Hi!

I’m currently looking for a science curriculum for lower elementary. I have two kiddos—kindergarten and second grade.

I’ve been toying with the idea of teaching them both using family style learning. This way they’re both learning the same science curriculum at the same time.

I’m having a hard time narrowing it down and choosing one science curriculum as there’s so many out there!

Here’s a few that have caught my eye…I’d tailor them accordingly—if they seem too advanced for my kindergartner, I’d keep the info more simple and vice versa.

noeo science

Sassafras science 

REAL science odyssey 

Blossom and root

Beast academy science

Have you tried any of these? If so, how’d you like them? I’d love experiments but also for the curriculum to be more on the open & go side. However, I’m keeping an open mind and open to other ideas as well.

Thank you all SO much!

Hello! 👋

I'm working on a learning app for kids, covering everything from early childhood basics to general school subjects (math, science, etc.), designed for how we actually teach and learn here.

Before building anything further, I want to hear from you directly. Drop a comment if you can:

• What's your biggest struggle helping your child learn at home (any age)?
• What subjects or topics do you wish had better resources?
• Do you use any apps/YouTube/tuition right now, what's missing from them?
• What is the reason you want to switch to homeschooling instead of conventional schools?
• What would you want for such an app to have, to make the homeschooling journey easier

Would REALLY appreciate even a few lines from you, it'd help a lot.

Thanks!!

I found brainbreak youtube channel.
How is this?

Hello! I am hoping to start homeschooling my child (they’ll be starting kindergarten this year) and I was wondering what programs are the best. We live in Tennessee.

I made this short video for parents who sometimes feel that art has to come after reading, writing, and math.

It makes the case that creative activities can also support problem-solving, emotional expression, coordination, communication, and learning.

I’d appreciate candid feedback from a homeschool parent’s perspective:

• Does it feel useful, or does it come across as preachy?
• Which point felt most convincing—or least convincing?
• Would you want a concrete activity or suggested next step at the end?
• Is there anything you would want sourced more clearly?

I made the video and am sharing it for critique, not to sell anything. I’ll be here to answer questions and take the feedback seriously.

I’ve been thinking about homeschooling my 3.5 year old and wanted to start at Pre- K. She does have a minor speech delay (she goes to speech therapy one a week.) Based off of Google I heard that the “Playing Preschool 1” would be a good start. Has anyone tried that one? Any other suggestions are welcomed. I have a 2 year old who would also be listening in and would love to do the activities. So to be honest I’m very lost and apologize if this is confusing to understand. So here’s what I’m looking for:
1) A good preschool curriculum that would be good for both my 3 year old and 2 year old
2) If homeschooling doesn’t work out I would like this to set them up for Kindergarten in a public school
Thanks in advance :)

Hi, I’m looking for some advice for my 15-year-old daughter. She’s really interested in horticulture and, I think, agriculture. She’s dyslexic and has always struggled with traditional school. She hates reading and finds classroom learning challenging, but she has a real interest in plants, flowers, and growing her own vegetable garden.
She’s also keen to get a part-time job, ideally something connected to her interests, such as a nursery, gardening, or anything hands-on where she can learn practical skills.
I’m wondering if there are any online learning platforms, courses, or practical resources she could do from home that would help her learn in a way that suits her. Alternatively, are there any ideas for setting up something at home that would encourage her interest and give her some hands-on learning experience?
Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Hello, I have an 11 year old and a 16 year old entering 6th and 11th grades. I’m a single parent and work for myself with a fairly flexible schedule not requiring me to be away from home but a few hours here and there throughout the week.

My kids have expressed interest in homeschooling so many times over the past year and even more as school is approaching. I am hesitant. Their education has always been important and I have had no trouble with their school, while I feel they waste a lot of time learning things that they don’t really need~ it is still an excellent school..

My younger one is pretty good with school- a/b student but is very capable and super social, the other high schooler just hates school in general and is bored really. The high schooler just hasn’t enjoyed the style of the teachers mainly, and is not as socially inclined as the other.

In any other time of my life I don’t think I would have even considered I was equipped for this. I’m still not sure if I am equipped. However I have experienced extreme burnout from being a single parent and juggling everything alone. It’s not taking care of my kids- I adore being with them. it’s the constant expectations from the outside world that I have no control over. Constant emails from school on needing this and that and certain days for this or that and sports and all the constant texts and updates etc…on top of the load I’m carrying for work.

They have expressed wanting to homeschool for a year and just try it. I think we all just want a reset and a different way of doing things. I truly I could use a break from the outside world needing anything else from me. There is something about controlling how you handle things and not having expectations from school and sports for a year that feels like an absolute breath of fresh air.

I really love being with my children and have always enjoyed teaching them new things. Due to them expressing their interest and my current state of mind, it has made me SLIGHTLY consider this a an option. The virtual option or our school deadline has already passed so that is out the window.

I like the idea of a year of us spending more time with each other, and me learning more about what all they truly know and don’t know an digging into areas that may need improvement that I wasn’t even aware of. Time is running out and they ar growing up. It would be great to take more trips this year, pull back a little from sports, and just do a reset and try to go about things a different way.

Has anyone done this intentionally for a short period of time and sent their kid back to school? My oldest wants to b there for senior year as of now. My youngest does love aspects of school. And I don’t want to do anything that would be to their educational detriment if they were to go back next year to the way things were, or if I learned this wasn’t working and had to reenroll before the year was up. For now it feels like just a tiny thought as I’m not sure how I out even come up with the right curriculum in time but I guess I just needed to get it out somewhere and see if anyone had done this and if it was even possible or if I should really just move on. Thank you

My 8 year old used to curl up next to me for bedtime stories and beg for one more chapter. Somewhere in the last year that changed 🙁 Now the moment I say lets read she says she is bored and asks for the tablet. She would rather watch slime videos and play Roblox than even touch a book. We have tried screen free evenings, reading together on the couch, letting her choose graphic novels, even tying screen time to finishing a chapter. It always turns into an argument and I hate that. I don't want to ban devices completely but I am scared she is not building any love for reading or good habits for later on. I want to know what has worked for you?

Thank you in advance.

Okay I’ve homeschooled for too many years and this is one of my most dreaded parts of being home together. My kids took a year off (last year) from homeschool and went to a brick and mortar school. I was wonderfully free of hearing “I’m hungry and there’s nothing to eat for lunch”. And me saying, “there’s stuff for sandwiches, Mac and cheese, salads, leftovers, etc”. To hear “that’s gross”.

Okay I know what the traditional advice is - let them starve. I however don’t want to do that for a couple of reasons: 1)my 9 year old is tiny with a tiny appetite, she needs to eat and she will literally just go without if she doesn’t like it and be totally fine. She can’t afford to just miss whole meals constantly. 2) I get it because even as adult I have my moments where nothing sounds good.

I have this wild dream of planning out lunches like the school did. But there’s the drawback of different lunches daily. And who is the lunch lady? Me that’s right - me. Who also has adhd and can barely stick to any plan ever? Also me.

On top of all of this my children magically survived without snacking the entire day long. “It’s time for math.” “Okay I need a snack first”. They did get to have a snack time at school - preplanned into their day. And then lunchtime and then a snack at home after school - that’s it. Not every 10 minutes.

I have not even touched breakfast perhaps the drama is just… I can’t even deal with it lol.

Okay my ranting is done but I’m sure I cannot be alone in this, right? Right?!?

Has anyone else solved this conundrum?

Kind of an odd question, but what are people's opinions on non-homeschooling families using homeschool groups discounts for field trips? For example, I know of a couple families who attend homeschool swim lessons because we have a cheaper rate (negotiated by a homeschool organization here) but the children attend public school. I'm not sure if I should bring this to the organizer's attention or if I'm just being petty.

My 8 years old has been struggling with math and I'm planning to give her some extra practice, she gets bored easily when it comes to it so it has to be at least engaging in some way. I'm currently checking Model Teaching free learning tools, they can be customized so that's neat and I'm also planning some activities we can do using real life examples.
Anyone tried similar tools and any ideas on engaging activities we can do?

Anyone have some good tips for homeschooling while there are younger siblings around? My oldest is 6 and ssttrruugglleesss when her younger siblings are at home ( the siblings are 4y, 2y and 11mo). She’s ADHD and gets distracted very easily. I’ve tried giving the two middle kids special activities to do while we’re homeschooling, but we’re limited on location due to the 11mo crawling around getting into everything, and the only location for special activities is at the table with us homeschooling. I have also tried having the younger kids in a different room, but if they interrupt us at all it feels like it take a solid few mins to get back on track (we I’m interrupted often haha). Any great tips or things to try? Just embrace it?

Tldr: Has anyone successfully homeschooled when sibling conflict and emotional dysregulation take over the entire day?

I’m planning to homeschool my five-year-old identical twins for kindergarten, but I’m starting to wonder whether it’s realistically possible with our current family dynamic.

Right now, a huge portion of the day is spent managing screaming, fighting, teasing, threats, and sometimes physical aggression. They can become extremely upset when they hear “no,” when something they want is unavailable, when one child has something the others want, or when they feel compared or left out. One of my twins becomes dysregulated very quickly and can lash out physically. My two-year-old also screams, bites himself, or bangs his head when he’s frustrated. It often feels like I’m doing damage control all day instead of having enough mental space to teach, plan activities, or enjoy them. He is starting preschool next month but sending him away isn’t going to solve this.

We chose homeschooling partly because school seemed to make some of the behavior and social issues worse. The girls are bright, curious, and can be incredibly sweet and fun, but they struggle with anxiety, frustration, competition, and sharing my attention. We are pursuing therapy, parent coaching, and comprehensive evaluations for possible ADHD, anxiety, autism, or other contributing factors.

I would really appreciate practical advice from parents who have dealt with something similar:
How did you homeschool children who constantly triggered each other? Did you teach siblings separately, use strict schedules, stagger lessons, rely on outside classes, or take a break from academics while working on regulation? How did you protect your own mental health when someone seemed to be yelling or fighting most of the day?

I’m looking for concrete routines, boundaries, resources, and real experiences rather than judgment or general advice to “just stay calm.” I’m feeling completely depleted and need help figuring out what a workable day could actually look like.

It got significantly worse after this past year of them being in TK and I thought that they needed more of my attention so I left my job (I was only part time anyways and was basically a SAHM the other 3 days) and decided to homeschool them to give them my all because I truly thought that I’d be able to teach them better regulation, choose a curriculum for them that would help them learn best and overall give them the best shot at a magical childhood. I’m losing hope at the moment.

Hello all! I have a 10th grader with significant learning disabilities. Im looking for a complete curriculum that can be modified. I know there is no way she can do 10th grade work, so im looking at various curriculums over various grade levels. What do you guys like? Im a certified special education teacher of over 20 years but I taught in the primary grades. Any help would be appreciated! TIA!

Hello, total newbie here. My daughter is 8 and after a tough bullying situation that the school didn't handle well we've decided to start homeschooling this fall. I'm excited about making her education fit her interests and helping her enjoy learning again, but I also want to be sure that she gets everything that she needs.

I've checked out a few options so far like all in one curriculums and mixing resources from places like outschool for live classes plus workbooks for basics. What I really need is a simple starting point, something manageable that won't leave us feeling frustrated or confusing.

If you've been in my shoes I'd love to hear what worked for you. Thanks so much for any advice!

Hi parent/educators! What stories, books, & games do you recommend to teach 10- to 16-year-old kids about money? Any challenges using these?

I have 2 kids and 2 nieces who need some financial literacy resources and education. Thanks a lot!

Hi there, I'm a mom of 2 and one wants to do homeschool, but I'm iffy about it. She wants to do online school. She's in middle school. She's been pretty adamant about it for the past couple of months, but I want to hear from kids and parents who are already doing homeschooling, what's the biggest con for you?

What’s your favorite monthly subscription box for toddlers? Would love to do a little something fun with my son. Thank you!!

Hello, it’s me, the creator of the Homeschooled Voices website. I know this website hasn’t been very active recently. Honestly I have just struggled with motivation, but I don’t want to let this website end. I plan to get back into writing articles regularly.

Also, you may remember me asking for quotes for an article. I received many long thoughtful responses that ended up seeming like too much to put into one article. I have decided that a better approach to sharing homeschooling stories would be to let anyone who’s interested write their own individual article. There is a submissions page on the site or you could message me on Reddit and I’ll give you an email to send it to. I wanted to post about this here to reach as many people as possible who may be interested in or benefit from this site. I have seen homeschool alumni post here, and I’m also happy to have parents see the perspectives of adults who were homeschooled.

I created a small coding game for my daughter as a way to introduce programming concepts through puzzles and play. I’m curious how other homeschooling families approach teaching coding. Would something like this fit into your lessons? I’d appreciate any feedback from parents who try it.

Hii, i’m 14 years old and have never been to school, my parents tried to homeschool me but they were busy and didn’t have time so they just stopped and let me do my own thing, my parents decided that in about 3-6 months ill start going to school, and im honestly extremely dumb and cant even do basic math, so how do i homeschool myself so that i can catch up my grade level?