Homeschool Curriculum We’re Using This School Year 2025

Here we are again — another homeschool year revving up!

Although we school year-round (that’s the rhythm that works best for our family), I keep things pretty laid back in the summer, mainly focusing on math and reading. When September rolls around, I’m always ready to add new subjects, refresh our homeschool space, snag curriculum sales, and restock manipulatives or supplies we might need.

A Little Background

My kids are 9, 7, and 6, and they’ve been homeschooled from the very beginning. We do our main subjects — math, reading, and spelling — one-on-one, and then come together for science, history, art, and language arts as a family. I love this rhythm because those shared subjects are so adaptable for different ages.

We typically homeschool in the mornings until lunchtime, sometimes going a little longer if we’re doing a fun experiment, craft, or hands-on project.

Whenever I mention that we homeschool (which is surprisingly often!), I get a ton of questions — especially about what curriculum we use. I love hearing what other families use too, because it helps me learn about different learning styles and discover new options if something isn’t quite clicking for us.

Planning

I’ve tried several homeschool planners over the years, but this one has been my favorite so far. It has plenty of space for weekly plans, lists, and subjects. I used to treat the planner as a strict schedule, but now I use it more as a record of what we actually do each day.

I still make a general weekly plan, but I only fill in specifics day-by-day. This has helped me stay flexible without feeling behind.

Reading & Spelling — All About Learning Press

We use All About Reading and All About Spelling from All About Learning Press. We’ve been using both since Level 1, and I’ve loved watching my kids’ reading and spelling skills grow. Right now we’re working through Levels 1 and 2, and I’ve already purchased Level 3 for reading.

It’s a teacher-heavy program (and there’s lots of cutting involved!), but the lessons are low-pressure and adaptable. Some take one day; others take five. I usually set a 20-minute timer and stop when the time’s up.

One of my favorite things about this curriculum is that it’s reusable — I can use each level for all of my kids, which saves a lot over time. I just copy the written pages from the spelling student workbook instead of buying extras and keep everything organized in a three-ring binder with sheet protectors. It’s worked beautifully for us.

Handwriting — The Good and the Beautiful

We use the handwriting curriculum from The Good and the Beautiful, and I love how simple and independent it is. The kids do 1–2 pages per day, and it’s something they can do while I’m working one-on-one with another child. It’s straightforward, well-designed, and doesn’t require any prep from me — which is always a win.

Math — Math-U-See

We used The Good and the Beautiful Math from Kindergarten through Level 3. I loved its open-and-go format, beautiful design, and independence, but after a while, it just wasn’t the best fit.

Here’s why:

It’s a spiral curriculum, which meant concepts jumped around and my kids struggled to recall them later.
The lessons became very lengthy — often an hour or more.
The focus on quick recall (addition, subtraction, etc.) wasn’t strong enough, which made higher levels harder.

So, about a quarter into our new level, I switched us to Math-U-See, which follows a mastery approach — students master one concept before moving on. It’s more teacher-involved for now, but I think it’ll pay off long-term.

Each level includes instructional videos, which are great for me to learn or refresh how to teach certain concepts.

I purchased Primer, Alpha, and AIM for Addition and Subtraction, along with the Math-U-See blocks (they’re essential for this program). It’s a pricier curriculum, but I’ve seen it pop up secondhand on Facebook Marketplace — of course, right after I bought it! I’ll share a mid-year update once we’ve used it more.

Science & Nature Study — Blossom & Root

We use and love Blossom and Root, especially their Science and Nature Study curriculums! We started using them during preschool and kindergarten, and my kids adored them.

There’s a lot of flexibility — tons of hands-on projects, arts, and crafts — and the lessons are full of gentle exploration. The nature study pairs beautifully with the science program, so I always grab that as an add-on.

Blossom and Root deliver everything as PDF downloads, which I actually love. It keeps the cost down, and I can choose which pages to print. I usually have the main books bound at FedEx Kinko’s and print the student workbooks at home. When we finish a level, I bind their completed work — it’s such a fun keepsake!

Language Arts — Blossom & Root

We still use Blossom and Root Language Arts, but I’ve adjusted it to fit our family.

After Kindergarten, I stopped using the “learning to read” section because my son began asking deeper questions about why words were spelled or pronounced a certain way — questions I couldn’t easily answer. That’s when I switched to All About Reading and Spelling, which is more rule-based and has been a perfect fit.

However, we still use the rest of the Language Arts program — especially the literature, journaling, and activities. The reading selections are beautifully chosen and inspired by Charlotte Mason and Waldorf philosophies, which we love.

History — Pandia Press

History is new for us this year! Until now, we’ve only done an “All About Me” history book for Kindergarten (also from Blossom and Root).

This year, we’re diving into History Quest: Early Times from Pandia Press. I bought the main text, workbook, and audiobook — which I uploaded to a Yoto card (if you don’t have a Yoto Player, game changer!).

We’re also using The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History and Timelines of World History alongside it. I’ll definitely share an update later this year on how it’s going.