Choosing a homeschool curriculum can be challenging, but sometimes you may just want to hurry up and get something quickly so you can just get started. If that’s your goal (long-term or temporarily), here are the easiest to use, also known as “open and go” curriculum, in no particular order.
Please note that all opinions in this article are my own, based on my experiences, and the information I have received. “The good” refers to parts of the curriculum I really like. Meanwhile, “The bad” refers to the aspects I personally do not like, but I realize may actually be considered good things for some families. The “ugly” are parts of the curriculum I, and a majority of people I have spoken with about the curriculum very strongly dislike.
This article may include affiliate links which means that (at no cost to you), I may receive a small percentage of purchases made via those links..
Power Homeschool
Power Homeschool is a complete virtual curriculum for kindergarten through 12th grade. It covers all subjects, including multiple electives for only $25 per month.
Power Homeschool is the non-accredited version of Acellus Academy. Because of this, many families believe Acellus to be superior. The truth is, however, accreditation of curriculum is not recognized in many states and therefore offers no true benefit.
If you have come to the determination that accreditation is not important to your family, rest assured that you will get a nearly identical program with Power Homeschool, the primary difference being the price.
The good
- Easy to use
- Portfolio reviewers may log on to view progress
- Large selection of course options
- Flexible
- Can be done anywhere there’s an Internet connection
The bad
- $25 per month per child
- Cannot skip ahead
- A lot of multiple choice questions
The ugly
- Technical issues (videos repeating themselves for example)
- Bad customer service
- Teaches only one way of doing things
Recommendation
If I were going to continue with this curriculum, I would recommend changing the mode to “tutor mode” which will allow it to be more customized. This will take away some of the other features, so be sure to research before making final decisions.
I would also choose to sit with my children while work is being done to ensure kids aren’t just clicking randomly.
Bookshark
Bookshark is a “faith-neutral”, open and go curriculum. “Faith neutral” means it does not teach any religion components and avoids religiously controversial topics such as evolution.
I have been told it is owned by the creators of the Christian curriculum known as Sonlight but I have not been able to confirm this information. It covers all of the main subjects from preschool through age 16. Bookshark also offers a virtual option which allows testing and some work to be done online.
The good
- Large number of good quality books
- Level based, not grade based
- Great placement tests
- Can be purchased on subject at a time
- Based on a 4 day schedule
- Advanced curriculum
- A lot of variety of question types
- Some Hands on activities
The bad
- Very expensive (close to $1,000 for one year)
- Recommends a lot of resources that aren’t included
- Hard to take on the road because there are a lot of books
- Does not teach controversial topics
The ugly
- While some consider this an easy curriculum because it is so planned out, it should be noted that there is a lot of parental involvement required, especially for younger children who need materials read aloud.
Master Books
Masterbooks is a popular Christian curriculum which claims to follow Charlotte Mason philosophies.
They are regularly releasing new subject matter but currently have at least some subjects for preschool through high school. They pride themselves in short lessons. Masterbooks also offers a virtual option for some courses.
The good
- Christian-based
- Short lessons
- Inexpensive
- Can purchase digital/printable books so you can print new copies for future children
- Excellent customer service
- Teach controversial topics such as evolution from a Christian view
- Earn points to purchase new products
- Affordable (about $250 per child per year)
The bad
- Limited options
- Very heavy on writing
- Very repetitive in some areas
- Not thorough enough in other areas
The ugly
- A lot of typographical errors
- Hard to start in a later year as things aren’t clearly retaught.
- Generally behind the public school
The Good and the Beautiful
Another Christian based curriculum, TGATB is an affordable curriculum covering all subjects from Kindergarten through 8th grade.
One thing that sets this one apart is the way they combine subjects to reemphasize topics. Also, subjects such as history and science can be taught family style, making this an excellent choice for parents with multiple children in different grades.
The final benefit of this curriculum is that they offer their language arts and math courses 100% for free. All you have to do is print them out
The good
- Free printables
- Very affordable
- Family style for some subjects
- Almost no prep work at all
The bad
- Big focus on sight words
- Works on spelling at very early ages
- Some lessons are VERY long
The ugly
- Many students find it overwhelming and too much information at one time.