Homeschool Curriculum Reviews

Homeschool parents rely on the recommendations of other real parents who are in the trenches too – that’s why you’ll want to pin this homeschool curriculum reviews post for later! I’ll give you a run-down of the curriculum we’ve used at different points in our homeschool, what we thought about the resource, and if we’d change anything about how we used it.

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Contents hide

1 Homeschooling Methods

2 Choosing Curriculum

3 Costs of Homeschool Curriculum

4 Where to Buy Homeschool Curriculum

7 Book & Game Reviews

8 Review By Grade

Homeschooling Methods

There are so many homeschool curriculum options these days! And that’s a good thing! You can literally find whatever you are searching for based on your homeschooling methods and philosophy of education.

If you’re brand new to homeschooling, you may just be getting familiar with all the lingo. Words like traditional, or Charlotte Mason, unschooling or classical. Even if you can’t identify these homeschooling styles, it’s okay! You can be a traditional buy-it-all-from-one-publisher kind of homeschooling family, or you can be more eclectic where you pick and choose for each subject for each child what fits best.

The most important things to know when narrowing down which homeschool method fits you best are these two things:

what are your family’s priorities in this season
your kids will grow and change through the years (and so will you!)

Your family’s priorities will directly impact the curriculum you choose. Some families are big into being out in nature and prefer a hands-on education rather than filling out workbooks inside. Other families consider themselves classical homeschoolers, and their book lists are larger than any you’ve ever seen! Plus, they’ll likely include things like Latin in their homeschool day.

So, what is important to you and your family in this season? When you can nail that down, you’ll naturally feel drawn to some curriculum over others.

And then, remember that your kids will grow and change throughout the years – and so will you! This means that while the younger years require a lot of hands-on attention from mom, your kids will slowly gain independence and grow in their responsibility for their own learning. Remember, your goal is to raise life long learners – and you will!

Now that we’ve graduated our oldest, we can see the value of this investment even more. I truly love homeschooling teenagers, because they’ve really taken responsibility by the high school years, and all of the burden isn’t on me anymore.

So, keep the end in mind and let’s chat about choosing curriculum.

Choosing Curriculum

Once again, here are two main things to keep in mind when you’re thinking about choosing curriculum:

you’re not stuck
you’re in charge

First, if you choose a curriculum and it just doesn’t work, you’re not stuck. You have the complete freedom and flexibility to pivot – yes, even in the middle of the year! Here’s how to plan your homeschool year like a pro.

Second, you’re in charge, not the curriculum. So, even if your curriculum gives your child 30 math equations each day, you can choose to only require 15. Or 10. Really! You don’t even have to finish a book or a textbook if you don’t want to. Maybe your history curriculum includes lots of projects but you just want to keep it simple and read the lesson and put a figure on the timeline. Then do that. Again, you’re in charge.

My favorite go-to source for comprehensive curriculum reviews is Cathy Duffy Reviews. Cathy was on the Homeschool with Moxie Podcast and she shared some great advice for choosing homeschool curriculum.

In our members-only resource library, you can also download a Curriculum Questions PDF which will walk you through the most important questions to ask yourself as you narrow down which curriculum to choose for your homeschool.

You can request the password to the resource library below.

Costs of Homeschool Curriculum

Of course, as with anything, you do get what you pay for. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend a ton of money to have access to the resources you need to homeschool successfully. Some families budget thousands of dollars per child to purchase fancy curriculum. You can do that if you want to! We have never spent that much. And I know many people who homeschool for nearly free.

Personally, I wouldn’t rely totally on free resources. You just need to prioritize what you want to spend money on. For example, when you’re homeschooling at the beginning, you might want to purchase a phonics program or a math resource you like. Then the rest can be library books and other hands-on projects!

When you have multiple kids, you can use the same resource for several of them – subjects like history, science, art, and electives don’t need to be grade-specific.

Check out these posts for my best tips on staying within your budget while homeschooling – even if you’re a one-income family!

Where to Buy Homeschool Curriculum

You can purchase directly from the publisher, and if you decide to go this route, definitely look for seasonal sales to get the best deal.

We’ve usually had great success buying used curriculum online to keep within our budget.

Another aspect to consider is digital versus physical resources. Of course, digital resources can be copied or printed for multiple kids with one purchase price. Physical resources might be consumable, meaning you can only use it for one child.

Homeschool bundle sales provide a great way to grow your homeschool digital library for very cheap! Make sure you’re on my email list so you know when these sales are live.

Reviews By Subject

Math

Science

Electives

Book & Game Reviews

Review By Grade

We’ve homeschooled five kids through multiple grades, so here’s a round-up of some of our curriculum choices at different points in our homeschool adventure.

Homeschooling Methods

Choosing Curriculum

Costs of Homeschool Curriculum

Where to Buy Homeschool Curriculum

Reviews By Subject

Math

Science

Language Arts

History

Bible

Electives

Book & Game Reviews

Review By Grade

Homeschool

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