Are you beginning your homeschool journey and wondering, “What is the best homeschool curriculum out there?”

That was one of my first questions when I first started out. I’d scour the internet in search of wisdom from seasoned homeschoolers. With all the homeschool resources out there I wanted to pick just the right one.

Since you are reading this, I’m guessing you are looking for that same kind of information.

My intent in this post is to equip you with information, at least from my perspective. I’ll share what worked for us and why. Hopefully it’ll be one more piece of the puzzle you can use as you make the best decision for your family.

While every child and every family is different, there are some curriculum choices that will be good for many families.

As I reflect on the past 7 years of homeschooling there are several curriculum choices that I am really glad we made early on. And those are the ones I want to share with you here.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Our favorite “couldn’t-have-lived-without” best homeschool curriculum choices:

#1 All About Reading

Oh my heart. I love this curriculum and this company so much. We have created many great memories with this curriculum. My twin girls not only learned to read but they have grown a love for reading!

It is the one curriculum that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to pretty much any new homeschooler that is teaching their child to read.

I started the girls with All About Reading Pre-Reading as preschoolers and we have worked through all the levels and at 8-years-old (almost 9) they will be finishing up level 4, the final level, this summer.

That end will be a bittersweet one for us. I am thrilled with how far the girls have come and with how much they have loved this program, but I will also be sad that we won’t be doing any more AAR lessons together. (Not to mention that I am a bit emotional that our homeschool journey is ending as they start school in the fall).

Now, just a quick note on my older son, Kellan. He was a self-taught reader at age 3 (no kidding). I did work through level 2 and part of level 3 with him at ages 5/6 but I decided to put it aside because he honestly didn’t need it. We had fun when we worked on the lessons but he whizzed through it so fast and knew the words already that I decided to focus that time on other areas.

In addition to the great experience we had with this curriculum, All About Learning Press is customer focused and very responsive to questions. They appreciate their customers and genuinely want those who purchase their product to be successful. I have nothing but great things to say about them.

>>You can read my complete All About Reading Level 2 Review here<<<

#2 All About Spelling

More curriculum from All About Learning Press! In addition to All About Reading we have also used their spelling program, All About Spelling.

All three of my children started this curriculum with Level 1 and my son made it about halfway through level 5.

I love that the children learn spelling rules and then the group of words in each step focuses on a rule or guideline. The spelling lists make sense rather than a random group of works.

The hands-on component with the tiles is also very helpful. And there is a lot of opportunity for review and practice.

And did I mention how much I love this company?

#3 Math U See

This curriculum worked really well for us for Math. All three of my children used this curriculum from the very beginning of their homeschool experience all the way to the end. My girls got through Gamma and my son got about halfway through Epsilon.

I appreciated the teaching videos and always watched them along with the kids. I also liked that there were worksheets that could be pulled out and written on. Now, I realize that there are differing opinions on this but I personally appreciated it even though those workbooks are a bit pricey.

Through the years I did look at other options for Math and even tried one out but preferred Math U See.

#4 Five In A Row

For anyone looking for a more relaxed approach, I would recommend Five in a Row for the early elementary years. It’s multi-subject and based on a different picture book each week.

I found there were many times when I didn’t feel like the suggestions in the manual were “enough” and so I would add more to it. That could be time consuming and not always as simple and easy as I’d like it to be.

However, there are many homeschoolers who use the Five in a Row curriculum very successfully.

Plus the great memories we made when using it were worth some of the extra work that I ended up putting into it.

For an example of how we used this curriculum you can check out The Bee Tree study we did.

#5 Sonlight

If you are looking for a complete curriculum with a schedule already mapped out for you then I’d definitely recommend Sonlight.

We used Sonlight for a couple of our homeschool years and there are some additional things I really appreciate about it.

The read aloud choices were excellent. We enjoyed almost all the books they included. And some of the book choices for the Bible and History portions were great as well. There were some we got a bit bored with that’s the great thing about homeschooling – you can make adjustments whenever you want or need to!

Receiving a big box of homeschool materials in the mail just can’t be beat. The times when we ordered new materials from Sonlight we all LOVED receiving that box of goodies from them!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Monica Lynn (@thelearnjourney)

If you decide to use Sonlight and place an order of $50 or more you can click on this link or manually enter this code to receive $5 off your first order: MB20401287.

So, there you have it. The best homeschool curriculum choices for us. I hope you found this information helpful as you make decisions for your own homeschool.

Best wishes to you and your family as you begin (or continue) your homeschool journey!

Questions? Please drop them in the comments below.