top topics we most often get asked for recommendations for at Modulo, or just think are really cool. Some, like science and ELA, are already incorporated into a well-designed all-in-one curriculum, while others, like Latin or 3D printing, need to be taken as elective. We provided 1-2 recommendations for each, but families can find more options by following the link on each subject category.
3D Printing: Sliceform 3D printing is an incredibly innovative online course that comes with a 3D printer.
Art: Sadly, art and music are becoming cut from more and more school programs. Check out Deep Space Sparkle for great art lessons.
Art History: Art History Kids is one of the only art history programs that covers a comprehensive view of art history from every continent. And it also has a club!
Creative Writing: There’s more to writing than essays and research papers. Nurture your young poet with Night Zookeeper.
English Language Arts (ELA): Critical Thinking Company’s Language Smarts Program is so great that some parents have fondly dubbed it the “trifecta of homeschooling.”
Foreign Language: Immersion is the best approach to learning a foreign language, but Duolingo is a good place to get started. P.S. Have we mentioned Worldschooling?
Handwriting (print and cursive): Getty Dubay offers exceptional physical and digital handwriting tools for all kinds of learners.
Latin: Minimus, followed by Cambridge Latin, is a fun, engaging, and well-thought-out curriculum for learning Latin.
Music: Short of getting a private teacher or joining the homeschool band, Prodigies Music or Rhythm Cat for music theory are two of our favorite options for teaching music skills and appreciation
Phys Ed: Cosmic Kids Yoga and GoNoodle are our favorite two ways to keep kids moving at home or during breaks in online classes.
Public Speaking: Whether your child launches into a speech at every dinner party or the idea of public speaking terrifies them, Debatable kids can help them cultivate their confidence and ability to persuade and engage the crowd.
Science: We recommend Quantum Academy with its fantastic hands-on labs or Mystery Science for younger kids. Blossom and Root is also known for its phenomenal science program within its all-in-one program.
Science Kits: Many programs send a fun, monthly box for kids to practice science experiments at home. Steve Spangler and Mel Science are two of our favorites.
Spanish: Learn the second most popular language in the world (after Mandarin) spoken by 13% of the US population with TalkBox.Mom, a language program for the whole family to practice together.
Vocabulary: “Words, words, words” can be learned so well with vocabulary.com or The New York Times Word of the Day.
Writing: According to the NAEP, “Three-quarters of both 12th and 8th graders lack proficiency in writing.” Julie Bogart’s Brave Writer continues to shine as the finest writing program around for homeschoolers, providing options for online group classes, tutors, and exercises for parent-led or self-directed study.
Theater and Performing Arts: While this subject probably lends itself better to in-person group instruction, we love the theater classes on MasterClass. See our section on homeschool programs to find or start a theater program for you - or audition for community theater! Some public schools may also allow homeschoolers to audition for the school play. It’s always a good place to start.
Typing: Our favorite typing program, Typing.com, offers great typing programs - as well as lessons in digital citizenship, coding, and games.
Preschool homeschooling programs
Some parents are so excited to homeschool that they just can’t wait to make it official. But there’s really no need to rush. There’s no evidence that focusing on academics in preschool helps students learn more or better later in school. In fact, most scholarly research points to the opposite, that more play in early childhood produces better educational outcomes later in life. And that holding kids back from kindergarten can have significant positive outcomes later on, especially for boys.
“Waiting until seven years of age to begin the formal, ‘rigorous,’ reading and writing curriculum of today’s kindergarten might reduce or ameliorate a significant fraction of the problems we see with boys and school,” -Leonard Sax, Family Physician, Psychologist, scholar and author of Boys Adrift)
As a case in point, Finland, consistently ranked the best school, doesn’t teach reading and math until kids turn seven
But if you just can’t wait, get your preschooler started early with one of our three favorite all-in-one PreK programs: Khan Academy Kids, Blossom and Root, or Homer.
Online homeschooling programs
There are three main types of online homeschool programs
Accredited online schools where students enroll in a school and don’t have to register as a homeschooler. These classes are either delivered live or asynchronously through a combination of videos, quizzes, and software
Online programs support homeschooling through a variety of online classes and tutors.
Adaptive learning apps and educational software. Some of these have offline options, so you don’t have to have an internet connection at all times to use them.
The beauty of online education is access to the best teachers anywhere in the world. The downside is that it sometimes re-creates school at home. Sometimes these classes are taught live - and other times, they are recorded and can be used asynchronously. When looking at online schools and classes, it’s important to read parent reviews about the quality of the instruction and the degree to which the school is geared towards, and optimizing the online medium through tools like whiteboards and high-quality audio and visual elements.
Accredited Online Schools: Our five favorite mastery-based online schools are Oak Meadow, Laurel Springs, TTU-K12, Clonlara, Calvert, and NAHRS. Some offer curriculum or individual classes for families who don’t want to enroll in the full-time online option. See all the online schools we recommend here.
Live online classes: Next Level Homeschool, Athena's Academy, Outschool, and OnlineG3 also offer a wide variety of superb classes, many taught by homeschool parents and classroom teachers.
On Modulo, families can create a class in any subject of their choosing and get matched with an expert tutor who guides the child with the support of adaptive learning apps and mastery-based curriculum with regular movement breaks.
During the pandemic, many local afterschool providers developed exceptional, highly popular online programs. These can be a great way to support small businesses around the world.
And don’t forget youtube as an unparalleled source for free online education in any subject with the best instructors. Here are 200+ of our favorite educational channels to get started.
Adaptive learning apps and educational software: If you’ve decided to include screen time in your child’s curriculum, it’s good to start them off with a good set of adaptive learning apps to explore on their device. The beauty of mastery-based adaptive learning apps is that the best ones evaluate progress as they go and adjust to target weak areas. So a student never needs to take a single quiz (taking the focus off performance and putting it on learning). To make screen time high-quality time, make sure a parent or tutor is engaging with your child, asking questions, clarifying, and modeling learning as they use the app.
Check out our 50 favorite educational apps and pick a few of your favorites for your learning dashboard. Khan Academy Kids (all-in-one), Homer (early literacy), Tocaboca (21st-century skills), and Math Tango (math) are great ones to get started.
Gameschooling and Self-Directed Learning
Homeschooling doesn’t have to happen in a specific subject. Sometimes it’s great (and important) to encourage learning through self-directed exploration and play. Families interested in fostering unstructured learning can consider making an educational youtube playlist, downloading some great adaptive learning apps, getting a few board games to play together as a family, and podcasts for the car:
Educational Youtube channels: Two of our six-year-old students at Modulo spent a year during the pandemic testing 1-2 recommended educational youtube channels every day. Here’s the complete list of our favorite channels: You’ll find scientific experiments, yoga, and over 20 different zoo channels. Some of our all-time favorites include Art for Kids Hub, Cosmic Kids Yoga, How It’s Made, and the mesmerizing Live Nature Cams.
Gameschooling with board games and card decks: Playing educational games is so popular in homeschooling that there are entire Facebook groups devoted to this form of learning called “game schooling.” We’ve noticed homeschooling parents tend to prefer collaborative (non-competitive) games that don’t have references to weapons. Wildcraft (a board game that teaches herbalism), Pandemic (Disease prevention), Ticket to Ride, and Professor Noggins are consistent favorites. Families interested in learning more can join the Facebook gameschooling group!
Educational podcasts Do you have a child who loves to listen? Educational podcasts can be an excellent way to expose your child to a world of learning - in the car, while you’re working, or at the breakfast table. It’s a great way to fit learning into a trip to the grocery store. Some families swear by podcasts - and sometimes call this form of learning “car schooling.” Wow in the World, Brains On, What if World, Story Pirates, Circle Round, and But Why are not to be missed.
Free Homeschooling Programs
As we discuss in our section on how to afford homeschooling, there’s no need to be wealthy or even middle-class in order to homeschool. And certainly not when it comes to curriculum. There are so many generous teachers and non-profit curriculum providers who have developed some of the most exceptional curricula available and made them free to the public.
Here are a few of our favorite “freebies” in 10 subjects
All-in-one: Khan Academy and Khan Academy Kids
Math: Prodigy Game, NumberBlocks* (for younger kids)
Literacy: Teach Your Monster to Read, Alphablocks
Art: Art for Kids Hub*
Coding: Code.org
English Language Arts: Fishtank Learning
Financial Literacy: Practical Money Skills
Music: SLSO
Sex Ed: Amaze.org
Yoga: Cosmic Kids Yoga*
For a complete list of free homeschool curricula organized by subject, see our list of 222 free homeschooling programs.
* Youtube premium costs $9.99 to view channels without advertising. YouTube Kids has limited advertising.
More places to find free and discounted homeschool curricula:
Facebook groups: It’s easy to find free and discounted homeschool curricula in general homeschool groups, groups dedicated to free & discounted curricula, or in curriculum-specific groups.
Homeschool Buyer’s Co-Op: The Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op is a reputable platform with steep discounts on new and used curricula.
Teachers Pay Teachers: Choose the “Free” category to see curriculum and lessons developed by teachers offered for free.
eBay: Many homeschoolers use eBay to find discounts on their favorite homeschool curriculum and supplies.
Other ways to get the curriculum for free (or at a discounted price)
If you find a curriculum you like but can’t afford, there are many ways to find it for free.
Ask the curriculum provider: Reach out to the curriculum developer directly using the contact form on their website. Many of these companies are mission-based, believe in equity in education, and want to make their materials available to any child who needs them.
Join the curriculum’s Facebook group: many curriculum providers have a Facebook group, such as Wild Learning. You can join the group and tell other parents you would like to purchase used curriculum or are wondering if anyone would be willing to hand it down for free. Most homeschoolers are very generous and have a culture with a long history of resource-sharing.
Check your local library: In some cases, the local library will already have the curriculum, have the option to borrow it from another library, or be willing to purchase the curriculum if you ask nicely and emphasize the educational benefits.
Now that you’ve chosen some great curricula, it’s time to start making friends! Next up, we answer the most common question to families considering homeschooling, “But What about Socialization?” and offer practical tips to make it easy to make friends and build community.
