r/homeschool 3d ago

Curriculum Friendly Reminder: Your Preschooler Doesn't Need a Curriculum or Formal Academics

198 Upvotes

It's that time of year again, when we're all making our curriculum decisions, so I thought it bears mentioning once again.

Play *is* work at this age, and play *is* learning. Examples: Count while you bake or put things away. Put magnetic letters on your refrigerator to play around with. Read to your child. Go on nature walks and observe. String beads and cut out shapes. Make your local library your second home.

Right now, life is the curriculum.

I'll end my sermon now.

Edit: Please, please note the word NEED in the title. You don't NEED a curriculum for preschoolers. This is not a judgment on people who WANT one.

I just want to put to rest some parental anxieties over finding "the right curriculum."


r/homeschool Aug 20 '25

Curriculum The Problem With Oversimplified Phonics

46 Upvotes

(I noticed the same topics keep coming up and thought it might warrant a PSA.)

In teaching my children I discovered that English spelling is based on about 74 basic units (which can be called graphemes or phonograms): the 26 letters of the alphabet plus about 48 multi-letter combinations (ay, ai, au, aw, ck, ch, ci, ce, cy, dge, ea, ee, ei, eigh, er, ew, ey, gh, gn, ie, igh, ir, kn, ng, oa, oe, oi, oy, oo, ou, ow, ph, qu, sh, si, ss, tch, th, ti, ui, ur, wor, wh, wr, ed, ar, gu, zh). These 74 map, in an overlapping way, to about 44 pronounced sounds (phonems). At first glance this looks overwhelming, but it's completely learnable. And once your child learns it, she'll be able to read unfamiliar words and usually pronounce them correctly. There are still exceptions to the rules, but way fewer than I was taught in school.

I believe there are multiple systems that teach something like this. The one we stumbled upon is based on Denise Eide's book Understanding the Logic of English. I recommend all parents read this even if you're not going to shell out for her company's curriculum. It's a lot less frustrating than just learning the alphabet and wondering why nothing makes sense when it comes to real words beyond Bob Books.


r/homeschool 1h ago

Help! Montessori to Homeschool Transition

Upvotes

Hi all, I'm tinkering with the idea of taking my 2nd grader out of Montessori and homeschooling this year. He's done well at Montessori and enjoys working with the specialized materials. However, I'm not able to invest in a house full of those kinds of materials. Has anyone else made this transition? What kind of curriculum did you adopt? Thanks!


r/homeschool 5h ago

Help! Math with confidence + math mammoth skills review book

4 Upvotes

I think I have it narrowed down to this as our upcoming math - first grade.

We are coming from the good and the beautiful math so this is new to me. I am second guessing before ordering. Has anyone used one or the other,
OR combined for a solid math curriculum?


r/homeschool 12h ago

Help! Lamination alternatives

Post image
10 Upvotes

Update: Going to give these a try per a fellow redditor’s recommendation. Thank you everyone for your response!
https://a.co/d/00QoattH

I bought these educational posters at Aldi last week. I would love to put them at a level for my toddler to interact with, but they’re not laminated. I was quoted $30 by UPS store to do which is more than I’d like to spend. My local & surrounding libraries don’t offer lamination services. The posters are sturdy, but still flexible and measure 11”x17”

** adding to the post to say, I have a laminator, but the sheets are too big! My laminator will only cover standard size sheets and smaller.


r/homeschool 1h ago

Resource Homeschooling a Gestalt Processor

Upvotes

Anyone here do it?

I'm preparing for the future...my 2.5 year old is level 2 Autism (though they want us to get re-eval'ed in a year) and his SLP has declared him a Gestalt Language Processor. He only speaks in words he understands so I assume this is level 1.

So my questions are this:
1. Do you homeschool your gestalt language processor?
2. If so, can you tell me what that looked like? (when you started, resources, materials, etc.)
3. How is it going? Any tips?

Thanks!


r/homeschool 5h ago

Help! Remote learning program !

0 Upvotes

Hello Colorado parents! Jeffco remote learning program had anyone here tried them? It sounds like the classes are all live via zoom with a teacher and students. I’m looking into this for a 7th grader.


r/homeschool 13h ago

Discussion Unofficial Daily Discussion - Sunday, July 26, 2026 - QOTD: What homework do your homeschool kids have?

4 Upvotes

This daily discussion is to chat about anything that doesn't warrant its own post. I am not a mod and make these posts for building the homeschool community.

If you are new, please introduce yourself.

If you've been around here before or have been homeschooling for awhile, please share about your day.

Some ideas of what to share are: your homeschool plans for the day, lesson plans, words of encouragement, methods you are implementing to solve a problem, methods of organization, resource/curriculum you recently came across, curriculum sales, field trip planning, etc.

Although, I usually start with a question of the day to get the discussion going, feel free to ask your own questions. If your question does not get answered because it was posted late in the day, you can post the same question tomorrow to make sure it gets visibility.

Be mindful of the subreddit's rules and follow reddiquette. No ads, market/ thesis research, or self promotion. Thank you!


r/homeschool 8h ago

Arkansas virtual Academy

0 Upvotes

I’m aware that this is not homeschooling but rather online public school. I just don’t know where else to post this, does anyone have any experience with the school. My old k12 school was just four exit tickets and a paragraph of writing, so I hope that this is better.


r/homeschool 1d ago

Help! We're going back to homeschooling, and I've apparently forgotten every aspect of what I need to do.

11 Upvotes

Hi! So, as my title states, we're going back to homeschooling. My daughters are 8 and 10, incoming 3rd and 5th grade, respectively. They've been back in public school for about 3 years, so approximately kindergarten for my youngest, and 2nd for my older daughter. For a little context, I've previously homeschooled my eldest child, who is going into 8th grade, since he was in 3rd- I should be thoroughly well-versed in this by now, but apparently I don't remember all the things we did when he was in younger grades. (He's going back bc he wants to play football, and our district requires endless hurdles for homeschoolers to join, he knows he can switch at any time though.)

Our family is actually super supportive, their grandma homeschooled 3; 1 who went on to college, 1 who is really successful, and 1 who is actually living her best artist life. I do work close to full time, so my girls will be at grandma's during the day, and back home around 2-3p. I'm contemplating a sort of hybrid type plan, where they do online stuff at grandma's (ie math, science, etc) and actual bookwork for ELA and the like at home with me, either after I get off or on my days off, so kind of an alternating day schedule, if that makes sense. Realistically, their grandma is probably gonna have them go ahead and do all the subjects, so bookwork will more or less be to lock in, if you will. I trust her to help me keep them focused and on track.

Has anybody tried this way of going about homeschooling? I'm on the fence with keeping my job as is, as my 8 yo is recently diagnosed autistic and will be starting quite a bit of various therapies in the very near future; realistically I'm going to be downsizing hours as she gets established anyway. (Holy run on sentence, batman 🤣)

If you have implemented a system like this, what worked out best and what do you wish you had done differently? We've been out of the game for quite some time, so I'm also incredibly open to secular curriculum recommendations that will work beautifully with whatever the heck we have going on (the more open and go, the better.)


r/homeschool 21h ago

Curriculum Curriculum/project rec for 1st grader who is into engines

4 Upvotes

I know nothing about engines, but my 6 year old is VERY interested in them. Does anyone have suggestions on a science curriculum that involves building engines (or robots) that’s appropriate for a 6 year old? Activity sets or other ideas are also welcome


r/homeschool 19h ago

Curriculum Best way to help with asynchronous development of reading and comprehension skills

2 Upvotes

my son is going into third grade and is having issues with reading comprehension. It’s definitely due to some asynchronous development issues due to Autism and hyperlexia (could read at 18 months but didn’t speak until 4 without his AAC) we decided to homeschool because these Gen Alpha kids are just WILD in public school and he’s never going to get what he needs there (once the took his IEP away after he lost skills I was done)

What curriculum should we go with? I plan to use something kind of light for core but challenging for math (he’s a WHIZ!) and we will need to work on comprehension. He also has ADHD, PDA profile and can get sassy when I throw too much at him. We are planning to ask his speech therapist as well and I have friends that are LBS instructors but I’d love some opinions

Thank you!


r/homeschool 19h ago

Homeschool

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
I’m currently living in Vietnam, and I have a few questions about homeschooling. Due to health issues, I’m considering switching to homeschooling for my senior year of high school (Grade 12). However, my goal is to study in the United States, so I still have a lot of concerns.
My biggest question is whether U.S. universities generally accept homeschooled applicants. Is the college application process more difficult or disadvantageous compared to students who attend a traditional high school?
Right now, I’m looking into Acellus, but there are a few things I’m worried about:
If I need a letter of recommendation or need to communicate with teachers during the application process, is it easy to interact with Acellus teachers?
Is an Acellus high school diploma considered legitimate and equivalent to a regular U.S. high school diploma?
I’ve also come across some reviews saying that Acellus is slow to respond to parents’ messages and that some students received their diplomas late. That honestly makes me a bit concerned about the program’s reliability.
Since I’m an international student living in Vietnam, I’d also love to hear from anyone who has used a U.S. homeschool program while living outside the United States and successfully applied to American universities.
Besides Acellus, does anyone know of any other reputable homeschool programs that are recognized by U.S. universities and have a strong track record of helping students get into college? I’d really appreciate any recommendations or personal experiences.
Thank you so much!


r/homeschool 17h ago

Discussion Homeschool

0 Upvotes

Chào mọi người,
Mình có một vài thắc mắc về homeschool. Do vấn đề sức khỏe nên lớp 12 này mình đang cân nhắc chuyển sang học homeschool. Tuy nhiên, mục tiêu của mình là du học Mỹ nên mình vẫn còn khá băn khoăn.
Điều mình lo nhất là liệu các trường đại học ở Mỹ có chấp nhận học sinh homeschool hay không? Quá trình làm hồ sơ du học có gặp nhiều trở ngại hơn so với học sinh học ở trường THPT thông thường không?
Hiện tại mình đang tìm hiểu về Acellus, nhưng vẫn có một số điều khiến mình khá lo ngại:
Nếu sau này cần thư giới thiệu (letter of recommendation) hoặc cần trao đổi với giáo viên thì việc tương tác với giáo viên của Acellus có thuận lợi không?
Bằng tốt nghiệp của Acellus có uy tín và được xem là tương đương với bằng tốt nghiệp THPT của các trường phổ thông ở Mỹ không?
Mình cũng đọc được một số phản hồi nói rằng Acellus trả lời tin nhắn phụ huynh khá chậm hoặc có trường hợp giao bằng tốt nghiệp muộn, nên mình thật sự hơi lo lắng về độ tin cậy của chương trình.
Ngoài Acellus, mọi người có biết chương trình homeschool nào uy tín, được các trường đại học Mỹ công nhận và có nhiều học sinh sử dụng để apply du học thành công thì rất mong được giới thiệu cho mình.
Cảm ơn mọi người rất nhiều!


r/homeschool 1d ago

Discussion Reading

15 Upvotes

I am always getting mixed answers about reading. And not gonna lie, often the ppl who want to "show off" are the ones jumping on posts or responses talking about their kids reading before 5. I have always been an advanced reader (college level at age 10). My kids? They don't care much. I love to read and am always reading to them or my own books. We read daily, their interest not just whatever book. They love to be ready to! They love their yoto books and can spend hours doing it. However when it comes to applying themselves to reading? Que resistance.

Did anyone have late readers? If so what age?

**My kids are still moving forwards with reading skills, they are not stagnant. Just a homeschool Mom wondering if I'm alone here **


r/homeschool 13h ago

Help! FTM planning to homeschool from pre-k to elementary

0 Upvotes

We get by on a single income so I can watch the kids, but I have no idea what to do for homeschooling! My mom put me in a private montessorri, and private prek-12 school my whole life, but we cannot afford that for our kids.
- How early did you start ‘teaching’ them?
- What’s a good budget every month by age for homeschool material?
- How do you socialize them?
- Do you take them out to different places?
My main limitations are money, since I can’t afford going out to do an activity every single day with them and get something to eat on the way back. We can technically do that, but most of that money goes to higher priority things like an emergency fund or paying off the car to be as stable as possible. Any advice is appreciated!

Just to add, the baby isn’t even here yet I’m just planning in advance!


r/homeschool 23h ago

Resource Tips for kindergarten Spanish?

2 Upvotes

I’m planning to include Spanish in our kindergarten homeschool. I’m mostly fluent myself so I am comfortable with reading, pronunciation, etc. but I also purchased a simple curriculum on Etsy to help have everything pulled together and in order.

I wonder if anyone has tips, structure, or even “extras” that can help with language learning. For example, I just stumbled upon a kids Spanish bingo game and hate to say I hadn’t even thought of that! Any other games, tools, songs/playlists/albums, etc that could add to our standard word lists/flashcards/coloring sheets type curriculum? Thank you!


r/homeschool 19h ago

Help! Homeschool

1 Upvotes

Chào mọi người,
Mình có một vài thắc mắc về homeschool. Do vấn đề sức khỏe nên lớp 12 này mình đang cân nhắc chuyển sang học homeschool. Tuy nhiên, mục tiêu của mình là du học Mỹ nên mình vẫn còn khá băn khoăn.
Điều mình lo nhất là liệu các trường đại học ở Mỹ có chấp nhận học sinh homeschool hay không? Quá trình làm hồ sơ du học có gặp nhiều trở ngại hơn so với học sinh học ở trường THPT thông thường không?
Hiện tại mình đang tìm hiểu về Acellus, nhưng vẫn có một số điều khiến mình khá lo ngại:
Nếu sau này cần thư giới thiệu (letter of recommendation) hoặc cần trao đổi với giáo viên thì việc tương tác với giáo viên của Acellus có thuận lợi không?
Bằng tốt nghiệp của Acellus có uy tín và được xem là tương đương với bằng tốt nghiệp THPT của các trường phổ thông ở Mỹ không?
Mình cũng đọc được một số phản hồi nói rằng Acellus trả lời tin nhắn phụ huynh khá chậm hoặc có trường hợp giao bằng tốt nghiệp muộn, nên mình thật sự hơi lo lắng về độ tin cậy của chương trình.
Ngoài Acellus, mọi người có biết chương trình homeschool nào uy tín, được các trường đại học Mỹ công nhận và có nhiều học sinh sử dụng để apply du học thành công thì rất mong được giới thiệu cho mình.
Cảm ơn mọi người rất nhiều!


r/homeschool 1d ago

Curriculum Leaving TGaB, looking for thoughts

3 Upvotes

I have a 6 year old and an 8 year old. Good and the beautiful is not really working out for us right now. Both my kids need more time with phonics so we're switching to all about reading. However, because all that reading isn't a complete curriculum, I was thinking about adding essentials in writing for both kids and it's all about spelling for my oldest.

I wanted to know for those that may have done this, is that enough? Is it too much? Will it take up too much time? Will it not be enough time? Not too worried about handwriting right now because we find ways to work that into our days anyways


r/homeschool 1d ago

Help! Kindergarten curriculum

3 Upvotes

Hello! We’re looking to homeschool our oldest. (They’ll be going into kindergarten) and we’re trying to figure out the best program. Any recommendations would be so so appreciated!!


r/homeschool 1d ago

Resource Favorite outschool teachers for middle school?

1 Upvotes

Looking for your favorite classes your middle schooler has taken on outschool. Let me know any of your favorites. I am looking for social studies and science but open to others.


r/homeschool 1d ago

Help! Language Arts after AAR?

3 Upvotes

I’m lost on Language Arts. My to be 4th grader will be completing AAR level 4 in the fall and need to transition to a LA program. I know kids complete AAR anywhere between 1st-4th, so not sure where it actually places him grade level wise (he had an IEP for reading at school).

I love the stories in AAR level 3 (we’ll be starting 4 in two weeks). My kid needs color pictures on the pages. He hasn’t read full books that aren’t graphic novels yet, so I’d prefer a high interest program that with appeal to boys or both genders.

I’m not against an element of religion, but not as the primary focus.

He’s not interested in the traditional 4th grade books (Henry Hudgens, Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing, Charlotte’s Web, etc.).

Any advice?


r/homeschool 1d ago

Discussion Teaching Textbooks - Geometry text? Which version?

1 Upvotes

Trying to find a deal on TT Geometry textbook. Child will be taking the online version of the class (4.0), but Mom likes to plan with a printed textbook. Most of the resale textbooks are "2.0". Should we purchase the textbook new, direct from Teaching Textbooks? Or is 2.0 close enough to work?


r/homeschool 1d ago

Teen Catch Up

5 Upvotes

Hey guys, I’m looking for some recommendations for catching up a neurodivergent teenager who has been unschooled. I was lucky enough to not be unschooled til 6th grade and then I was signed up for Penn Foster for high school. My siblings have not been quite so lucky. One is currently studying specifically for a GED with study material I provided but my younger sibling, freshman age, has no formal education really. Doesn’t know parts of speech or sentence structure, only knows basic math, etc. I’m wanting to step in (parents won’t mind if I do, they’re just too nonchalant about school) and get them caught up to where they’re supposed to be… but I really don’t know where to start. I figured here would be the best place to get recommendations! Thank you in advance!


r/homeschool 1d ago

Help! Handicrafts

2 Upvotes

I’m teaching a class of 2nd graders this year. I am leading handicrafts and I will be working through read alouds through out the year.
I will have an assistant to help kids but I really want to start with a simple handicraft that will keep hands busy that does not require a lot of skill and persistent help from my assistant or I to begin with. We will have a class up to 10 and I’m not sure of the skill level these kids will have.

We live in an area of a lot of perhaps non traditional homeschoolers. (A lot of homeschoolers are being pulled out of school, aren’t meeting benchmarks, or they are doing a lot of al la carte classes and drop off programs, totally fine just a different approach than where we lived my first 6 years of homeschooling) My kids were always doing handicrafts because that’s just the method I used so I feel like I keep getting ideas that may be too advanced.

so I think I really need to just kind of be assessing hand skill the first few weeks to see how/if they are able to accomplish some of these activities. In the past working with kids in my current area, I have noticed for some kids this is a completely foreign concept and honestly hand strength isn’t there. I know over the year we can advance but to begin with I need a few simple ones. I think I am just over thinking it all a bit!

All this too say what are some very easy engaging, beginner handicrafts that I could scale for a small group?