Homeschool Curriculum Recommendations

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is: What curriculum do you use? or What curriculum do you recommend? So I decided to put all my best homeschool curriculum recommendations in one spot. These are my personal favorites – the things that I recommend, because we currently use them or have used them in the past. When you look at this list, please keep in mind that you need to build the homeschool that works for your family. So some of these options may or may not work for you. But these are the learning methods and curricula that have worked best for us, so I can stand behind and recommend them to you. :)

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These homeschool curriculum recommendations are broken up by age level, so you can skip to the sections and resources you need.

But don’t miss the Family Style Learning section, whichever grade level you’re searching for. This has information relevant for ALL ages.

Note: I do not believe that curriculum is necessary for every subject – especially in the elementary years. We learn many topics without ever purchasing a curriculum! Interest-led learning and learning through life experiences are an incredibly important part of our homeschool – and many times, they can replace the need for any curriculum at all. So keep that in mind as you look at all these homeschool curriculum recommendations. A little bit of curriculum actually goes a long way. ;)

Natural Learning

Real life gives us many opportunities to learn, that we would never find in a curriculum. Natural learning is the kind of learning that isn’t led by a curriculum or formal lesson. It’s led by our kids’ interests, the everyday things happening in our lives, and it can be guided by us as parents. It doesn’t have to be a complete free for all!

We lean heavily into natural learning in our homeschool, so that means that curriculum isn’t required for all subjects. If a child learns spelling words through playing Scrabble, do they need to use a worksheet? If a child learns to count by jumping on a trampoline, do they have to use a math curriculum?

So when you look through this curriculum list and think “hmmm… where is all the curriculum?” don’t think that we aren’t learning.

We just aren’t learning in the SCHOOL way. We’re learning the non-school way – with some curriculum to intentionally fill in the gaps.

So you won’t see a lot of “real” curriculum (that we purchase from big curriculum companies) on this list, because most of our learning comes straight from books or real life learning.

Our Home Library

Our home library is our number one homeschooling resources. You certainly don’t have to have a large home library to homeschool, but for us, it’s been a game changer. In our smaller house, we couldn’t have all our books out at one time, so we had them in bins in the basement and would rotate them out often. Of course, you can use the actual library, but I’m not great about returning books on time, so this actually saves me a lot of money. ;)

Family style learning

Many of our subjects are taught family style in our home. We primarily do literature-based unit studies (I teach how to do this in my courses Homeschooling the Non-School Way and in Whole Family Learning), so everyone from my kindergartener to my high schooler can learn alongside each other.

We read various books about a topic, and my kids journal their own level. My older kids take subjects deeper and expand the learning beyond what we do together as a family. We do continue to do family style learning into the older years as much as possible, knowing that my older kids are going to do more independent work and expand on what we do together.

Family Bible Time

Our family Bible time is an important part of our daily routine. We incorporate it into our family learning time. We don’t follow a specific curriculum, but we tend to pick a resource and go through it for awhile. We also incorporate Bible into our Morning Work Binders. You can find our favorite resources below:

Family learning resources

Since we do a lot of learning together, we have a lot of resources that can be used for multiple ages at the same time. There are many different family style curricula out there, but honestly… many of them just don’t fit the way my family learns best. But as a large family, I don’t have the time or energy to teach each child individually. Learning together is so much easier. Whole family learning has been an amazing gift to our family!

Morning Work Binder

The morning work binder has been a wonderful way for our kids to learn independently, start their day when they’re ready to start it, and for our group learning. Some of these pages are done on their own, and others we do together. Each child can do the pages at their own ability level. The morning work pages include prompts that cover many subjects: reading, writing, Bible, art, vocabulary, spelling, math, copywork, and more!

Watch this video walk-through of our morning work binders:

Social Studies – family style

Beautiful Feet Books – I love using BFB for our family learning time, because it’s literature based, and the activities are very simple. The teacher’s guides are very inexpensive, and while the history doesn’t align perfectly when using multiple grade levels together, it’s very easy to adapt the levels to work together. We read some of the books together and talk about them, and my kids read some books independently.

On Mission Magazine – this resource from Gentle Classical Press is beautiful combination of geography, culture, and faith

Missionary studies – this is an excellent way to combine studies of the world, history, people, and faith. Some of the resources we use:

• Christian Heroes Then and Now series
• Voice of the Martyrs free magazine and other resources on their website

Language Arts

Most language arts curriculum is designed to do individually, but I think it’s so much easier to do it together – and our kids teach each other so much, when we’re all learning as a family!

Science

Nature journaling – this is something we do together as a family regularly. It can easily be adapted for any age (older kids can do more research and writing about the topic), and it’s a fun way to incorporate multiple subjects together like language arts, science, and art.

Literature based unit studies – we do literature based unit studies as a family on topics that come up naturally or are relevant to the season. I don’t usually buy a specific curriculum for these, but create my own using the process I outline in Whole Family Learning and Homeschool the Non-School Way.

• PaperPie (formerly Usborne) books are some of my favorite books to use for science unit studies
• Research and Notetaking – doing research tends to be a little more fun when we do it together, so we love to incorporate this in our family learning time

Art

Most of our art is integrated within other subjects. Like nature journaling or journaling/writing prompts. My kids have taken some in-person act classes, but we don’t do a lot of structured art at home. Most of our art is child-led.

Artist study – I have a guide to how we do artist studies within the Cultivate Your Home membership, but The Art of Writing has some of our artist study resources linked as well.

Handicrafts – hands-on projects with a purpose like sewing, knitting, whittling, embroidery, etc.

Tutorials – when we do want to learn a particular art skill, we love to utilize online art tutorials like Art for Kids Hub and Brighter Day Press water color tutorials or step-by-step drawing tutorials within a book

Find some of our favorite art books and supplies in my Amazon Storefront

Physical Activity/Outside Time

Being active is an incredibly important part of our daily routine. As a mom of boys, being able to move their bodies is KEY to their academic success. There is so much research that connects movement and learning.

So as a family, we spend a lot of time outside, not just for our physical health, but to help our kids learn.

Hiking – we’ve always been a hiking family, since our kids were small. Weekly (or sometimes more), we go out for hikes. Sometimes they’re more like a nature walk, but as the kids have gotten older, the hikes have gotten longer and more difficult. Here are just a few of the things we’ve gained from hiking:

• plant and bug identification
• identifying animal tracks/scat
• safe and ethical foraging practices
• physical health and stamina
• survival skills
• family togetherness!

Sports – our kids are involved in sports. When our oldest was young, we started with casual rec sports. We stuck with this until he was in late middle school. During 2020 he took up running with his dad, and so he wanted to join a cross country. We found a local homeschool track and cross country team, and found out that several (and eventually all) of our kids could join too. So this is a big part of our homeschool – it’s a huge part of our local community and it’s our physical education.

More Resources for Family Learning:

My Father’s World – If you’re the type of person who really likes structured, open and go, literature based curriculum that has nearly every subject all together, may be a good option for your family. I really like the content of their curriculum, and they have fantastic book lists. We used this for few years, but I overall, it was too structured and planned out for me – I needed a little more freedom to do what we wanted to do, and I wanted fewer worksheets. So while I can confidently say it’s a good curriculum, it just never fully worked for us. But it could be a good fit if your family needs each day planned out more specifically.

The Good and the Beautiful – we’ve used some one off science units over the years, but we’ve never gone through the units from start to finish as they’re laid out. The units have great content and book recommendations, but we find them a little worksheet heavy.

Want to see a walkthrough of our whole family learning resources for 2023-2024? Check out this video:

Homeschool Curriculum Recommendations by Grade Level

Preschool

We do not use formal curriculum in the preschool years. Play is the best curriculum for any young child! My preschoolers can join in on any family style lessons, when they are ready and want to participate. As a former teacher (with an early childhood specialty), I don’t think that workbooks are beneficial at this age, beyond just a fun way for kids to feel like a “big kid.” Workbooks are not a developmentally appropriate way for young kids to learn.

In these early years, we read a lot of books. We also prioritize practicing real life skills, developing good habits, and getting out into nature as much as we can. This is how we cover nearly every subject at this age.

Preschoolers are learning about the world around them. They don’t need workbooks to do that. They just need to experience the world around them! They need to engage their senses, play, and participate in everyday life.

If a preschooler is ready to begin to learn to read, I teach letters and phonics through play with my Play Your Way to Reading program.

I don’t recommend using a formal math curriculum in the preschool years. I recommend teaching math concepts like counting and simple adding through board games and play. For kids who want to feel like a “big kid” and “do school” like their older siblings, a simple dollar store workbook is more than enough. They can use it when they want to, but not as a main part of their learning.

I also laminate letter and number tracing cards for my preschoolers to use when they are ready and have them available as a learning invitation. Dry erase markers are much easier for young kids to use than a pencil. To me, this is a much better option than a workbook with pages and pages of letters to trace.

Helpful resources for Preschool

Before you start teaching your kiddos to read, watch this video:

Kindergarten

In our homeschool, kindergarten doesn’t look that different from preschool. We continue a play-based approach to learning, because kids still need play more than they need workbooks! As my kids are ready, they join in on our family unit studies. We continue to keep books and play as the center of our learning.

Language Arts

Reading – if kids are ready, we continue with (or begin) Play Your Way to Reading – reading through play, play-based learning invitations, and everyday life. No workbooks, no flashcards, no pressure-filled curriculum.

Writing – natural writing practice is the best in my experience! Letter writing, shopping lists, drawing and writing stories, etc. There are ideas for this within Play Your Way to Reading.

Math

Formal math curriculum in these years is not necessary; the math skills a kindergartener needs to learn can be easily taught through games and play. Most kindergarteners are ready to practice number writing and counting at this age – even if they aren’t ready to read. But I keep it light and follow their lead – I don’t push it I feel they aren’t ready.

My kids learned most of their math at the kindergarten level through board games and card games. This list breaks down our favorite games for different ages:

However, I might introduce a curriculum if my kids are asking for one or if I can see they are very ready; I don’t require them to do math lessons – I want this to remain play-based. I consider this a gentle introduction – we might do a bookwork lesson if they ask for it (which I think happens more often when kids have older siblings who are doing bookwork), but it’s not the focus of the instruction.

Masterbooks – this is my favorite kindergarten curriculum for math. It’s gentle and has a story that goes along with each lesson.

The Good and the Beautiful – we have also used this for kindergarten, and it’s a good option. I like that you can get a box of hands-on manipulatives to go with the workbook. But I definitely prefer Masterbooks.

Science

At this age, I don’t use any formal science curriculum. We will learn through books, real life, and conversations. The topics we cover are the ones that naturally come up at this age. Things like:

• gardening
• weather and seasons
• animals and bugs
• plants, seeds, leaves
• human body

As much as we can, we will see and experience these things in real life! Then we add in books (like books from PaperPie), nature journaling, and some hands-on activities.

Helpful resources for Kindergarten

See a walk through of our kindergarten shelf that houses the materials we use for a play-based learning approach for kindergarten:

Early Elementary

Language Arts

Play Your Way to Reading – the school system may try to convince you that your child is “behind” in reading if they leave kindergarten without knowing how to read, but it’s absolutely developmentally normal! If your child is still learning to read, Play Your Way to Reading is the perfect fit.

Reading Response Journals – get kids thinking about books in a way that matters, not just silly questions like “what color was the house in the story.” These journals have writing prompts that can be used with any book, giving kids ways to think about and respond to books to improve comprehension and help them enjoy reading more!

The Art of Writing – writing prompts based on famous works of art, to inspire creative writing.

Paragraphs & Picture Books – We do not do formal grammar instruction in these early years – we approach it organically through writing, reading a lot of books, and through our family style lessons. Paragraphs & Picture Books is a family style language arts guide that covers all kinds of concepts: grammar, parts of speech, story elements, writing techniques, writing style, improving reading comprehension, inspiration for creative writing – all based on picture books!

Morning Work Packet – scroll up to the family learning section to see how we use these Morning Work Binders, which span multiple subjects, with our whole family

Math

I have used all of these math curricula at different times, based on what my kids need:

• Masterbooks – this is my favorite and the one I eventually switched to exclusively using this at this level
• Horizons – this is a very typical math workbook; it’s good if you need a simple, open and go option.
• Math Mammoth – I purchased digital versions of every level of this during a sale, and I like that I can print what we need when we need it; I find this is a great option when math comes naturally to kids, but is harder for kids who struggle more at math
• The Good and the Beautiful – we have used this for elementary math, but it’s not my favorite. It has engaging pictures and hands-on materials, but I felt that it didn’t help kids master the math concepts with the spiral format. But a HUGE bonus of this program is that you can download the PDF version of most levels completely free.

Science

At this age, I still don’t use any formal science curriculum. We will learn through books, real life, and conversations. The topics we cover are the ones that naturally come up at this age. Things like:

• gardening and food
• weather and seasons
• animals and bugs
• plants, seeds, leaves
• human body
• natural health and real food nutrition

Nature Studies – nature journals and nature studies are the huge part of our science in the elementary years. We keep our studies pretty simple – go outside to observe/experience nature, read books about nature, and then write/draw about it in our journals (sketchbooks).

We use books to go deeper in our learning or to study things we’re unable to see in real life. Because we don’t have rainforests in Wisconsin. ;)

Books we like:

• PaperPie is one of our favorite sources for non-fiction books
• Check out my nature picture book list HERE
• Check out my nature reference book and field guide list HERE

Simple experiments – you don’t need a full curriculum to do simple science experiments. If you’re learning about snow, just do a quick google or Pinterest search “elementary science experiments with snow.” You can also grab a book (like one of these books) and go through the experiments

More science resources:

Social Studies

Beautiful Feet Books – this is by far our favorite history! It’s literature based and very simple.

Geography – we start to learn about the world around us, things like maps, states, and countries at a basic level. Most of this is learned through picture books, everyday life, and conversation.

• Window on the World – this is an amazing resource to learn about different countries, people groups, and what God is doing around the world
• globe, maps, and atlases – I like The Young People’s Atlas of the United States and The Beginner’s United States Atlas along with the maps and atlases from Masterbooks
• puzzles, games, and books of the USA or the world
• books about different countries

See our geography faves HERE.

Learning Invitations – learning invitations are a fun way to invite kids into learning without it being a formal lesson. This could be as simple as setting up art supplies or putting a game or book on the coffee table. Or it could be setting out all the materials for a science experiment, envelopes and paper for letter writing, or fabric and embroidery supplies for a sewing project.

Upper Elementary

Language Arts

Morning Work Packet – these are part of our language arts, as well as other subjects. You can scroll up to the Family Learning section to see how we use our Morning Work Binders

Reading Response Journals – as my kids are ready, they move to the 3-6th level of these response journals

Paragraphs & Picture Books – family style lessons that teach language arts concepts through picture books. If you’re looking for worksheet-free ways to teach grammar, parts of speech, story elements, creative writing, etc. – this is a perfect fit.

Write Your Own Books – We LOVE the Write Your Own series; it’s one of my favorite resources for writing in the elementary years. They have write your own poems, scripts, poems, comics, magazine, and story.

Writing Journals – this age is perfect for letting kids explore creative writing, without a lot of strict guidelines.

We also use writing prompts from the Writing Templates Pack, The Art of Writing, and just journaling as a respone to whatever we’re reading in different subjects.

Other Writing Resources:

• Scholastic Guide: Putting it in Writing

Grammar and Punctuation – this is still taught in the context of reading and writing. Paragraphs and Picture Books is a resource we use for this

• Illustrated Grammar and Punctuation
• Lift the Flap Grammar and Punctuation
• The Language Theater: A Grammar Book
• Scholastic Guide: Checking Your Grammarhttps://amzn.to/47IngZo

Masterbooks – we have used Language Lessons for a Living Education a little bit, but it’s a very traditional workbook (which is not my favorite). If I needed to use a structured program for any reason, this would be the one I would use, but I prefer for kids to learn grammar and punctuation more organically, especially in the elementary years.

Literature Based Unit Studies – we use books as the base for all our subjects; kids can read them on their own, or we can read together as a family. This also allows us to combine language arts with other subjects – when kids read and journal about a country, they don’t need separate geography AND language arts curriculum.

Math

• Masterbooks – this is my favorite, especially for kids who don’t enjoy math or who take longer to grasp concepts
• Math Mammoth – I purchased digital versions of every level of this during a sale, and I like that I can print what we need when we need it; I find this is a great option when math comes naturally to kids and they like to be independent, but I find this harder for kids who struggle more at math
• The Good and the Beautiful – I like this for the video lessons, which can be helpful when you’ homeschooling multiple kids. But I don’t prefer the spiral learning method – it wasn’t best for my kids. But a HUGE bonus of this program is that you can download the PDF version of most levels completely free.

Science

Nature Journals – we continue nature journaling into the upper elementary years

Literature based unit studies – if there are topics we want to study, we find books on those topics to begin our study. Then we go deeper with experiments, field trips, documentaries, etc.

Books we like:

• PaperPie is one of our favorite sources for non-fiction books
• Check out my nature picture book list HERE
• Check out my nature reference book and field guide list HERE

Noeo Science – if you’re looking for an open and go literature based science that includes experiments, this is a great option that uses a lot of really great quality books!

Science experiments

• KiwiCo Tinker Crates
• MEL Science kits
• The Kitchen Pantry Scientist: chemistry for kids
• The Kitchen Pantry Scientist: biology for kids

National Geographic Kids – we subscribe to this magazine, but they also have an excellent YouTube channel with tons of videos that really add to our science

Social Studies

Beautiful Feet Books – this is our favorite literature based history for this age. It’s simple, but includes really rich literature.

Tuttle Twins American History – this two volume series tells history through a story. It can be a full curriculum or a supplement. We have mostly used it as a supplemental resource.

Biographies – this one is really relevant for any subject, but we especially love to do biographies about significant people in history.

We use the research and notetaking tools below:

Geography – we continue to learn about the world around us, things like maps, states, and countries. Most of this is learned through mini-unit studies along with picture books, everyday life, and conversation.

• Window on the World – this is an amazing resource to learn about different countries, people groups, and what God is doing around the world
• globe, maps, and atlases – I like The Young People’s Atlas of the United States and The Beginner’s United States Atlas along with the maps and atlases from Masterbooks
• puzzles, games, and books of the USA or the world
• books about different countries
• KiwiCo Atlas Crate – this has been an awesome resource for learning about different countries. Each box includes a book, a craft or activity, recipes, and more.

See our geography faves HERE.

Literature based unit studies – any topic that comes up, you can get books about that topic to create a unit study around it. This is a family style study I’ve created:

Foreign Language

DuoLingo – so far this is the only foreign language program we’ve used (just the free version). I’m looking for other options, because there a couple things I don’t like, but it’s been a great beginner’s way to learn other languages. We’ve been using it along with books like these:

Spanish

• You can get books in Spanish (or other languages) like these Spanish titles from PaperPie
• First Thousand Words in Spanish

Chinese

• My First 100 Mandarin Chinese Characters
• Imagine World, a Chinese Learning Book for Kids

Helpful Resources for Elementary

Blog posts:

Middle School

Language Arts

At this age, my focus has always been getting my kids to read as many books as they can, reading for comprehension and enjoyment, and also to just have them respond to their reading with deeper discussions and longer writing.

Reading Response Journals – for kids who aren’t ready yet for longer writing, we continue these reading response journals.

Read, Think, Write – the language arts program I created for grades 6-12 that lets you and your child pick the books you want to read and the activities you want to do to respond to the writing, based on your child’s interests and abilities.

Grammar and Punctuation – we continue to teach grammar and punctuation in the context of reading and writing, but these resources are also helpful:

• Illustrated Grammar and Punctuation
• Lift the Flap Grammar and Punctuation
• The Language Theater: A Grammar Book
• Scholastic Guide: Checking Your Grammar
• More Nitty-Gritty Grammar

Spelling/Vocabulary – We are still doing spelling organically through reading and writing, but also use a vocabulary page from Read, Think, Write. We can use this with any vocabulary words that come up during other subjects or when they’re reading, along with Word of the Day or vocabulary books

• Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day
• Dictionary of Difficult Words
• Storyteller’s Word a Day
• Storyteller’s Illustrated Dictionary

Writing –

• Journals – I give my kids lots of opportunities to write freely, whatever they want to write about
• Young Writer’s Workshop – if you have an advanced writer, I highly recommend this program. We have used it more in high school, but some in middle school. They only open enrollment a couple times a year, so if you catch them when they’re not open for enrollment, make sure you get on their email list.

Literature Based Unit Studies

Math

• Math Mammoth – I purchased digital versions of every level of this during a sale, and I like that I can print what we need when we need it; I find this is a great option when math comes naturally to kids, but is harder for kids who struggle more at math
• Learn Math Fast – excellent for kids who don’t have confidence yet to move on to “traditional” middle school math, kids who struggle with math, or kids who just need a refresher/to fill in some gaps before moving on to more advanced math.
• How to Be Good at Math – this resource has been great for us to have alongside whatever math curriculum we have

Science

Nature Journals – we continue nature journals into middle school, my kids’ journals just get more advanced

Science experiments – we either google to look for specific experiments or we use books like these:

• PaperPie science experiment books
• The Kitchen Pantry Scientist: chemistry for kids
• The Kitchen Pantry Scientist: biology for kids
• the Mel Science kits can be a great addition to your science

NeoScience – if you’re looking for an open and go literature based science that includes experiments, this is a great option! While these only go up to 8th grade, I think you could easily add to them to bulk them up for high school, especially if you want to do these family style.

The Good and the Beautiful – we have done some one off science units, and the content is good, but we find them to be a bit heavier on worksheets than we prefer. These are good options if you are looking for something more structured.

National Geographic Kids – we subscribe to this magazine, but they also have an excellent YouTube channel with tons of videos that really add to our science

Exploring Series – these books are great for a general survey of science.

Social Studies

Beautiful Feet Books – this is our favorite literature based history for this age. It’s simple, but includes really rich literature.

News – it’s important to begin to incorporate real life events and politics (in an age appropriate way). I encourage you to have conversations with your child about the things that you disagree with or that don’t align with your values – our kids need to know WHY we believe what we believe. Here are some of the resources we have used:

• World Watch News – this is a conservative Christian online news publication
• God’s World News – a print magazine from a Christian worldview
• The Week Jr. – this publication leans to the left
• The Briefing with Albert Mohler – podcast from a Christian worldview

Honest History Magazine – a beautifully done magazine that covers various topics in history.

Cobblestone magazine – I actually used to get this magazine as a kid, and we have been getting it for years. It covers all kinds of topics and people in history.

Literature based unit studies – any topic that comes up, you can get books about that topic to create a unit study around it. This is a family style study I’ve created:

Foreign Language

DuoLingo – so far this is the only foreign language program we’ve used (just the free version). I’m looking for other options, because there a couple things I don’t like, but it’s been a great beginner’s way to learn other languages. We’ve been using it along with books like these:

Spanish

• You can get books in Spanish (or other languages) like these Spanish titles from PaperPie
• First Thousand Words in Spanish

Chinese

• My First 100 Mandarin Chinese Characters
• Imagine World, a Chinese Learning Book for Kids

High School

In the high school years, we continue our literature based learning.

Language Arts

Read, Think, Write – the language arts program I created for grades 6-12 that lets you and your child pick the books you want to read and the activities you want to do to respond to the writing, based on your child’s interests and abilities.

Young Writer’s Workshop – this is an amazing resource for high schoolers who enjoy writing and want to improve their writing skills, and possibly pursue a career in writing. They only open enrollment a couple times a year, so if you catch them when they’re not open for enrollment, make sure you get on their email list. My son has done both the standard subscription and also a year of the academic program. It made a HUGE impact on his writing. I highly recommend this program for your high schoolers!

Paragraphs and Picture Books – yes, we still continue using picture books, even at the high school level! It’s a great way to teach writing and grammar, and way less boring than textbooks and worksheets.

Grammar and Punctuation – we continue to teach grammar and punctuation in the context of reading and writing, but these resources are also helpful:

• Writer’s Inc – this is the absolute best resource I’ve found for helping high schoolers with writing, grammar, and punctuation
• Grammar and Writing Guide from The Good and the Beautiful
• More Nitty-Gritty Grammar

Writing Strands – we’ve used this series a little bit, but it’s very worksheet-y, so it’s not something we use regularly. But it’s a good choice if you like something really structured.

Math

Learn Math Fast – excellent for kids who don’t have confidence yet to move on to “traditional” high school learning, kids who struggle with math, kids who aren’t planning to go on to higher education, or kids who just need a refresher/to fill in some gaps before moving on to more advanced math. It can also serve as a super simple math course for kids who want to move quickly through their high school math credits and then move on to other subjects.

Masterbooks – we really enjoyed the Algebra course, which we paired with the video lessons in the Masterbooks Academy. Highly recommend the video lessons if you’re going to do the high school level math courses!

Science

Guest Hollow – we’ve used their biology and highly recommend it. Guest Hollow is literature heavy, but no worksheets. Which is our type of curriculum. ;) I like that these are not super intense science programs, especially for kids who aren’t planning to go into a science field.

Queen Homeschool – we’re using this Charlotte Mason style anatomy and botany unit study (Every Herb Bearing Seed), along with a large assortment of living books. We also have the Further Investigation chemistry curriculum to use as a resource.

*Our original plan (which you’ll see if you watch my video) for 2023-2024 was to use Chemistry in the Kitchen from Guest Hollow. For various reasons, I decided to postpone this until next year, but the biggest reason is because I’ll have two high schoolers that can go through it and do the experiments together.

Mel Science – these kits are a great addition to chemistry

Other resources we’ve used alongside Guest Hollow science:

• DK Super Simple series (biology, chemistry, etc.)
• Exploring (biology, chemistry, etc.) series by John Hudson Tiner – I personally think that these can be used as a spine for your science (especially if you have a child that doesn’t love science) and you can build on them, or you can use them as a reference book
• Illustrated Dictionary of (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.) series from PaperPie

Social Studies

We prefer a worksheet-free approach to history, so we look for curriculum that has a lot of literature and not a lot of busywork.

Guest Hollow – if you’re looking for a literature-based history that doesn’t rely on worksheets and textbooks, I highly recommend this one! They also include a lot of links to movies and documentaries alongside the literature. We pair this with Read, Think, Write to blend social studies and language arts together – because kids shouldn’t have to do double the work just to check off boxes.

Beautiful Feet Books – I love that this pairs so easily with the younger grades, so we can do a lot of reading together as a family. This is a little paired down compared to Guest Hollow, but has rich literature selections and simple tasks.

News – it’s important to begin to incorporate real life events and politics (in an age appropriate way). I encourage you to have conversations with your child about the things going on in the world, with politics, and things that you agree and disagree with (or that don’t align with your values). Our kids need to know WHY we believe what we believe. Here are some of the resources we have used:

• World Watch News – this is a conservative Christian online news publication
• The Briefing with Albert Mohler – podcast from a Christian worldview

Finance, Money, and Entrepreneurship

Dave Ramsey – we have the high school personal finance course, but the entrepreneurship and careers courses look good!

Foreign Language

DuoLingo – this is a good beginner foreign language program, but isn’t really sufficient for high school level foreign language, in my opinion

Udemy – we have found in-depth foreign language courses on Udemy (through our library) for many different languages

More high school resources:

Compass Classroom – you can get a monthly subscription or purchase some courses outright, but we’ve done pieces of the courses within the monthly subscription; many of these can be used to supplement your subjects or as a complete online course. They have so many options: science, Latin, writing, logic, and more.

Big Fat Notebook series – these are great reference books for all subjects, and could easily serve as the spine for a course – go through the book and add other books and resources to it!

Udemy – our library gives us access to courses via Udemy, so my kids have been casually trying them out. There are courses on music, foreign language, computer/technology, business and entrepreneurship, and so much more! Definitely check to see if your library can give you free access.

Kahn Academy – this is an excellent resource for videos, we especially like to use it when we need help understanding a specific math concept

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