2025-2026 Curriculum Choices
I am delighted to share the curriculum we've chosen for our upcoming school year! This year, we will have a 7th grader, a 5th grader, a 3rd grader, and a 1st grader.
A reminder: Choosing curriculum can be enjoyable and… daunting. There are just so many wonderful options! While we should definitely do our research, I believe there comes a point when we need to make a decision and rest in it. The Lord has called each of us to this journey and He will sustain us. He cares about our children’s growth and flourishing even more than we do! If you’re feeling stressed about the upcoming year, I encourage you to pray and ask God for the peace and clarity you need to make these decisions. He will provide!
Non-Negotiables When Choosing Curriculum
Our core curriculum needs to come from a Christian worldview (or at the very least, not contradict it). Also, knowing who is writing our curriculum and understanding their faith background is essential to me.
-
Our core curriculum needs to be literature-based and family-style. Literature-based is where our family thrives (give us all the books!), and family-style is the only sustainable option for us. We do core subjects together (Bible, history, geography, read-alouds, science/nature study), then our children work through their own levels of math, language arts, and a few other subjects for our older kids (which I explain below).
-
We aim to finish our formal work by lunch time. We begin our homeschool lessons at 8:30 am and end by noon. The afternoon is for rest time, time outdoors, some reading aloud, time to pursue personal interests, and time to spend with friends and neighbors.
-
We primarily use the Charlotte Mason method and are drawn to curriculum that reflects her philosophy.
-
Finally, I need to be excited to teach the curriculum we choose! This sounds obvious, but there have been some curriculums I've tried that I really wanted to like, but they just didn't click for me. If mom isn't enjoying the curriculum, it's likely the kids won't either.
Schooling Year-Round vs. Following a Traditional Schedule
Our family schools year-round and I record how many days we’ve homeschooled until we reach at least 180 days of schooling per year. This is the requirement in the state of South Carolina where we live. If you’re curious about your state’s requirements, you can go to HSLDA.org/legal and check them out! Also, in our state, each child is required to learn certain subjects: reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. In grades 7-12, they are also required to take composition and literature.
Schooling 4 Days a Week vs. 5 Days a Week
We typically do school 4 days a week and use Fridays for field trips, catching up, or just spending time together. This has worked really well for us! We plan some vacation days ahead of time, and then there are other times I just know we need to take a day off, so we do! Having that flexibility has been a gift.
How We School During Holidays
We do take much of December away from our normal curriculum to work through our Advent guide, Come to the Manger guide, or Christmas Around the World guide. We also divert from our normal curriculum on various holidays to work through our Brighter Day Press holiday guides. These all still count as “school” (and we usually add in math) as they all cover various subjects, even though we are taking a break from our normal curriculum for a few days.
This Year’s Curriculum Choices
I can’t wait to share with you what we’ve chosen for this year. We are so excited for 7th, 5th, 3rd, and 1st grade!
Family Subjects
What we’re planning to use for family subjects we do together:
-
Without Doors: United Kingdom: This is our family’s core curriculum for the year. This is a 28-week Charlotte Mason-inspired guide to the history of the United Kingdom for 1st to 8th grade students. The curriculum includes Bible, history, geography, literature, poet study, nature study, artist study, composer study, and hymn study. We have recently started it and are loving this family-style study. We take a little more than a week to work through each week’s worth of plans, so this will stretch for the entire school year. Our plan (and hope) is to take a trip to the United Kingdom next summer. Use code WHITNEY10 for a discount on any Without Doors curriculum!
-
In addition to using Without Doors, we are working through the New Testament as a family, chapter by chapter. For our Bible reading each day (we’re currently working through Hebrews), we have this Hosanna Revival NLT Bible to read with our kids. It’s a journaling Bible with lines in the margins to record notes, so on most days, I write down something that our kids gleaned from the reading or something they said (along with the date). Years from now, I know this family Bible will be such a treasure!
-
Each day, our family also sings two hymns. We love using this book and we sometimes read the story behind the hymn. Liam accompanies us on the piano, which is a joy to hear.
-
We also spend time reciting Scripture passages we’ve memorized in the past, and spending about 3 minutes learning new passages. This is so beneficial not only for the kids, but also for me! Some of the passages we’ve memorized (and now practice about once a week) are 1 Corinthians 13, Psalm 23, Psalm 139, the Apostles Creed, Psalm 1, and Psalm 121.
-
If you’re brand new to homeschooling, we’d love for you to check out our Morning Time guides. These are the guides we’ve used for years that have shaped our homeschool, and they make Morning Time as seamless and open-and-go as possible, providing a rich feast in manageable bites.
-
Each of our children participates in “Mail Monday,” which is simply writing a letter to a friend or family member every week. I’ve set up little baskets for each of our oldest three kids that include everything they need to complete this task independently: personalized cards, envelopes, stamps, an address book, and even a wax sealing kit (here’s the actual stamp) if they’d like to add a beautiful touch. They really look forward to doing this and each have several penpals that they keep up with. It’s so fun and motivating for them to receive mail!
-
On Thursdays, each of our children chooses a topic from our history lessons that week and writes about it in their narration notebooks. Our older two can do this independently, while I help dictate words and sentences to our younger two for their notebooks. They also illustrate these notebooks. You can learn more about narration notebooking here.
-
To end our homeschool day, we watch World Watch News, which is a 10-minutes world news program by Christian journalists. This has been so informative and engaging for our kids. We all love it! If you use this referral link, you can try it for 30 days for free!
Homeschool Planner I Use
I will be using our brand new 2025-2026 Homeschool Planner to record the work we’ve completed. Spanning from the last week of July 2025 through June 2026, this planner is more than just a homeschooling tool—it’s a comprehensive life planner. With thoughtfully designed sections, you'll find dedicated spaces for meal planning, prayer requests, and shopping lists, allowing you to coordinate your family’s needs efficiently.
Independent Subjects
I call these “independent,” but I am still very present for most of these subjects (especially for our two youngest boys). I feel like a ping pong ball during much of our homeschool time, hopping from one child to the next, making sure all my children are getting what they need. It is a lot of work to manage multiple ages and various learning levels. But with a little planning and training, it’s totally possible. And it does get easier as your children grow and become more independent!
Independent Checklists
For each child, I’ve created an independent work checklist (that they have input on and really love!). Here’s the editable Canva link, in case you’d like to personalize some checklists for your kids, too! I print one checklist out for each child for each week. This has been a game changer for our homeschool and has really encouraged independence!
For the timed items on the list (like 15 minutes of reading), we love using these visual timers for each of our kids. These are the best timers I’ve found: they don’t tick and you can turn the beep at the end off or on (and it isn’t too loud or startling). All of our kids enjoy seeing how much time they need to put into various subjects, and it’s helping establish good habits and time management for them.
7th grade for Liam
Liam has always been a voracious learner, and one I am always working to keep up with! In addition to what’s listed below, Liam reads for hours a day (without prompting from me). His current favorite series is Redwall by Brian Jacques.
Liam helped design his curriculum plan this year, and as you’ll notice in his choices below, many of the classes he is taking are online and self-paced. This fits him really well as he enjoys getting up early, doing his independent Bible study (which I talk more about here), getting dressed, then coming downstairs for breakfast and getting started on his independent work. Also, several of these classes (once completed) will earn him high school credits that he can put on a high school transcript.
-
Composition & Literature (4x a week): In the state of South Carolina, 7th to 12th graders are required to take composition and literature, which is a change from previous years where he needed a more basic language arts curriculum. Because of this, Liam is taking a Compass Classroom class with Jonathan Rogers that he is loving. It’s called “Writing Through the Wardrobe” and he uses elements from The Chronicles of Narnia to teach literature and composition. This class is a ¼ credit, and Liam will continue with other literature and composition classes with Jonathan Rogers as soon as he finishes this one.
-
Math (4x a week): Liam recently finished the final level of Beast Academy online and will be using Saxon 8/7 with Nicole the Math Lady for Pre-Algebra. This feels like a good fit for him because he enjoys self-paced learning and can do this independently.
-
Foreign language (4x a week): Liam is taking a self-paced Compass Classroom class called Visual Latin I and is loving it. I receive quiz scores and updates through email, but the class is independent and self-paced.
-
Creation Science (2x a week): Liam wanted to go beyond the science we are doing as a family (nature study through Without Doors), so he added this online course.
-
Extra-curricular (45 minutes daily): Piano. Liam takes weekly in-person piano lessons and practices for a minimum of 45 minutes every day.
-
Coding (2x a week): Liam is using Excalibur Solutions STEM Academy online to learn and practice coding twice a week. We met the founders of this program at a homeschool conference and he is really enjoying learning the skills needed for coding!
5th grade for Lanie
Lanie is 10 years old, very artistic, and has very different interests than Liam. While I read aloud, she draws or paints beautiful pictures. She loves art, playing with her brothers, reading, and spending time outside.
-
Language arts (4x a week): Learning Language Arts through Literature (the Purple Book). We have used this curriculum for the last several years and it covers all the bases! We’ll continue with it this year. I do recommend getting both the student guide and the teacher’s guide. Both are necessary for all Learning Language Arts through Literature curriculum.
-
Math (4x a week): Apologia Math 5. We used Apologia Math last year for Lanie and it was a fantastic fit! It’s colorful, engaging, uses real-world examples, and is mostly independent for her. I also recommend getting both the student guide and the teacher’s guide as both are necessary.
-
Writing (1-2x a week): Mail Monday (explained above) + Learning Language Arts through Literature assignments
-
Handwriting/Cursive Practice (2x a week): We are continuing in this Handwriting Without Tears cursive book to get some more cursive practice. Lanie is doing great!
-
Typing (2x a week): Lanie and Bear are both learning typing using Typing.com. We have used the paid subscription for a while now because it’s ad-free. Lanie has nearly finished the program and is typing well!
-
Extra-curricular (2x a week): Hoffman Academy online piano lessons. During the school year, Lanie takes in-person piano lessons. But during the summer, she is taking Hoffman Academy lessons a couple times a week and practicing for 15 minutes every day. I am so proud of her progress, and she is loving it! We purchased the Premium program because it includes so many helpful add-ons (like theory worksheets) that are not included in the free program. You can use the code LEARN for 10% off!
3rd grade for Bear
Bear grew leaps and bounds last year in homeschool and has become a voracious reader! He is so excited to learn, and it's a joy to teach him.
-
Language arts (4x a week): Learning Language Arts through Literature (the Yellow Book). We’re continuing to the next level of this curriculum this year!
-
Handwriting (2x a week): Learning Without Tears beginning cursive. We did this for a bit last year, then took a break, but Bear is motivated again and is enjoying this!
-
Math (4x a week): Apologia Math 3. This was a great fit for him last year, so we’re continuing on!
-
Reading practice: Bear has become a voracious reader in the past few months and is working his way through the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. He has also recently enjoyed The Wild Robot series by Peter Brown.
-
Extra-curricular (2x a week): Hoffman Academy online piano lessons
1st grade for Beck
Beckham is our little athlete who would usually rather be climbing trees or riding his bike than sitting down for school. We keep his lessons short, and he likes to draw or paint while we read during our family-style studies.
-
Language arts (4x a week): Right now, Beckham is still learning to read. I am using 100 Gentle Lessons in Sight & Sound (which I have used and loved in the past with another child) for language arts. He also enjoys practicing reading with this set of Bob Books as well.
-
Handwriting (2x a week): Handwriting Without Tears’ My Printing Book
-
Math (4x a week): Apologia Math 1. We’ll be working through this slowly this year. I can’t wait!
I hope you feel inspired by these choices and maybe even less overwhelmed as you look for curriculum for your own family! Of course, homeschooling does take a lot of planning… but once you find great choices for your kids, it is such a joy to dive in!
Please note: As much as I would love to assist you in your own choices, I just don’t have the capacity to do so. I receive dozens of emails every time I post our curriculum plans asking about specific children and situations and what I would recommend. I’m so sorry I am unable to answer these. I encourage you to look through what we’ve used in the past from these posts to help guide you!
-
What I’ve Learned in 5 Years of Homeschooling: This includes all of our curriculum choices for the first five years!
God bless you and your homeschool this year. I am cheering you on!
This post contains some affiliate links, but the opinions are all my own. Thanks for supporting my work!
