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There are two basic types of curriculum: Traditional – hands-on, non-digital, and Online (this one can be divided into private and public). The choices in either category seem endless. That being said, there are several that are at the forefront. I have hands-on experience with a few of these choices and knowledge or acquaintance-based experience with the others. While there are many considerations in making a decision on which curriculum to use, don’t get weighed down in the details from the beginning. Start off with a few basic wants/needs and go from there. The first thing you need to do is create a plan.

• What are your goals?
  • Academic, Social, Extracurricular, etc
  • Online or hands-on
  • Public or Private
• Does a curriculum need to fit around your lifestyle?
  • Spiritual or Secular
  • Specific days or number of days
  • Responsibilities of each parent

Once you have an idea of what type of curriculum will best suit your needs, start researching. Ask other homeschoolers what they’ve used and why they did or didn’t like it. Look up potential possibilities and sign up for a free trial or download sample material. Don’t feel pressured to make a perfect decision. I don’t know of one homeschool family that has made the right choice on the first try! Sometimes, it helps to try out free programs to get a feel for them and how things work for you. You’ll also discover what you like and don’t like and what to look for in a program. Make sure to keep a list of what you’ve tried and the pros and cons of each. You should also identify your deal-breakers; the things that you absolutely must have (or must not have!).

In this discussion, I’m only talking about all-in-one curriculum.

Please keep in mind that prices are subject to change. Please click links where available or check web sites to verify accuracy.

Hands-On Curriculum

• Homeschool Complete – https://www.homeschoolcomplete.com/

$300-$500 depending on grade and bundle selected

This is a curriculum for Kindergarten to 4th grade. It is Christian-based (there are Christian themes throughout the curriculum) and comprehensive and covers Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, Physical Development and Fitness, Fine Arts, Character Development, and Bible Studies. The program is configured for a 4-day week and each grade is consists of two semesters. Weeks are divided into thematic units that contain four lessons each. The program’s overall structure is more of a classroom setting, but still includes ample areas for discussion and hands-on activities. The themes for Kindergarten through second grade seem a little random, see sample contents below.

In general, this is a comprehensive, easy-to-follow curriculum. Each semester has a 3-ring binder teacher’s manual that contains full lesson plans that explain exactly what to do; some even include dialogue to use when teaching. The complete sets are not as expensive as other programs and include worksheets and student workbooks. There are, however, no included manipulatives, activity materials, or books for required reading so there is prep time involved. Most of the supplies used for activities are everyday items you probably already have at home. I did not use this program but know several people who have and love it.

• Sonlight – https://www.sonlight.com/

$460-$870 depending on option chosen

This is also a Christian-based program, started to supply homeschool materials to ministries.

There are two different options for selecting curriculum, the spine of each is history, bible, and literature. The first option is the All-Subjects Package (ASP) that includes, math, science, and language arts. It can be used on a 4- or 5-day schedule and can be customized to suit age or ability. Each set includes:

• Instructor’s Guides
• Parent Guides
• Student Guides
• History/Geography
• History/Bible
• Bible Read-Alouds
• Readers
• Language Arts
• Literature/Language Arts
• Spelling(K-5)
• Handwriting(K-3)
• Science
• Math
• Resources

Daily schedules and lesson plans are also included, along with all books and materials, with the exception of household items for science. A chronological, story-based history, such as Story of the World, is the center and is supplemented by timeline activities, biographies, and novels all pertaining to the designated period. The complete program can be pricey, but it is COMPLETE and versatile enough that it can be used with multiple students. ASPs are discounted about 20% as opposed to selecting individual courses. Sonlight does offer a 1-year money-back guarantee (18 weeks to use half the program), free consultants, and they have an extensive user community. Follow this link for a free trial!

• BookShark– https://www.bookshark.com/

$700-$900 depending on grade level and option chosen (PreK is $326)

Although it is a separate company, BookShark was born from Sonlight. It is the secular counterpart, however, science and history courses do not teach evolution, creationism, or intelligent design theory. The program is likewise literature-based, centered around history, and develops chronologically. Also like Sonlight, BookShark can be purchased as an ASP or by individual courses and is broken down into levels instead of grades. The levels generally cover PreK – 10th grade. Kids that are within 3 years of each other will likely be able to share materials.

Each level includes the same detailed daily schedules and lesson plans, which can be accessed by the digital version of the instructor guide. Twelve-month access to online guides is included when a print guide is purchased.

BookShark is also on the upper end of price, but it also comes fully loaded and ready to go right out of the box. I have used this program for the past 6 years and absolutely love it. The completeness of it and the ease of having the bulk of the planning done for me is liberating. I have also grown to really love the 4-day schedule and being able to utilize the fifth day for field trips and adventurous learning. I would highly recommend this program!

Online Curriculum

• Time4Learning– https://www.time4learning.com/

PreK – 8th grade: $19.95 / month for first student; $14.95 / month for each additional student

High School: $30 / month / student

Time4Learning is an entirely secular curriculum; evolution is part of the teaching. It is one of the few programs that can be utilized through a mobile app, Puffin Academy, available for iOS or Android.

Parents have their own account that enables them to set up lesson plans and assignments and keep records of their student’s work, all of which can also be printed. Course selection is very flexible in that any grade or course that is selected may be changed at any time and will be effective immediately.

Preschool through eighth grade, have access to three levels of the curriculum. If you choose fourth grade, your student will have access to courses in third, fourth, and fifth grade courses. Courses for high school are organized by subject not grade level. Any lesson within a course can be reviewed or repeated, if desired. Quizzes and tests for comprehension are included throughout the program as well as standardized test practice for older students (results do not affect grades) and game rooms to practice skills for younger students.

Core subjects covered are language arts, math, science and social studies. Writing instruction is a separate program, Time4Writing, and is an additional fee. Some have reported science courses not being comprehensive until sixth grade. Other reviews have stated that some topics are unorganized, not chronological, there is too much redundancy in material covered, and PreK through eighth grade levels seem below grade level.

While Time4Learning is not a school so it, therefore, does not offer diplomas but you will have access to transcript templates. Every curriculum is going to have pluses and minuses. For the price and functionality of this one, I would definitely give it a try. They also offer a two-week money-back guarantee for new members. Memberships can be paused or cancelled at any time; there are no contracts.

• Easy Peasy – PreK-12th grade https://allinonehomeschool.com/

Free

Easy Peasy is one of the most talked-about free programs that I know. It was started by a homeschool mom who decided to share the program she used for her own children. The program is Christian-based, but you can select not to do the bible study work. It is a mixture of online activities and resources, printable worksheets, and hands-on activities like lapbooks.

Each level includes Reading (Reading, Vocabulary), Language Arts (Spelling, Grammar, Creative/Non-Fiction Writing), Math, Computer, and Thinking. There are four themes from which to choose: Ancient History, Early American History, Geography/Cultures, Modern American History. They cover the whole year and are split into two levels, 1-4 and 5-8, so that all students can study the same material, at their own level. Each theme adds a different course in Bible, History, Science, Music, Art, and PE. Again, all of the courses can be changed individually. Lessons in Music, Art, PE/Health, Computer, and Thinking are provided once a week instead of daily. There are even course slots that can be added in in order to allot time for chores and practices.

It did take me a while to figure out exactly how to set everything up once I had created an account, but afterward, the ease of use of this program (hence the name EasyPeasy!) is a bonus. Once all of your courses are selected, daily lesson plans are created. Each day has a list of instructions for each course, links to activities or videos, and any printable worksheets that are needed. As students get older, they can complete each day’s lessons without further instructions. There is some prep time involved if there are required readings because no books are provided. At the end of the day, you can check completed work and mark the day as still needing work or not. Grading sheets are also provided and can either be downloaded in printable format or as a spreadsheet. For students who need extra encouragement, points can be earned for each lesson and used for a reward system; a sample rewards page is provided.

I have heard that some of the curriculum can be lacking and may require supplementation. I don’t necessarily see this as a complete negative since everything is provided for free and there is an established online community that can be utilized for advice.

• Discovery K12 Online Homeschool – PreK-12th grade http://discoveryk12.com/dk12/

Free – $99 / year

Discovery K12 Online Homeschool has free student accounts but offers an optional parent/teacher account for $99 per year. The parent/teacher account provides a grade book, attendance tracking, reading log, PE log, quiz/test answers, and assessment tests, all of which are otherwise inaccessible. Also included is the ability to create transcripts, certificates of completion, and diplomas. One parent/teacher account will administer all student accounts in one immediate family.

Discovery K12 is secular and non-Common Core. There are seven core subjects that are included; Reading/Literature, Language Arts, Math, History/Social Studies, Science, Visual/Performing Arts, and PE. Spanish 1, HTML Coding, Healthy Living, Personal Finance, Business Apps, and Business 101 are also available as electives. The program has 36 Weeks of STEM & Maker Activities which provides hands-on projects.

Each day a lesson plan is provided that has instructions for what is to be done and includes both online and offline work. There are videos and links to outside websites and links to forms to print and complete. To complete the reading portion of the daily lessons, you may choose to obtain printed copies of books or utilize Discovery K12’s ebook library which contains 150 classic/non-fiction books and historical documents.

Subjects do not all have to be completed at the same grade level, but it is a bit cumbersome to work this way. When you start your student account, you select a grade level. In order to change the level for one subject, you must go to the Help menu and select “Change Grade Level”. The student would then work on a specified subject and when they are done, go back to the Help menu and change the grade level back. If all subjects are at different levels, you have to change the grade level for each one. While this may not seem overly difficult, you must remember which grade level you are working on and for which subject.

• Khan Academy – PreK-12th grade https://www.khanacademy.org/

Free

Khan Academy started out as a resource for students to get help with math. Since then, it has grown to become one of the best-known sources of free, online education available.

“Our mission is to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere.” – Khan Academy.

Material is available for K – early college courses. Covered subjects, in addition to math, now include language arts, science, computing, history and social studies, economics, life skills, and test prep. There are no courses covering music, music appreciation, or foreign languages.

It is completely free, yes, completely. You don’t even need to create an account to learn with Khan Academy. Although, having an account does come with perks. Parents, or teachers, can create an account and link it to their students’ accounts. By doing this, they can track progress, create assignments and challenges, monitor real-time reporting, and identify areas where students are struggling or there are gaps in learning.

Courses are structured to accommodate complete beginners and slowly build on their knowledge. They are entirely self-paced and while it is best to work from beginning to end, you can complete any portion of any course at any time. You can go back and review or redo material at any time as well.

While learning on Khan Academy is formatted starting with Kindergarten, they do have an app, Khan Academy Kids, that is for kids 2-7 years old and is available on for Android, iPad, or iPhone. Older students can also work on mobile devices with the Khan Academy app for Android and iPad/iPhone.

• American High School – K-12th grade https://www.americanhighschool.org/academics/index.html

See below for pricing.

While the name implies High School only, this program does offer courses for K-12th grade. American High School (AHS) is a fully accredited, college prep, and career-based online school. Unlike traditional, homeschool options, AHS is an actual school with teacher-led courses.

Course access is available 24/7 and students can work at their own pace. On the dashboard under their account, they can see all of the classes for which they are registered along with the grade book and teacher contact. By selecting a class, they can launch the course and are able to see all of the readings, materials, and assessments. Within each class are the units and lessons to be completed. Lessons contain online textbooks, interactive games and activities, and video instruction. They also include a pacing guide that gives an estimate of how long the lesson should take to complete. This is just a guide and can be customized for the individual student’s needs. Students who continually exceed the pace, however, may be requested by the teacher to complete more challenging work. After completing a lesson, students take a practice quiz, which is graded immediately. They must score 70% or better before being allowed to take the assessment, which is teacher graded. If the assessment score is below 69%, the student can’t move on to the next lesson and they may be assigned remediation for extra practice before being allowed to retake the assessment. Once the assessment is passed, the student is allowed to continue to the next lesson. At the end of each unit, there is a required unit project that must be completed in order to start the next unit.

American High School is a comprehensive educational institution. They have over 500 online courses, free SAT/ACT test prep courses, and interactive curriculum with teacher support. The web site claims, “Not one student, who graduated from American High School, has ever been denied entry into any US college or university. Our students have been accepted to colleges worldwide including UCLA, Harvard, Brown, UM, Duke, and Penn State.” Tuition assistance is available and they do state that “approximately 85% of our students receive some form of financial aid”. Admission prices are higher than other homeschool options, but this is an accredited school and, therefore, does provide complete records, diplomas, and official transcripts.

Current pricing structure is as follows:

Elementary School K-5th Grade $1800 / Grade (4 Core Classes)

Middle School 6-8th Grade $2195 / Grade (6 Credits)

High School 9th-12th Grade $2400 / Grade (6 Credits)

Students have 10 months to complete 1 grade level

*If tuition is paid in full, there is a $200 discount. If a payment plan is needed, a maximum of 4 monthly payments are allowed.

NCAA Courses $600-$700

AP Courses $650

VR Courses $500

Dual Diploma $2500 (6 Credits)

Adult Diploma $1299

2-month Course Extension $275

Virtual Public Schools

These schools are free. They are state-funded and your student is considered a public school student. In Colorado, two of the most well-known virtual public schools are Colorado Virtual Academy (COVA) https://coloradovirtualacademy.org/ and Colorado Connections Academy https://www.connectionsacademy.com/colorado-online-school. Anyone who has seen the commercials and visited their web sites knows that there is a conspicuous lack of information available without filling out a ton of personal information. While I don’t have first-hand experience with Connections, I do with COVA (and I assume the format is very similar). And it WAS NOT a good experience.

Once enrolled, you have some flexibility in setting a schedule in that you can decide what courses will be completed on which day. Some are required to be daily, some are weekly or biweekly. You must log in each day and record attendance and complete lessons. There is a certified teacher assigned to each class and they will schedule live, online classes that must be attended. Parents have an account and can track progress and grades for each student. The curriculum used for COVA was not bad, we really liked some of it, but the overall format and structure of the school were very unappealing.

We enrolled in COVA shortly after moving to Colorado, mainly for the convenience. Being overwhelmed with moving across the country, trying to find a house and starting a new job, this seemed like a sensible solution. Don’t get me wrong, it was the right choice at the time, I would just never do it again. Sophia has always been a couple of years ahead so I was drawn to the “go at your own pace” promise. We were allowed to choose the grade-level that we felt was suitable, as promised. We were also told that if she completed the level before the school year was over, we could advance to the next one. So when she completed it in February, I called what I needed to do to exchange the materials we had for the next set. I was told we couldn’t and would have to wait until the next school year started. In August. When I inquired what I was supposed to do with a seven year old for 6 months, I was advised to go back through the program and “go deeper” into the lessons; do the optional activities and supplemental work. We had done all of that on the first round. We spent weeks going in circles trying to get them to issue us the next level. To no avail. So I boxed up the materials, sent them back, and withdrew her from the school.

I will admit having boxes of books and activities and full science kits arrive at my door was really nice. The thought of having to do one program for six months and another for the rest of the year only to start over again the following six months was not nice. I’m sure these programs work for many people, just not us. There are perks if you’re willing to deal with some give and take. As I said, all of the program supplies are provided. ALL of them. Under certain circumstances, computers are even provided on loan. There is also a reimbursement for internet fees. All of these are really nice aspects of the program. You just have to decide if it’s a good fit for you.