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I'm a teacher with 15 years of experience and an edtech entrepreneur. I've reviewed thousands of secular homeschool programs for accuracy and quality. We're wo

I'm a teacher with 15 years of experience and an edtech entrepreneur. I've reviewed thousands of secular homeschool programs for accuracy and quality. We're working on developing unbiased reviews of all of our favorites, but here are a few great all-in-one programs to get you started. All mastery-based, all secular and aligned with state standards. In general, these also combine hands-on projects with online learning, involve little to no prep time and minimal parent involvement in learning, with some element of personalization. Critical Thinking Co https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/criticalthinkingco https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/criticalthinkingco Oak Meadow https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/oakmeadow https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/oakmeadow Time4Learning https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/time4learning https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/time4learning Moving Beyond the Page https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/moving-beyond-the-page https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/moving-beyond-the-page It's usually good to supplement with a math program, if your child is gifted or has special needs. Here is a review I wrote on what I consider to be the best math programs out there for parents doing learning from home. https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/the-best-math-programs-for-home-educators https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/the-best-math-programs-... And here are my 50 favorites:) https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/50favorites https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/50favorites I would also be happy to give free advice to you (or any family reading this) for your particular situation. Feel free to reach out to me via my website if you'd like more personalized recommendations and we can find a time to chat:) https://www.modulo.app/ https://www.modulo.app/

GillBates666 6y ago
Thanks for all the info. We are thinking of home schooling over the virtual learning for my 5 year old son. It sucks to think of skipping kindergarten, but this zoom environment is not conducive to kids, at all. Way to much overhead for parents as well. I could easily get my kid up to speed and well past the learning goals stated on my local school's web site.
- actfrench 6y ago
  Happy to help. For littler kids, definitely check out: Blossom and Root for a more nature-based/hands-on program https://blossomandroot.com/ https://blossomandroot.com/ Torchlight. https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/torchlight https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/torchlight Also Khan App Kids of course https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/khan-app-kids https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/khan-app-kids I think that there are ways to do meaningful social interaction online, but not in the way it's being handled in most places. I think that for this to be successful academics and socialization need to be compartmentalized. We should use zoom for activities like cooking, give kids the opportunity to talk about their day, discuss current events and share feelings, but not for lectures on academic subjects - and these group zooms should be short. There's a big need for innovation in this space, but it's not impossible to create meaningful social interactions online for kids. Alexis Buckley (who is also our is doing incredible work fostering social interactions online with Early Childhood Matters and the Little School. Definitely check out her classes. http://www.earlychildhoodmatters.org/ http://www.earlychildhoodmatters.org/ As you said, there are so many great tools for learning and little evidence that leaning on academics in the early years is even that important (look at the Finnish education system that doesn't start until age 7). However, the in-person social interaction is the tricky part. We're generally recommending that families focus on building healthy social attachments with their own kids. That's the first and most important bond. And if you have a good relationship with your child, a healthy attachment, that will extend to a group setting. This kind of socialization can also be done by buddying with one other family that's rigorously practicing social distancing. Socialization does not have to happen in a huge group to be impactful. Happy to chat with you more if I can be of any help whatsoever.
- nrjames 6y ago
  Same here, but with a 7 yr old and 9 yr old in 2nd and 4th grades. Remote learning in the Spring was nothing but time filler and extremely stressful as a parent.
  - actfrench 6y ago
    Let’s talk. I’d love to be of support and explore ways we can make it less stressful and more fun, even joyful and exciting for you.
- SrslyJosh 6y ago
  Check this for the math once he's ready: https://www.mathmammoth.com https://www.mathmammoth.com The sight might look dated, but it's a curriculum written by one teacher who you can actually reach via email. My wife and I have looked at a bunch of different math options and this one seems like the best option: - Mastery-based, with minimal repetition - All instruction is written for students, with no separate materials for parents, so older students can self-teach - Materials are organized by grade level or topic, it's your choice which you use - Can buy printed books (including spiral bound!) or PDFs - Companion instructional videos by the author - Dirt-cheap, probably because it's self-published with a single author Here's a direct link to one of the sample PDFs for 1st grade: https://www.mathmammoth.com/preview/Math_Mammoth_Grade1A_Samples.pdf https://www.mathmammoth.com/preview/Math_Mammoth_Grade1A_Sam... (There's no kinder materials because all they're typically expected to do in is be able to count, identify shapes, etc.) This also looked interesting, but it's definitely a more involved curriculum with lesson separate scripted lesson plans: https://rightstartmath.com/our-curriculum/the-rightstart-difference/rightstart-for-home-school/ https://rightstartmath.com/our-curriculum/the-rightstart-dif... The plus for this one is that it's heavy on manipulation (using playing cards and an abacus) and light on counting and repetition.
bgroat 6y ago
I'm expecting my first child in October. You best believe I just bookmarked your site. I can't wait to show my wife
- actfrench 6y ago
  I'm so happy it was helpful. Please let me know if I can be of support in any way.
ronyeh 6y ago
I love your list of top 50 favorites. Have you reviewed this site, for learning piano: https://app.hoffmanacademy.com/lessons/ https://app.hoffmanacademy.com/lessons/ I am currently teaching my 6 year old and my 3 year old how to play piano and guitar. We have gone through enough of his videos that I can honestly give his site two strong thumbs up. As far as I can tell, all his videos are free. If the parent knows enough about music, they can use the free videos to supplement any beginner music curriculum. I enjoyed his videos enough that I purchased his premium lifetime membership, which comes with workbooks and games. But my kids are young and I haven't made them work through workbooks yet. I'm trying to make it as fun as possible so far. I have no affiliation with Hoffman Academy. I just think he's a great teacher.
- actfrench 6y ago
  Thank you so much! I didn't know about this and I want to write a review of music curricula so this is very helpful. Many thanks.
  - ronyeh 6y ago
    I've reviewed (for myself and my kids) enough sites to form a strong opinion. If you're interested, email me and we can chat about piano/guitar education. Contact info is in my profile. HN_username @ email_service . com
    - jansanchez 6y ago
      Do you have any suggestions for guitar lesson sites?
      - ronyeh 6y ago
        https://www.justinguitar.com/ https://www.justinguitar.com/ Tons of free content on his site. Justin is a great teacher.
        jansanchez 6y ago
r3trohack3r 6y ago
This is an incredible resource <3 The website doesn't seem to answer: what age does Modulo start at? I'm confused by the current approach to schooling in the U.S. As functioning adults, society rewards people who can identify unanswered or poorly solved problems and come up with solutions. Meanwhile education focuses on drilling facts. In formal education, not including extra curriculars, the first time I see learners exposed to unanswered questions is graduate school. I feel one of the best ways to learn is to practice the thing you are actually going to be doing. It's odd that we never practice answering novel questions. I.E. introducing the unanswered questions of the past, the context that lead us to asking them, and the approaches humans took to solving them. Do you know of any home-school programs that include something like this?
- irrational 6y ago
  I don’t know if this true, but I’ve heard that the US education system was designed to prepare people for factory jobs. Clock in and out at certain times. Eat meals on a set schedule. Only use bathroom during scheduled breaks. Sit in your seat for extended periods of time. Rote learning. Repetitive tasks. Etc. I don’t know if it is true, but it does make a lot of sense.
  - newtoday 6y ago
    I wouldn't say it was explicitly designed for that endgoal, but I can concur that is where most low to mid academic achieving "kids" end up. Edit: reference: I'm a 10x / unicorn at factory work environments, operating machines, metal fabrication, etc.
  - anoraca 6y ago
    Efficient, effective systems models are emulated across many industries.
  - finder83 6y ago
    My understanding is actually that they tried to apply the principles of factories to school. It's not so much that they want to prepare people to work in factories, as they wanted to create a process where you could take someone through the whole school system in a repeatable fashion and get an expected result, just like factories do for cars. So instead of everyone of every age in the same class or a mentor system, you have everyone of the same age going though the same material every year. Unfortunately what it tends not to work as well with are students behind their age curve or ahead of their age curve.
dataminded 6y ago
I'm really glad that I found your site -- great work! I'm going to check-out the Singapore math Live support. It's surprising how challenging it can be to diagnose why one of my kids is struggling with a concept.
- actfrench 6y ago
  So wonderful. Please let me know if I can be of support.
yumraj 6y ago
Thanks, looks like a great resource. Took a quick glance and I wonder why you have Beast Academy under Autistic kids and not for generic Math curriculum.
- actfrench 6y ago
  For that article we selected what we felt was the top resource overall for different types of learners. We’re still working on expanding this.
  - actfrench 6y ago
    I should also specify that Beast is not designed specifically for children on the spectrum but parents with kids on the spectrum tend to love it. Also, Beast is a math curriculum, not an all-in-one. That needs to be fixed in the blog!
agentwiggles 6y ago
Thank you so much for posting this. We are about 80% sure that we'll be homeschooling this year and figuring out how to approach that is not easy. Looking forward to digging through these resources.
- actfrench 6y ago
  Happy to help in any way I can. Feel free to reach out through modulo.app
mahaganapati 6y ago
Do you have resources for religious curriculum as opposed to secular? We are Hindu but I have had good luck relating with Christian resources
- dsr_ 6y ago
  In the US, "Christian" homeschooling often means creationism, denial of evolution and geology, and social teaching aimed at making sure that women understand that if they are doing math, it's only to be able to scale recipes.
  - WillPostForFood 6y ago
    Nice. I take it you've never met a Christian homeschooler? Comments like that reek of coastal elitism. I know, you read an article about Christians once on Vox.
    - SrslyJosh 6y ago
      I was subjected to christian homeschooling and christian private elementary schools. What he says is accurate. Addendum: One of my wife's oldest friends is a christian who homeschools all of her children. She buys both secular and christian science curriculums so she can explain to her kids what the christian materials get wrong. But hey, I'm sure you read an article about this stuff once. =)
      - wyclif 6y ago
        Not all Christians agree on evolutionism, creationism, and feminism. So yeah, I'm nodding my head at the parent comment that said the grandfather comment reeks of coastal elitism. The truth of the matter is that there is a lot of diversty in homeschooling approaches and curricula among Christians (even evangelicals).
    - lern_too_spel 6y ago
      I have met several. I can verify the creationism part in particular and what it meant for geology and astronomy. I haven't met any women who went through that type of schooling, so I can't vouch for the math part.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
bryanlarsen 6y ago
Given your username, perhaps you can help me. My girls are enrolled in French Immersion, and need support for French (conversational and written). Any good resources?
- senjin 6y ago
  My daughter is in French immersion and I signed her up for lessons on italki.com so she continues to use it during the summer. Might be helpful for you too.
  - geomark 6y ago
    What do you think of italki? I'm about to sign up my kid for Chinese through them. Lots of tutors look very good in their intro videos.
- actfrench 6y ago
  It would be ideal if they could connect with French girls their age. I know some if you want an intro:) duo lingo is a good app for free language learning. I can also recommend some good tutors (volunteer or paid) if that’s helpful. I used to run a french language school so know lots of great people. Contact me through contact page on modulo.app
marianov 6y ago
Anything targeted at Spanish speakers, specifically those living outside the US?
wyclif 6y ago
Why don't you recommend Khan Academy math?

GillBates666 6y ago

Thanks for all the info. We are thinking of home schooling over the virtual learning for my 5 year old son. It sucks to think of skipping kindergarten, but this zoom environment is not conducive to kids, at all. Way to much overhead for parents as well. I could easily get my kid up to speed and well past the learning goals stated on my local school's web site.

actfrench 6y ago
Happy to help. For littler kids, definitely check out: Blossom and Root for a more nature-based/hands-on program https://blossomandroot.com/ https://blossomandroot.com/ Torchlight. https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/torchlight https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/torchlight Also Khan App Kids of course https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/khan-app-kids https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/khan-app-kids I think that there are ways to do meaningful social interaction online, but not in the way it's being handled in most places. I think that for this to be successful academics and socialization need to be compartmentalized. We should use zoom for activities like cooking, give kids the opportunity to talk about their day, discuss current events and share feelings, but not for lectures on academic subjects - and these group zooms should be short. There's a big need for innovation in this space, but it's not impossible to create meaningful social interactions online for kids. Alexis Buckley (who is also our is doing incredible work fostering social interactions online with Early Childhood Matters and the Little School. Definitely check out her classes. http://www.earlychildhoodmatters.org/ http://www.earlychildhoodmatters.org/ As you said, there are so many great tools for learning and little evidence that leaning on academics in the early years is even that important (look at the Finnish education system that doesn't start until age 7). However, the in-person social interaction is the tricky part. We're generally recommending that families focus on building healthy social attachments with their own kids. That's the first and most important bond. And if you have a good relationship with your child, a healthy attachment, that will extend to a group setting. This kind of socialization can also be done by buddying with one other family that's rigorously practicing social distancing. Socialization does not have to happen in a huge group to be impactful. Happy to chat with you more if I can be of any help whatsoever.
nrjames 6y ago
Same here, but with a 7 yr old and 9 yr old in 2nd and 4th grades. Remote learning in the Spring was nothing but time filler and extremely stressful as a parent.
- actfrench 6y ago
  Let’s talk. I’d love to be of support and explore ways we can make it less stressful and more fun, even joyful and exciting for you.
SrslyJosh 6y ago
Check this for the math once he's ready: https://www.mathmammoth.com https://www.mathmammoth.com The sight might look dated, but it's a curriculum written by one teacher who you can actually reach via email. My wife and I have looked at a bunch of different math options and this one seems like the best option: - Mastery-based, with minimal repetition - All instruction is written for students, with no separate materials for parents, so older students can self-teach - Materials are organized by grade level or topic, it's your choice which you use - Can buy printed books (including spiral bound!) or PDFs - Companion instructional videos by the author - Dirt-cheap, probably because it's self-published with a single author Here's a direct link to one of the sample PDFs for 1st grade: https://www.mathmammoth.com/preview/Math_Mammoth_Grade1A_Samples.pdf https://www.mathmammoth.com/preview/Math_Mammoth_Grade1A_Sam... (There's no kinder materials because all they're typically expected to do in is be able to count, identify shapes, etc.) This also looked interesting, but it's definitely a more involved curriculum with lesson separate scripted lesson plans: https://rightstartmath.com/our-curriculum/the-rightstart-difference/rightstart-for-home-school/ https://rightstartmath.com/our-curriculum/the-rightstart-dif... The plus for this one is that it's heavy on manipulation (using playing cards and an abacus) and light on counting and repetition.

bgroat 6y ago

I'm expecting my first child in October. You best believe I just bookmarked your site. I can't wait to show my wife

actfrench 6y ago
I'm so happy it was helpful. Please let me know if I can be of support in any way.

ronyeh 6y ago

I love your list of top 50 favorites. Have you reviewed this site, for learning piano: https://app.hoffmanacademy.com/lessons/ https://app.hoffmanacademy.com/lessons/ I am currently teaching my 6 year old and my 3 year old how to play piano and guitar. We have gone through enough of his videos that I can honestly give his site two strong thumbs up. As far as I can tell, all his videos are free. If the parent knows enough about music, they can use the free videos to supplement any beginner music curriculum. I enjoyed his videos enough that I purchased his premium lifetime membership, which comes with workbooks and games. But my kids are young and I haven't made them work through workbooks yet. I'm trying to make it as fun as possible so far. I have no affiliation with Hoffman Academy. I just think he's a great teacher.

actfrench 6y ago
Thank you so much! I didn't know about this and I want to write a review of music curricula so this is very helpful. Many thanks.
- ronyeh 6y ago
  I've reviewed (for myself and my kids) enough sites to form a strong opinion. If you're interested, email me and we can chat about piano/guitar education. Contact info is in my profile. HN_username @ email_service . com
  - jansanchez 6y ago
    Do you have any suggestions for guitar lesson sites?
    - ronyeh 6y ago
      https://www.justinguitar.com/ https://www.justinguitar.com/ Tons of free content on his site. Justin is a great teacher.
      - jansanchez 6y ago

r3trohack3r 6y ago

This is an incredible resource <3 The website doesn't seem to answer: what age does Modulo start at? I'm confused by the current approach to schooling in the U.S. As functioning adults, society rewards people who can identify unanswered or poorly solved problems and come up with solutions. Meanwhile education focuses on drilling facts. In formal education, not including extra curriculars, the first time I see learners exposed to unanswered questions is graduate school. I feel one of the best ways to learn is to practice the thing you are actually going to be doing. It's odd that we never practice answering novel questions. I.E. introducing the unanswered questions of the past, the context that lead us to asking them, and the approaches humans took to solving them. Do you know of any home-school programs that include something like this?

irrational 6y ago
I don’t know if this true, but I’ve heard that the US education system was designed to prepare people for factory jobs. Clock in and out at certain times. Eat meals on a set schedule. Only use bathroom during scheduled breaks. Sit in your seat for extended periods of time. Rote learning. Repetitive tasks. Etc. I don’t know if it is true, but it does make a lot of sense.
- newtoday 6y ago
  I wouldn't say it was explicitly designed for that endgoal, but I can concur that is where most low to mid academic achieving "kids" end up. Edit: reference: I'm a 10x / unicorn at factory work environments, operating machines, metal fabrication, etc.
- anoraca 6y ago
  Efficient, effective systems models are emulated across many industries.
- finder83 6y ago
  My understanding is actually that they tried to apply the principles of factories to school. It's not so much that they want to prepare people to work in factories, as they wanted to create a process where you could take someone through the whole school system in a repeatable fashion and get an expected result, just like factories do for cars. So instead of everyone of every age in the same class or a mentor system, you have everyone of the same age going though the same material every year. Unfortunately what it tends not to work as well with are students behind their age curve or ahead of their age curve.

dataminded 6y ago

I'm really glad that I found your site -- great work! I'm going to check-out the Singapore math Live support. It's surprising how challenging it can be to diagnose why one of my kids is struggling with a concept.

actfrench 6y ago
So wonderful. Please let me know if I can be of support.

yumraj 6y ago

Thanks, looks like a great resource. Took a quick glance and I wonder why you have Beast Academy under Autistic kids and not for generic Math curriculum.

actfrench 6y ago
For that article we selected what we felt was the top resource overall for different types of learners. We’re still working on expanding this.
- actfrench 6y ago
  I should also specify that Beast is not designed specifically for children on the spectrum but parents with kids on the spectrum tend to love it. Also, Beast is a math curriculum, not an all-in-one. That needs to be fixed in the blog!

agentwiggles 6y ago

Thank you so much for posting this. We are about 80% sure that we'll be homeschooling this year and figuring out how to approach that is not easy. Looking forward to digging through these resources.

actfrench 6y ago
Happy to help in any way I can. Feel free to reach out through modulo.app

mahaganapati 6y ago

Do you have resources for religious curriculum as opposed to secular? We are Hindu but I have had good luck relating with Christian resources

dsr_ 6y ago
In the US, "Christian" homeschooling often means creationism, denial of evolution and geology, and social teaching aimed at making sure that women understand that if they are doing math, it's only to be able to scale recipes.
- WillPostForFood 6y ago
  Nice. I take it you've never met a Christian homeschooler? Comments like that reek of coastal elitism. I know, you read an article about Christians once on Vox.
  - SrslyJosh 6y ago
    I was subjected to christian homeschooling and christian private elementary schools. What he says is accurate. Addendum: One of my wife's oldest friends is a christian who homeschools all of her children. She buys both secular and christian science curriculums so she can explain to her kids what the christian materials get wrong. But hey, I'm sure you read an article about this stuff once. =)
    - wyclif 6y ago
      Not all Christians agree on evolutionism, creationism, and feminism. So yeah, I'm nodding my head at the parent comment that said the grandfather comment reeks of coastal elitism. The truth of the matter is that there is a lot of diversty in homeschooling approaches and curricula among Christians (even evangelicals).
  - lern_too_spel 6y ago
    I have met several. I can verify the creationism part in particular and what it meant for geology and astronomy. I haven't met any women who went through that type of schooling, so I can't vouch for the math part.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

bryanlarsen 6y ago

Given your username, perhaps you can help me. My girls are enrolled in French Immersion, and need support for French (conversational and written). Any good resources?

senjin 6y ago
My daughter is in French immersion and I signed her up for lessons on italki.com so she continues to use it during the summer. Might be helpful for you too.
- geomark 6y ago
  What do you think of italki? I'm about to sign up my kid for Chinese through them. Lots of tutors look very good in their intro videos.
actfrench 6y ago
It would be ideal if they could connect with French girls their age. I know some if you want an intro:) duo lingo is a good app for free language learning. I can also recommend some good tutors (volunteer or paid) if that’s helpful. I used to run a french language school so know lots of great people. Contact me through contact page on modulo.app

marianov 6y ago

Anything targeted at Spanish speakers, specifically those living outside the US?

wyclif 6y ago

Why don't you recommend Khan Academy math?