Resources
Things you can actually use
Printables, curriculum reviews, tool round-ups and book lists — curated, current, and written by parents who used them. No affiliate links anywhere on this site.
Printables
One-page PDFs designed for the kitchen table, not the school office.
Six homeschool schedule templates that survive real life
Loop, block, morning basket, four-day, shift and unschooling-with-anchors — six real schedules with the household each one suits, and the failure mode of each.
Your first homeschool year checklist (free printable PDF)
A one-page checklist for your first homeschool year — legal steps, a light routine, core subjects, and a 6-week review.
The Weekly Homeschool Planner (free printable PDF)
A free one-page weekly homeschool planner that fits any method — loop, block or child-led. Designed for the kitchen table rather than the school office.
Curriculum reviews
Written by parents who taught it for at least a term. We take no payment from publishers.
The best homeschool math curriculum — eight compared, honestly
Singapore, Math Mammoth, Beast Academy, Saxon, Math-U-See, Teaching Textbooks, RightStart and Khan compared by cost, prep time and the child each one actually suits.
Homeschool science curriculum — what to use at each age
What science curriculum is genuinely worth buying at each stage, why elementary science needs none at all, and how to solve lab sciences for exam-track teenagers.
All About Reading review — the program that rescues reading
A parent review of All About Reading, the scripted Orton-Gillingham phonics program — who it saves, what it costs you in time, and who can pass.
Math Mammoth review — rigorous, cheap, and a little beige
An honest parent review of Math Mammoth, the budget-friendly mastery math curriculum that teaches itself — if your kid can handle the dense pages.
The Story of the World review — history your kids will ask for
A parent review of Susan Wise Bauer's narrative world history series — what it does brilliantly, where it simplifies, and how families actually use it.
2026 curriculum shortlist — the ones we'd actually recommend
A short, opinionated shortlist across math, literacy, science and history — vetted by parents who actually taught them for a full year, with the drawbacks stated.
Tools & free resources
Platforms, apps and libraries worth your time — and the ones that are not.
Free homeschool curriculum — a complete year, every subject, no cost
A genuinely complete free curriculum for every core subject and every age, with honest notes on where each free option is weakest and what it cannot replace.
Homeschool planning tools, matched to your personality
Paper planners, spreadsheets, Notion boards, and dedicated homeschool planners compared — and why the simplest system you'll keep wins.
Khan Academy for homeschoolers, an honest guide
What Khan Academy does well, where it falls short, and how homeschool families actually use it without making it the whole curriculum.
Libby and your library, the homeschool backbone
How to turn the public library and the Libby app into the engine of your homeschool — holds strategy, interlibrary loan, and librarian allies.
Book lists
Curated reading by age, subject and theme, with a reason for each title.
Living books for science and nature study
What a living book is, the science and nature titles worth owning, and how to pair them with nature walks and a journal.
Read-aloud favorites by age
A curated read-aloud list from under-fives through teenagers, with a one-line reason to pick up each book and notes on which ones survive being read forty times.
We test things so you don’t buy them twice
Every Sunday: one practical idea, whatever we have just tried, and the cheap alternative whenever we review something expensive.
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