How to Homeschool Without a Curriculum | Easy & Cheap Homeschooling! 

My 24 yo daughter fondly remembers the year we couldn’t afford curriculum. We went to the library once a week. We chose 1 fiction and 1 nonfiction book. That was what we learned. If the kid in the story lived in Canada, we learned about Canada. If they were farmers, we learned about farming. If the nonfiction she chose was about pandas, we learned about pandas. We read, wrote, researched, and crafted our way through the entire year.

I used to get those “what your blank grader should know” from the library and get materials based on that. 8 years later my 12 year old is on track to graduate by 16 yrs old never had a curriculum in her life lol

I’m homeschooling my 4th grader, 2nd grader, and 1st grader without any set curriculum. We use a variety of apps and workbooks, and I thrifted an awesome math book called “Math Wise! Hands-On Activities and Investigations for Elementary Students”. We also make use of resources available through our local library, it’s a great place to check out science kits. We’ve checked out a plasma globe, a solar system model, and a Hooked on Phonics set.

We do this and love it! I do buy a math curriculum but it is fairly inexpensive. My son is now going into 5th grade and still enjoys learning. I think that’s the real goal. If at the end , your child sill loves to learn, you have succeeded!

Special Needs here! I am so glad I found this when I searched for homeschooling without a curriculum. We tried 2 rounds of public school for our autistic son, detrimental to both our mental and emotional well-being. I homeschooled our older son through 10th grade and he passed the PSEO tests so was able to take college courses for 11th and 12th grade. We used a pretty advanced curriculum for him. He could handle it and I was literally afraid of doing something wrong. Now, the special needs for our younger son, is getting harder and harder. He's not good with reading and writing and has a Mixed Receptive and Expressive Language Disorder. He sits directly across from me so I can keep him focused. I read everything upside down, highlight things (even change color when the "person" or "item" changes to keep like things together, and write upside down so he can watch while I'm reading/writing (yes even cursive, wobbly though). But the curriculum, as easy as it is, is hard for him to maintain focus and by the time you get done with 2-3 pages in History, he states the title as the main theme and can give a couple points that interested him. Rarely does he get what you're "supposed" to get. I'm getting burned out but I know public school is not an option and I want him to learn rather than just get pushed along or spend most of his time in the principal's office so he can calm down (yes, he even had a para) or here, we both shut down out of frustration. Recently been thinking, there's gotta be a different way. I am so excited for this. I thought about cooking because he thinks baking will be fun, but he doesn't grasp safety. So I will be figuring out how to handle that. Thank you Felicia!!! (sorry I wrote a book)

Thank you for the reassurance. I was becoming overwhelmed with all the programs out there. This will be our first year of homeschooling with our three boys.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU!! every other video I watched was absolutely ridiculous! Like they only made it for content profit. But THIS was actually helpful!! Thank you so much!

As soon as you said common core I almost walked out.. so glad I stayed! Thank you!

This is exactly what I have been doing with my kids. I try to explain it to people and they look at me like I'm crazy. Now, I can just send them the link to your video. I totally agree that this is easier, and way more fun, than using a curriculum. My biggest reason for not wanting a bought curriculum is that I want my kids to be learning about the same topics at the same time (but vary the level of difficulty for each child). Also, I wanted to teach things that were relevant, like gardening in the spring. Thanks for the video!

This is the best and easiest no curriculum video I've ever seen.

Ugh! So glad I came across this video. I was going to use Discovery K12. My child is not interested! But when we go over things not in a curriculum, meaning when we just learn from workbooks, projects, writing her name, address, numbers 1-100, circle time, days of the week, and all of that jazz, she loves it!

Thank you so much for this! Some of the curriculum that is available I just can't afford, but I can definitely look up what my child should know as a reference point and provide the necessary tools and resources that is particularly suited for my child.

This was helpful. I am strongly considering homeschooling and I want to use my own curriculum

We use unit studies and these become our launching point for everything but math. (Sometimes I can tie in math too)

Thank you. I feel like I can do it.

That's very simple! For the past couple of years, my anxiety over homeschooling has nearly left me mentally paralyzed on a daily basis. I've been doing this since my kids were toddlers, so it's not new, but the pressure and worry that my kids' home education won't "hold water" in the real world is so terrifying. Not knowing what they're supposed to know at certain "grades" really gets in the way, and then knowing my son probably won't meet the expectations because of his mild learning issues...😖😮‍💨 it's stressful. Im burned out, but im going to keep pushing. I've got to overcome this homeschool hump!

Hello! I am new to your page and thankful to have found you. i have grown children and I am a grandmother who is considering this alternative education concept - HOMESCHOOLING. I am a former educator in public and non-traditional schools, who started holding small groups and providing academic support online and in person. Now I am considering homeschooling my granddaughter and a few other kids whose parents desire to pull their children out of the traditional brick and mortar. I have had a doozie of a time identifying a sound curriculum that is not eurocentric. I believe creating my own curriculum is the best route for what I envision for the concept and you have helped with this video. Thank you so very much for the tips concerning theme, the calendar and the "Teacher Pay Teachers" resource. I look forward to learning more from you!

This is a very similar process I use. How do you decide on units of study for Social Studies? Thank you. Glad to find someone else because I see mostly videos on curriculum when it comes to homeschooling. My overall goal is mostly to get them used to the process of learning and writing about what they learn for now. And then I use things like Khan Academy for Math. There’s also a lady on RU-vid that gives free math course her channel name is JoAnn’s school.

Thank you so much! It’s my first homeschooling my daughter with autism.And this information help me a lot on how to get started…God bless you!

This was so clear, concise, and encouraging Thank you ❤️👍🤗

This is exactly what I'm doing with my kindergartener! and exactly how I started was checking the standards for our state to figure out what goals / topics to set and pick for the year! thank you for the encouragement that this is an okay way to homeschool!

I ended up doing this for my Kindergartener to start. Scholastic workbook and some dollar tree flashcards and supplies. I still use it but have added Easy Peasy math and learn to read program which are free ❤ Workbooks and library books are definitely a great starting point or even a great way to have work samples of subjects.I plan to use Evan Moor spell and write until middle school to meet my states Grammar and spelling requirements. I prefer to focus on reading and handwriting in younger years.

Thank you for sharing, always a good reminder that you can follow your heart on the interests of your family and children, during homeschooling!🎉

Loved this video. My daughter is behind and I wasn't sure how to help her. Now I have an idea and I know what to expect and what she should be learning according to her age. Thank you for this video.

Thank you so much for this😄 I was homeschooling my youngest without curriculum for the past 2 years but this year I gave in on the peer pressure and got her curriculum and oh my gosh did I get stressed quickly and she doesn't even seem to enjoy it. She just wants to finish her books as quickly as she can. I think I will go back to using no curriculum😅

TPT is life lol

I like that “before you click off the video...” No, I am interested😊

Thank you for this video. This year for my 2 grader daughter we are not using a curriculum.

I really enjoyed your video! Is it possible to still get a copy of your homeschool planner?

This was really helpful, thank you!

This is wonderful!

This was so helpful! Thank you 🎉

Subscribed! Thanks so much for the great tips and info.

This is extremely helpful! Thank you! Also, curious about your "no summer vacation" lol. My kids want to do school all through the summer, in addition to the standard 36 weeks. I wasn't sure if that was too much and I should cut them off lol.

Thanks for this! I really needed this info!

Such a great video!

Great ideas!

I like how you create your own curriculum. Thanks for sharing and inspiring. Just subscribed. Looking forward to watching more of your videos. I also have a channel mainly about homeschooling and it would be fun to be friends and connect here 😊

This is great insight and info! Thanks so much!

Thanks so much!

I need help first timer

I have a question what if we want to homeschool our niece or nephew into our home can we do that or do we need a teachers degree in order to homeschool a family members child

The core standards you mentioned. Is that for the Whole U.S. or only a certain state?

What does graduating look like for special Education students? That’s what I worry about. I know in public schools they just push them though to the next grade.

Good stuff

How much time does this take you?

Doing Homeschool you don’t get overwhelmed? Or do you have any help from someone besides your husband? Maybe, your mom, mother in law… for those moments that you are overwhelmed and too stressful??

My fear is not knowing if they are learning what they should know at a certain grade/age.