Yay, you’re thinking about homeschooling! I am so excited for you. It’s going to be so amazing. I say that only 1 year in, but I love it already and feel like it will only get better from here. Personally, I feel that the first year or two is truly the hardest! There are so many different homeschool curriculums out there to choose from and that seems to be the most overwhelming part. “Which one is the best?” you ask. Well here’s the answer:

There is no “best” curriculum because every child has their own learning style and needs. The best one will be the one that best fits YOUR child and their learning style. If your question is really “Which one is the best so I don’t fail my child?”, then here’s my answer to that:

Remember when your baby was just born and you knew your baby better than anyone? You are and will be (for a long time) the one person who knows your child better than anyone else! And because of that, you are the most qualified person to teach YOUR child/ren. So first, give yourself some credit. You taught them how to walk, talk, and sing their ABCs. You will learn alongside them just like you did when they were babies. You will not fail them…glad we got that out of the way. (:

Below you will find all the popular curriculums along with a summary from their website. I don’t want to sway you anyway, so I will share which one I chose at the end! (:

• The Good and the Beautiful – From the website: “Emphasizes family, God, high character, nature, and wholesome literature. Requires no daily prep time—just open the book and follow the instructions, learning and exploring along with your child. Family Style – History, Science, & Electives. Combines multiple subjects, connecting learning and eliminating the need for six to seven courses. A thorough phonics reading program creates excellent readers. Thorough and advanced courses leave no gaps. Offers a free book list for all ages.“
• The Peaceful Press – From the Website: “Our mission at The Peaceful Press is to provide resources that promote connection through curriculum. We believe that the childhood years are worth savoring and that education should be tailored to our children. We believe in a developmentally appropriate education that highlights the importance of motor skills development in the early years and a feast of literature and experiences as they grow. We believe in a living education, with time available for reading aloud, creating, spending time in nature, and experiencing the world. We facilitate a living education through our thoughtful parent guides that include clear directions for busy families while allowing space to pursue interest-led learning. Our learning guides highlight beautiful literature, promote meaningful conversations, and engage children in creative projects and play.
• Gather Round – From the Website: “Gather ‘Round Homeschool is a curriculum designed to be all your subjects but math for every grade from Preschool to Grade 12. It doesn’t give you extension activities, it comes with 6 individual student notebooks that vary in level and give targeted grammar, spelling, writing, art, reading & comprehension, geography, science, social studies, history, Bible, and MORE lessons. All on one central theme that you introduce in a beautiful, full-color teacher’s guide. One mom (and/or dad)… all of your kids, gathered around and working on this beautiful, in-depth, cohesive curriculum. No more being the human ping-pong ball my friends. This is changing the homeschool game.” More on the FAQ page.
• Abeka – From the Website: “When you open up a textbook or a lesson plan, you’re seeing years of teaching experience poured out on the pages. In fact, gifted and experienced teachers develop every Abeka product. In lesson plans and teacher editions, you’ll find: Suggested overall plans by week, month, and year, Suggested steps laid out for you each day, Suggestions for what to do when, Tips, Games, Examples, Ideas for further discussion, Extra application questions to challenge thought, “Teacher brilliance”
• A Gentle Feast – From the Website: “Family-Centered – A Gentle Feast brings your family together as much as possible while still providing grade-appropriate material. Charlotte Mason Inspired – This curriculum is a feast of living ideas founded on Miss Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and principles. A Living Approach – This curriculum is deeply rooted in the living ideas found in books, beauty and Biblical truth. It is gentle to both mom and child, while providing a firm academic foundation.”
• Simply Charlotte Mason – From the Website: “The Simply Charlotte Mason curriculum gives you a wholesome, Biblical approach to learning; family-style lessons for most subjects, saving you time and forming family bonds that last a lifetime; open-and-go plans, so you can spend less time prepping and more time enjoying your homeschool day; a thorough plan filled with enjoyable books that align with Christian values; an emphasis on growth and good character, setting your children up to be lifelong learners.”
• Easy Peasy – From the Website: “Easy Peasy helps enable families to homeschool who thought they couldn’t because of a lack of time, money, or know-how. Others join EP just because it’s easy and fun and they’re confident of the quality of education. We seek to free families from the burden of pursuing the “perfect” and encourages them to let it be “enough.” Each family and each child is different and we want to encourage your family to be who you were created to be.”
• K12 – From the Website: “Want a safe, flexible education for your student? Whether you’re looking for public school on your schedule or adult and career learning options, K12 has solutions for learners of all ages—all from the comfort of home.”
• Moving Beyond the Pages – From the Website: “Your children will grow in their love of learning through our literature-based curriculum that encourages critical and creative thinking, provides challenging and engaging projects, and supports different learning styles. With Moving Beyond the Page, each day is different. Every activity is designed to instill a love of learning and creative expression. Our curriculum is written with gifted learners in mind, but gifted strategies benefit all students. Moving Beyond the Page is how children want to learn!”
• Sonlight – From the Website: “Sonlight is a literature-based homeschool curriculum. In fact, we pioneered this style of homeschool back in 1990 when we started the company. When you use Sonlight, you and your children will read many of the best children’s books available. We find this to be a great foundation for education, since reading is the basis for comprehension in most academic subjects. Kids who read often and at length develop agile critical thinking and analytical skills. Those skills help them excel in writing, math, science and more. Even if your child is a reluctant reader, many parents have used Sonlight to get their own reluctant readers hooked on reading. In the vast majority of cases, this strategy has worked quite well! (Sonlight books tend to hook skeptical parents, too.)”
• My Father’s World – From the Website: “My Father’s World is dedicated to raising up generations of families who see the world through God’s eyes and live according to that knowledge. God’s Word is central. Celebrate the world through God’s eyes. Our comprehensive preschool through high school program thoroughly integrates Bible with the study of history, geography, science, literature, art, and music while helping children learn a biblical worldview.”

POPULAR SUBJECT-BASED CURRICULUMS

• Math With Confidence
• Handwriting without Tears
• Hooked on Phonics
• America’s Story – History
• Elemental Science
• Duolingo – Language

So many great ones! I ended up choosing Easy Peasy Allinonehomeschool. After getting overwhelmed with all the curriculum, I realized my style was very “unschooling”. I teach as we go and we rarely learn through sit-down paperwork but through books or play. I love EasyPeasy because 1. it’s free and 2. it helps to keep me on track with subjects. There’s definitely a lot more to it than I use it for, but I think it’s a GREAT starter curriculum if you don’t have the money to pay for something and/or you want to learn how to homeschool without buying a bunch of curriculum. It also doesn’t hurt to look into it and start with it and then choose something paid for along the way. Overall I think it’s a great website if you are starting out!