A question I get asked a lot is, how do I find the right homeschooling curriculum for my family? The good news is, there are amazing options out there for every budget— whether you want to invest in a full boxed curriculum, or you need to keep things as low-cost and simple as possible.
High-Budget / All-in-One Packages
If you like structure, convenience, and having everything planned for you, then full boxed curriculums might be a great fit. Companies like Sonlight, Abeka, or BJU Press send you everything: books, teacher guides, lesson plans, grading rubrics, and sometimes even science experiment supplies.
Some of the pros include: you save time on planning, it’s all laid out, and it can be reassuring especially for new homeschoolers.
On the flip side, they can be pricey— sometimes upwards of several hundred dollars per child per year.
This option works best if you have more in your budget, or if you want that peace of mind of having a step-by-step guide.
Mid-Range / Mix-and-Match
Mid-range options are where many families land. You can choose individual subjects from different publishers: maybe Math-U-See for math, MasterBooks for Science, Generations for history, and a free reading list you put together from the library.
Curriculums like Gather ‘Round Homeschool or Notgrass History fall into this middle range— high quality, but not as expensive as the full boxed sets.
This approach gives you more flexibility. You can tailor subjects to each child’s learning style, and you don’t have to commit to one program for everything.
Low-Budget / Free & DIY
And then, there are plenty of wonderful low-budget or even free options. Don’t ever feel like you can’t homeschool just because of finances— it’s absolutely possible.
Some great free or low-cost resources include:
- Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool (completely free online)
- Khan Academy for math, science, and more
- Your local library for read-alouds, history, and literature
- YouTube educational channels for science experiments, geography, and even foreign languages
With this approach, you’ll spend more time planning and pulling things together, but the savings can be huge. And honestly, kids learn just as well with these resources as they do with the expensive ones.
Now, personally I really like boxed curriculum and that’s what we’ve used in our homeschool for the majority of the past 11 years. I love that all of the lesson planning is done for me, and I appreciate the simplicity of the “open and go” model.
But, I can still be creative. Sometimes, I’ll tweak lessons a little bit to tailor them more for each kid. I’ll add in my own components as well like videos and crafts to supplement lessons.
I also really enjoy “Box Day” each year. It’s like Christmas in the middle of summer!
This year, I’ve done a little bit of mix and matching. The majority of my kids’ subjects are from Sonlight, but I went with another history and Bible curriculum for my daughter that suit her better.
I also ordered Intro to Logic for my son from a different company, because Sonlight doesn’t offer as robust of a program as I wanted for him.
There is so much flexibility in homeschooling. And there is really no one right way to do it. Your family, your kids’ learning styles, and your budget are unique.
Whether you go with a boxed curriculum, a mid-range mix-and-match, or completely free resources, you can give your kids a high-quality education at home.
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