Developing an online school curriculum is the one of the best parts of homeschooling children. Developing a clear plan for educational content will make sure your child gains all the necessary knowledge and then some. The benefit of homeschooling is that as parents, you get to choose what to teach your children depending on their interests and acumen. You have all the advantages of being at home and no disadvantages of traditional schooling. Online school curriculums utilize all the books and resources that are used in brick and mortar schools. But they also provide extra guidance for parents and online teachers to make the experience all the better for the children.
Anyone who has ever looked for some online school curriculum and some teaching videos online is already familiar with the Khan Academy. They produce comprehensive and very knowledgeable educational content for all classes and ages. But some parents prefer a more concise and scheduled curriculum that can be taught to children at home. Some parents are also of the opinion that teaching should be best left to experts even after the choice of subjects is made by the parents themselves. So here are 10 online school curriculum options for parents who are just starting to homeschool their children and prefer reliable teaching plans.
1. K12.com
This is perhaps the most popular choice at the moment of parents and students alike, and with good reason. K12’s online tutoring classes offered in mathematics, English language, sciences, social studies and many other subjects provide an excellent learning avenue for online schooling. An effective alternative to traditional schooling curriculum, this option comes with courses for each grade level, in a structured manner that are blended in a way to promote self-learning. The course is also secular and often free, so for parents low on budget or simply particular about teaching their children secular values prefer this option the most.
2. Sonlight
On the other end of the spectrum, as opposed to secular K12, this is Christian literature-based curriculum and comes with several options of ordering packages. Sonlight also allows parents to buy a curriculum for more than one student and at more than one level simultaneously. So if there are more than homeschooled children in the same household, then this would be a cost-effective option. Furthermore, there is also a helpline available for detailed guidance in choosing the curriculum for children at different ages and classes.
3. ABCmouse.com
This is perhaps the choice for those who wish to maintain the best education possible with a given budget. A subscription for ABCMouse’s curriculum is average $10 per month and includes more than 9,000 activities for individual learning. There are ten different levels of courses and more than 800 lessons. There is also a tickets and rewards system which brings about the same competitiveness and spirit of excellence in homeschooling children as those who have to appear in examinations in traditional schooling.
4. Alpha Omega
This curriculum’s publisher has four different options – a computer based program Switched on Schoolhouse, an online program called Monarch, two textbooks based options Lifepacs and Horizons, and a unit study option called Weaver. All of these are quickly gaining popularity among homeschoolers. You can either order a complete package with all subjects included or piece together a few subjects of your choice.
5. Christian Liberty Press
This is another Christian religion based program that offers three options for online schooling. There are also textbook based and independent study options known as CLASS Plan, which offers full enrollment and services. There is also the option of a combination of the two called CLASS Family Plan. In both cases the study is done independently but some services are available in both options that provide room for a collective online study.
6. Beestar
This online curriculum might just be for those who are new to homeschooling and have struggling toddlers at home. Consider this course to be an addendum to the other online curriculums you might already be using, especially focused on mathematics and reading concepts. It can be used to supplement and support the current math and reading homeschool curriculum you are using. Customers of Beestar claim that using its curriculum-based programs for only 20 minutes a week, students can effectively master the core knowledge and skills they are learning. Parents can monitor performance online and know exactly what their students need.
7. CTC Math
This curriculum is designed keeping in view mathematics and different ways in which children learn mathematics. If the problem is not in the coursework, but the children following homeschooling are having difficulty in grasping the concepts because of their study style, then this option serves best. CTC Math is a full math curriculum for grades K through 12th and believes that students should have the freedom to choose their preferred method of working. There are more than 1,400 tutorials, each of which last from four to nine minutes, and present the concepts of the math lesson step-by-step. Using synchronized audio and animation lessons help students harness both audio and visual learning styles simultaneously.
8. Oak Meadow
This is another online course for grades K to 12 and accommodates kinesthetic learners. This homeschool curriculum also comes with an accredited online distance school for grades K-12. These courses and programs are academically strong and provide the flexibility that is the key factor for homeschooling. This course is directed towards a more comprehensive learning approach and it accommodates visual, auditory, and physical learning styles, providing opportunities for all children to learn easily, and successfully.
9. Time4Writing
If your children are having difficulties in writing more than learning otherwise then this course will be perfect for them. Time4Writing is an 8-week online writing course where students get one-on-one feedback and interaction with a certified teacher. These homeschool writing classes are offered at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, for elementary, middle, and high school-aged children. There are 15 courses for you to choose the one that is perfect for homeschooling your child, not only to help them improve their writing skills in all areas spanning grammar, sentences, paragraphs, essays, and more, but also to give them more confidence towards their learning. The offered courses are flexible and can be taken at any time.
10. edX
This is the perfect online schooling curriculum for college courses. Thinking about homeschooling, everyone’s first thought is that it is only for children. However, sometimes even students in college might also choose to study at home and turn to online courses instead of following through with traditional colleges. For such students a perfect online option is edX. There are over 2,000 courses to choose from that include professional courses, micro-Masters programs, as well as corporate training programs. There are also free online courses by Hrvard, MIT and several other prestigious universities, including the modern day significant subjects like Data Science, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing and so on.
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