Homeschooling doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Sure, there are some costly curriculum out there, but honestly, more money doesn’t always mean greater quality. If you are on a tight budget, or are just looking for some great quality programs, check out these five free homeschool programs!
Please note: These listings are in no particular order. This post includes affiliate links. This means that Leading Limitless Learners may receive a small percentage of any purchase made through these links at no additional cost to you.
Most of these free curriculums do “require” parents to download and print the materials. Please understand you will probably have to spend a bit of money on paper, ink, and a printer (if you don’t have one already). I have heard from several homeschool parents, however who have chosen to save money by hand writing the worksheets for the kids themselves. Others have the kids look at the screen and simply write down the answers (much like I was often required to do with our school text books). So please keep that in mind as you’re looking through these awesome resources.
1. Plain and Not So Plain
Plain and Not So Plain is a curriculum for 1st through 9th grades. It was created by a mother of a large family and was designed to be simple, without a lot of “fluff” or “busy-work” for her own children. As the creator herself states, this curriculum is designed in such a way that students are able to pass the state standardized testing (which is required in her state) and be able to leave plenty of time throughout the day to pursue hobbies, interests, and just plain life.
The curriculum covers math, reading comprehension, spelling, English, cursive, history, vocabulary, Bible, and life skills. These can each be downloaded and printed for free by subject. Parents may also choose to purchase a paperback version of each grade level for a very reasonable cost on Amazon.
I absolutely love the simplicity of the curriculum. There are no fancy graphics or pictures, which makes printing it very cost-effective. I also enjoy how quickly it moves from one task to another.
The creator herself makes clear in her introductory video that this was NOT professionally published. As such, there are some errors throughout the program. It is FAR from perfect, but it is thorough.
This one does require a significant amount of parental involvement. There is not a significant amount of teaching in the curriculum, and therefore parents will need to teach subjects, or look up other resources for new topics.
It should also be noted that this curriculum does not offer a science course.
I am personally planning to use this curriculum for cursive and life skills this upcoming year. I’ll be sure to post a more in depth review at that time.
2. Georgia Virtual Learning
Georgia Virtual Learning is a free resource for middle high school students (grades 6-12). It is designed to meet the requirements for the state of Georgia, but is available to students anywhere in the United States. They offer courses in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, world languages (including Chinese, ASL, Latin, and more), digital technology, fine arts, financial literacy, and so many more!
Each course is completely free and is designed to be an independent study type course which does not generally requiring any printing of materials (though it is still an option if you prefer). The courses are generally set up as textbooks to be read (or some have an option to allow them to be read-aloud for you), slide shows, and/or video presentations.
There is no testing involved and therefore no actual answer keys. This may be difficult for parents who are unfamiliar with the lessons. It should also be noted that the material (in my opinion) is quite dry and un-engaging. But if you have a motivated self-starter who just wants to read through and be done, this can certainly be a good resource for you!
While I have not used this curriculum yet as my children are too young, I am definitely excited about some of the electives that they offer for the future!
3. Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a free online curriculum for children from preschool to high school (and even beyond). While many people think of them as just a math curriculum or supplement, they actually offer science, reading, language, history, economics, life skills, technology skills and more! It seems as though they are constantly expanding their options.
Most of their courses are designed in such a way that students can watch instructional videos, and then take quizzes. I love the fact that students are able to see a breakdown of the problem after they get it incorrect so they can learn exactly how to handle it next time.
My kids do not approve of the instructional videos and prefer that I teach the concepts instead and we go straight into the work because (their words, not mine), “The guy sounds creepy.” But I do know many families who greatly appreciate the program.
In addition to their website, they also offer an app by the name of Khan Kids.
We are currently using Khan Academy for math, and may be using it for other courses in the future.
4. Discovery K-12
Discovery K-12 is an all-encompassing secular curriculum for preschool through 12th grade. This one does require you to print off some materials, while some are purely online.
It is a very organized program that works great for independent learners. Everything is explained and performed step by step. You may choose to go by their 180 day calendar or you can go at your own pace instead.
We used this program near the beginning of our homeschool journey and found while it was very easy to use, their customer support services could use some work. Additionally, there are no placement tests (unless that has been added recently) and I do not like the fact that kids have to be in the same level for each subject (for example, 3rd graders have to do 3rd grade math, reading, spelling, history, science, etc). I would personally like to see more flexibility from our homeschool programs.
If you are looking for an easy to use online curriculum that requires no preparation from parents, and that children can go step by step, this is a great option for you! Lessons are well taught in various ways and instructions are clear and concise. For a small fee you may also sign up for a parent’s account which enables you to access more features including testing and grading.
5. Easy Peasy All-In-One-Homeschool
My ultimate favorite free homeschool curriculum is Easy Peasy All-In-One-Homeschool. This is a Christian-based curriculum that was originally put together by a mother for her own children. It has evolved into a complete curriculum for children from preschool through 12th grade.
Easy Peasy is a fully customizable homeschool program which allows parents to choose any number of courses and create a plan to work at their own pace. Kids can do one or multiple lessons a day.
This curriculum does require some printing, but also offers the option to purchase the materials in an affordable paperback book, one per subject.
I greatly enjoy the customization and the user friendliness level of the website. It is set up so that older kids and teens are able to work entirely independently, but with parents having the ability to still check in on them at times.
As you can see, there are tons of free resources for homeschooling families. If you are interested in exploring some other ones, check out the site Freedom Homeschooling! They have a HUGE, well-organized list of options you are guaranteed to love!