✅ The Ultimate Modular Learning Checklist

When you start doing modular learning, the world is your oyster! However, the plethora of options can feel overwhelming. How are you expected to sift through them all and choose what’s right for your child? You might fear that if you take too long to get started, your child will be missing out on vital learning time and fall behind.

If there’s one suggestion we’d offer, it’s to resist the impulse to set everything in stone all at once. Part of the beauty of modular learning is its inherent flexibility. You can learn about your child, what works, and adapt as they grow. Start slowly, layer one thing at a time, and you’ll be well on your way to a curated, evolving education your whole family loves.

We've built this 16-item checklist to make it easy to get started and ensure you’ve checked the important items off your list so you can start having fun exploring all the options available to curate your child’s learning at your own pace!

We promise going through this list will take less time than back-to-school shopping. We’ve even customized the list so visual, auditory, or kinesthetic parents can choose the medium they prefer.

The 16-Item Checklist

Follow these 16 easy steps to set up an intellectually engaging, socially enriching education with built-in mechanisms for accountability and support. These steps will ensure your child is on track with their learning and social life, and you’re not leaving anything out!

✅ 1. Get Inspired 💡

A fresh dose of inspiration never hurts to strengthen your resolve and give you a felt sense of what modular learning looks like in practice.

⏳ Time: 20 minutes to five hours
💰 Cost: Free to $15 (if you want to buy the book)

Start your journey by watching a Ted Talk, reading a book, or listening to a podcast about modular learning.

Some ideas to get you started and give you a general overview of modular learning:

• Watch: Do Schools Kill Creativity? by Ken Robinson on YouTube (20 mins)

• Read: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by NYC’s teacher of the year, John Gatto (4-5 hours)

• Listen to: "Adventures in Free-Range Learning" on Janet Lansbury’s podcast, Unruffled (33 minutes)

For a deeper dive, read our post: "21 Statistics and Trends that Show Homeschooling is the Future of School".

✅ 2. Learn How to Communicate with Your Child 👂🏻

Building a foundation for developmentally appropriate, effective communication around learning will support your family immensely, whether they’re doing modular learning as a replacement or supplement to school.

⏳ Time: 4-5 hours and an ongoing journey
💰 Cost: Free to $15

You may be surprised to see how applying a few simple techniques can transform your conversations with your child around education and social-emotional development.

• Read: How to Talk So Kids Can Learn

• Watch: Communicating with Children, our interview with Bank Street College of Education Professor Deb Vilas

For a deeper dive, read our post: "Family Involvement in Education".

✅ 3. Join an Online Community 🌐

Get support from others who have walked this path before you.

⏳ Time: 5 minutes
💰 Cost: Free to $150/annually

It’s helpful to have experienced modular learners to give you insights and support along the way. Join a tech-savvy global online group for homeschooling families.

We recommend: 

• SEA Homeschoolers on Facebook

• /homeschool on Reddit

• Our own community, Modulo! If you’re not already a member, join the Modulo Learning Community to connect with brilliant families and get expert support from learning and child life specialists.

✅ 4. Register as a Homeschooler

Complete necessary paperwork and make sure you’re in compliance with local and state laws.

⏳ Time: 5 minutes
💰 Cost: Free

Check local homeschooling laws on the Department of Education website in your city and state. These laws can be easily found by googling: “homeschool [name of city] department of education.” Most states have contact information for the homeschooling coordinator. Feel free to reach out to them to clarify any questions. It can also be helpful to reach out to your local Facebook or Unschooling group to clarify any confusing points.

✅ 5. Make Friends (for Your Child AND YOU!) 💞

Both you and your child will benefit from being part of a local community.

⏳ Time: 10 minutes and ongoing
💰 Cost: Free to $15/month (you might even save money through resource-sharing)

Join a local unschooling or modular learning community on Meetup or Facebook. Introduce your family to the group (ideally with a photo) and ask if anyone wants to have a playdate. Search the comments to see if there are any upcoming meetups, and go. Invite some families to your house that week to play board games. Try to participate in at least one recurring, weekly event. Modulo provides friend matching as part of our service to premium members. If you’re a member looking for local friends, feel free to message us and we can help.

For a deeper dive, read our post: "But What About 'Socialization'?".

✅ 6. Set Goals & Measure Outcomes 🔬

Involve the whole family in brainstorming goals and measuring progress on an ongoing basis to help better tailor learning.

⏳ Time: 2 hours and ongoing
💰 Cost: Free to $9.99/month

Create a framework for experimentation. Write down your goals with your child. Use Mobymax or Homeschool Boss to periodically assess academic progress. Host monthly check-ins with your co-parent (if applicable) to evaluate how things are going. This should be a different time than date night!

For a deeper dive, read our post: "Is Your Child on Track?".

✅ 7. Choose Curriculum 📚

Choose a Mastery-Based Complete Curriculum and math supplement, then layer in as you go.

⏳ Time: 15 minutes
💰 Cost: Free to $500/yr

Kickstart modular learning with an all-in-one curriculum and a math supplement tailored to your child with Modulo’s free curriculum planner or browse the best curricula options by category. We recommend starting here and layering on other core subjects and electives as you discover your child’s interests and preferences. There’s no need to set everything in stone in the beginning, and it’s even antithetical to the spirit of modular learning, which is flexible and self-paced by design.

For a deeper dive, read our post: "The Complete Guide to Secular Homeschool Curriculum".

✅ 8. Schedule Mastery Hours 🧮

To optimize learning, schedule 1-2 hours a day for 1-1 Mastery Learning.

⏳ Time: Minutes
💰 Cost: Free

Choose a window when you’re available and when your child has the most fresh, focused energy. This is often the morning, but not always. Make a nice-looking schedule on Canva to keep track of activities.

For a deeper dive on mastery hours, read our post: "So, What's the Big Deal About 'Mastery Learning'?".

✅ 9. Save Time for Self-Directed Learning 🤸🏽

Give your child space and time to explore their own interests.

⏳ Time: 5 minutes
💰 Cost: Free forever

It’s vital that your child has a good 2-3 hour chunk every day to read, do open-ended projects, play, or even be bored. This is how we raise auto-didacts who are capable of anything in our rapidly changing world.

For a deeper dive on the crucial significance of self-directed learning, read our post: "Giving Kids the Time and Space They Need to Teach Themselves".

✅ 10. Enroll in an After-School or Homeschool Program ⚽️

Make friends and enrich your child’s learning.

⏳ Time: 20 minutes
💰 Cost: Free to $25/hr per class

Extracurriculars can range from a free homeschool skill share or library class to 1-2 days a week at a “hybrid school.” To find a good class, search on Yelp or consult your local homeschool group for recommendations. If you’re already a Modulo member, we can help find a program near you.

For a deeper dive on how to find the best homeschool programs, read our post: "Homeschool Programs: Classes, Co-ops, Microschools, and More".

✅ 11. Plan a Weekly Date Night 🌹

You need to set aside time for self-care, and if you’re in a relationship, have fun and create intimacy.

⏳ Time: 5 minutes to plan, 2 hours a week
💰 Cost: Free to $250/week (for childcare, dinner, and a movie)

It’s critical that the primary homeschooling parent gets a break from kids, and that if there are two partners, that you have time away from kids to deepen your relationship. Try to carve out some time with your partner, or if you’re single, with friends, where you get a break from your kids and homeschooling, just time to enjoy yourself and not focus on kids. Try Eight Dates to spice up your dates.

For a deeper dive on common pitfalls to homeschooling and how to avoid them, read our post: "Pros and Cons to Homeschooling".

✅ 12. Set Up Childcare as Needed 💜

When doing modular learning, we recommend unbundling education and childcare as jobs to be done. You’ll need to decide if you want to be the main childcare provider, get help, and how much.

⏳ Time: 0 to 1 day
💰 Cost: Free, loss of a second income to $80k+/year

Do a cost/benefit analysis of childcare costs for homeschool vs. school. Join a babysitting swap in your homeschool group. Hire caregivers or join afterschool classes as a name. Talk to your company about childcare benefits and tax credits.

For a deeper dive on childcare, read our post: "But What About Childcare?".

✅ 13. Create a Communication Channel for Parents, Teachers & Caregivers 💬

An advantage to modular learning is that a child’s teachers and parents can all collaborate to optimize their well-being.

⏳ Time: 5 minutes
💰 Cost: Free

Make a WhatsApp, Slack, or Discord group to help parents, teachers, and caregivers to communicate about each child’s learning.

For a deeper dive on recruiting, managing, and retaining your homeschool “team,” read our post: "How to Find and Vet the Best Homeschool Teachers".

✅ 14. Post a Schedule ⏰

Once you’ve identified mastery hours, time for self-directed learning, and developed a childcare plan, you can post a schedule. This might include time when children study independently while parents work.

⏳ Time: 20 minutes
💰 Cost: Free (+ optional printing costs and Canva membership)

Write out, get creative, and make a beautiful poster (which might be a nice way to involve kids), or create a nice schedule on Canva to help everyone keep track of what’s going on. Create a shared Google Calendar to keep teachers and co-parents coordinated.

For a deeper dive, read our post: "What's a Typical Homeschool Day Look Like?".

✅ 15. Build a Digital Portfolio 💼

It’s very easy to build a digital portfolio that you can use to record your child’s achievements and that will also fulfill mandatory state reporting requirements.

⏳ Time: 5 minutes to set up, then just take pictures and upload
💰 Cost: Free

Create a Google Drive folder and upload photos of worksheets, field trips, projects, and PDFs of learning dashboards. Periodically add photos, quiz scores, pictures of projects.

For a deeper dive, read our post: "Is Your Child on Track?".

✅ 16. Keep Experimenting! 🧪

⏳ Time: Always
💰 Cost: Free

Have fun and layer in more teachers, classes, electives, learning apps, and activities as you go! Modular learning is fluid and evolving at its best. There’s no need to set anything in stone.

For a deeper dive, read our post: "Is Your Child on Track?".

✅ Bonus: You’re Free! Get a Boat and Take the Whole Family Around the World!

Not everyone is looking for a simple checklist. If you’re looking for more thorough information, we’ve also created an incredibly in-depth guide to help answer every single question and concern you could possibly have about homeschooling. If that’s what you’re looking for, start with our post "Intro to Modular Learning" and keep reading, or explore our full archive and start with the topics that interest you most.

On the other hand, if 16 items is too much, here’s the even shorter version: to get started with modular learning and make sure your child’s on track, focus on setting up a flexible curriculum, joining a supportive community, and regularly assessing your child’s progress. Happy homeschooling!