Free curriculum guide

Free homeschool curriculum, subject by subject

You can homeschool well without spending hundreds of dollars. Below are the free programs worth your time — full free curricula first, then 14 free or free-tier options sorted by subject — plus an honest look at where free falls short and how to fill those gaps.

Start here

Full free curricula

These cover a whole subject or a whole year, not just practice. Confirm current details and worldview on each provider's site before you commit.

Khan Academy

Secular

Secular. Math from counting through calculus, plus science, grammar, and history. Video lessons with practice and progress tracking — the closest thing to a free graded course.

Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

Christian

A complete free curriculum for every subject, day by day, with a Christian worldview woven throughout. Review the readings before adopting it wholesale.

Ambleside Online

Christian

A free Charlotte Mason curriculum built on living books. You supply the books (many are public domain), it supplies the schedule and booklists.

CK-12

Secular

Free digital flexbooks, practice sets, and simulations for math and science across most grade levels. Useful as a spine or a second explanation.

MEP (Mathematics Enhancement Programme)

Secular

A complete free math curriculum with printable lesson plans and practice books. Text-heavy for the parent, but genuinely full-course.

Project Gutenberg

Neutral

Tens of thousands of free public-domain books — literature, history, and readers for every age. Pairs with almost any literature-based plan.

Your local library + interlibrary loan

Neutral

Free living books, audiobooks, documentaries, and often museum passes. The single most valuable free resource for an eclectic year.

Honest limits

Where free works — and where it doesn't

Free curriculum saves money, not planning time. Knowing that up front is what keeps a free year from falling apart in October.

Free usually works well for

  • Math practice and drill, where repetition matters more than packaging
  • Reading — libraries and public-domain books cover more than any boxed set
  • Science documentaries, videos, and simple household experiments
  • History and geography through living books and free map work
  • Electives: coding, art, music, and languages have strong free tiers

Watch out for

  • Free rarely means no prep — you are the one sequencing and scheduling it
  • Records: free programs usually don't track hours or produce report cards
  • Gaps in writing instruction, where step-by-step teaching helps most
  • Worldview: several of the best free curricula are explicitly Christian — read first
  • Printing costs add up; compare a year of ink to a low-cost print book

14 free and free-tier options

Free options by subject

Drawn from our full single-subject guide. Prices change often, so confirm the free tier still covers what you need.

Charlotte Mason literature-based (full curriculum)

1 option

  • AmblesideOnline

    K–12 · Free

    A free, carefully curated Charlotte Mason curriculum built on living books, narration, and short lessons. Christian framing with a detailed book list and weekly schedule for each year.

Early literacy

1 option

  • Duolingo ABC

    Ages 3–8 · Free

    A completely free phonics and early reading app from Duolingo, with bite-sized lessons on letters, sounds, sight words, and short stories. No ads or upsells.

Early reading and phonics

1 option

  • Teach Your Monster to Read

    Ages 3–6 · Free on web; app approx. $5–$7 one-time

    A charming phonics game where children create a monster and travel through games covering letter sounds, blending, and first sentences. Short sessions, no ads.

Foreign language

1 option

  • Duolingo

    All ages · Free; paid tier approx. $7–$13/month

    Bite-sized daily language practice across dozens of languages. Great for consistency and vocabulary, thinner on grammar explanation and conversation.

General enrichment

1 option

  • Discover Kids

    PreK–5 · Free to low cost

    Kid-friendly activities, games, and short science and nature content. Works as light enrichment or a rainy-day supplement rather than a graded course.

Language arts, math, and more

1 option

  • The Good and the Beautiful

    PreK–8 (math to Algebra) · Many PDFs free; print books approx. $20–$60 per course

    Faith-based, open-and-go courses with a strong language arts program that folds in reading, spelling, grammar, art, and geography. Many levels are downloadable free.

Literature and reading library

1 option

  • Project Gutenberg

    All ages · Free

    Over 70,000 free public-domain ebooks, including most classic literature. Not a curriculum — a no-cost library to pair with any literature or history plan.

Math

1 option

  • MEP (Mathematics Enhancement Programme)

    PreK–secondary · Free

    A complete, entirely free UK-developed math program with printable pupil sheets and detailed lesson plans. Discussion-heavy and requires parent prep, but costs nothing.

Math and English practice (game-based)

1 option

  • Prodigy

    1–8 · Free; membership approx. $5–$9/month

    A fantasy game where kids answer curriculum-aligned math (and English) questions to battle and explore. Motivating daily practice, but a practice layer rather than instruction.

Math and reading practice

1 option

  • MobyMax

    K–8 · Free tier; premium approx. $7–$10/month

    An adaptive practice platform that diagnoses gaps in math, reading, and other subjects, then assigns targeted lessons. Good as a daily practice and gap-closing layer alongside a spine.

Math practice

1 option

  • Boddle Learning

    K–6 · Free tier; premium approx. $8–$10/month

    A 3D game world where kids answer adaptive math questions to earn rewards and customize their character. A practice layer with a parent progress dashboard, not a full course.

Routines and behavior tracking (support tool)

1 option

  • ClassDojo

    PreK–8 · Free; optional paid extras

    Not a curriculum. A free tool for tracking routines, habits, and encouragement, with points, timers, and group activities. Useful for keeping the school day on rhythm.

Science

1 option

  • Science Mom

    K–8 · Free content; courses approx. $10–$15/month

    Clear, friendly video science lessons and full courses with hands-on activities and printable journals, created by a science educator. Approachable and low-prep for elementary and middle grades.

Worksheets, games, and guided lessons

1 option

  • Education.com

    PreK–8 · Free tier; premium approx. $8–$15/month

    A library of printable worksheets, games, guided lessons, and lesson plans across core subjects. Useful for pulling extra practice on a specific skill or topic.

Next step

Turning free resources into a real year

A pile of good free links is not a plan. Four steps turn it into one.

  1. 1

    Pick one spine per subject — not five. A free spine still needs to be the spine.

  2. 2

    Fill only the gaps with paid programs, usually writing or math.

  3. 3

    Choose your record-keeping method before week one so hours and attendance aren't reconstructed later.

  4. 4

    Give it four weeks, then keep what your child actually opens without a fight.

Organize your picks in the Curriculum BuilderSee every single-subject program

Keeping records for your state? The planner and tracking printables handle attendance, hours, and reading logs for a free-curriculum year.