We’ve got a lot of great homeschooling resources to cover today! This article is going to cover the 15 absolute best of the best online homeschool programs and resources of 2024. I’m going to share my top picks for the best online math and reading programs, the best online homeschooling programs, the best homeschool planning tools, and so much more!
It’s not going to be easy to choose just one for each category, but I’m going to try!
Contains Affiliate Links.
Best Online Learn to Read Program
First up let’s talk about online learn to read programs. There are a lot of choices out there, including ABC Mouse, Reading Eggs, and a bunch of lesser known programs to choose from. But my favorite overall is Hooked on Phonics. This program has everything you need to help your kids learn to read, from the beginning letter sounds all the way through 2nd grade reading skills.
Get your first month of Hooked on Phonics for just $1You can get the Hooked on Phonics app for just $1 for your first month, and it includes a practice pack that is sent to you in the mail so your child can get some hands on practice. Your subscription also includes 2 additional programs, Hooked on Spelling and Hooked on Math, which are nice to have.
I like Hooked on Phonics because it’s simple and easy to follow without a lot of extra fluff that you don’t need. I also like that it focuses on phonics which is a really important learning to read skill. The lessons are fun for kids, and it’s affordable at only $16.98 a month after your first month. If you’re looking for an online homeschool program to teach phonics and reading, this is a great choice.
Best Online Language Arts Program for Homeschool
I’ve covered a lot of reading and language arts programs, but by far my favorite, and the one we’ve used this year for my 9 year old is Essentials in Writing. This is a complete online homeschool program for writing for kids in 1st through 12th grade, that includes video lessons to teach the curriculum and physical worksheets which you can have shipped or just print off at home.
This program is completely open and go, and will teach your kids all the important writing skills including parts of speech, sentence structure, letter writing, essay writing, and so much more.
The Essentials in Writing program is sold by grade level, and you get to choose whether you want the digital or print copy of the workbook. The cost is around $100 per grade depending on which version you choose, which I think is a great value for what you get.
You can also try a few lessons for free in up to 4 different levels to make sure this is something you want before you buy it. If you’re looking for the best homeschool writing curriculum out there, this is the one!
Best Group Communication App
Next let’s talk about group communication apps. What do you use to stay connected to your homeschool community and up to date on all the events and activities? Well if you’re not already using BAND, I think you should! BAND is a free app that takes care of all your group communication needs. It eliminates the need for group texts or emails, and keeps everything in one place.
Let’s say you have a homeschool co op and you want to create a BAND group. Just download the free app and create your group. You can keep it totally private and then just share the link to your BAND group with only those people who you want to join. Once everyone has the app, you can use it to create posts such as when you’re looking for curriculum recommendations, or create events on a shared calendar, like an upcoming summer movie night. You can request RSVPS and set event reminders, and even create event sign up sheets.
BAND also allows you to create group chats and upload pictures and documents. Having everything in one place like this is SO helpful. You’ll never want to be on a group text again!
I don’t know about you, but I am so busy between homeschooling 3 kids and running my website and YouTube channel. I need things to be really organized, and I cannot stand the way some of our groups do it. My daughters nature class uses a group text and it is so hard to keep up, things often get missed, it’s just all over the place. And some use Facebook which has better features but I often miss notifications because I have to scroll through the Facebook recommendations and posts from my friends and it’s just all too busy. BAND is so much better.
Best Online Homeschool Math Program for Younger Kids
Next let’s talk about math. I’ve got two programs to share here, one for the younger kids and one for the older ones. For the younger kids, my favorite online math program is eSingapore Math. This is a full online math program for kids in kindergarten through 5th grade that uses the popular Singapore math method. You can use this program on its own or as a supplement, and you can align it to several popular Singapore math curriculums. Or you can just use the adaptive learning program to get the most out of it.
I really like the way the lessons on this program are set up. The videos are simple and straightforward and the whole program is very easy to follow. You can get a 5 day free trial of this homeschool math program so you can see how it all works, and after that its just $99 a year for the adaptive learning program.
Best Online Homeschool Math Program for Older Kids
For older kids, the favorite online math program of homeschool families seems to be Teaching Textbooks. I recently did a review of this program on my YouTube channel, and I found it to be very thorough and easy to follow. It’s another open and go program that students can just sign on and complete without any help from parents, which is a great thing if math isn’t your strong suit.
The Teaching Textbooks program offers a complete curriculum for grade 3 through pre calculus, and it can be done entirely on a computer or other device. You can get a free trial of the first 15 lessons in any grade level, and after that the program is priced between $45 and $75 depending on the course.
The lessons are interactive and not too long, and there are a lot of practice problems, so this is great for homeschool students that need a lot of practice to make sure they understand a new concept. You also have the ability to print off the eBook if you learn better with a physical textbook, although you’ll need to record your answers online to keep track of your grades.
Best Homeschool Study and Test Prep Program
If you’re looking for an online study tool for your homeschool kids, either to help them brush up on a certain subject, or to help prepare for an exam like the SAT, my top pick is Study.com. This website has over 30,000 video lessons in all sorts of subjects, and the lessons are designed to be able to be completed in one sitting, which helps with learning on the go as well as retaining information.
Study.com has a complete online homeschooling program for grades 3 through 12, and if you sign up for a subscription you’ll have access to that too. But I really like it for the test prep courses. Your child can use it to prepare for the ACT, SAT and AP exams, by taking a full course with over 100 video lessons and a practice test. If your homeschool child is planning to get their GED, they have GED prep courses too.
There are also several state exam prep courses for K-12 such as California, Florida, Pennsylvania and virigina. And there’s no limit to how many different courses you can take at once. The subscription plans are monthly, so you could sign up, prepare for your test, and then cancel when you’re done. Their basic membership is just $29.99 a month, and you can save 25% off if you use my link.
Best Assessment Tool for Closing Learning Gaps
If you want to assess your homeschoolers level in math and reading, the best assessment tool out there is the real time diagnostic tool from IXL. Just have your child step into the arena and start answering questions, and you’ll be able to determine their level in several different math and language arts skills. Then IXL will suggest specific skills to practice to help close any learning gaps, which is really neat. Just have your child do the diagnostic arena periodically so you can have an accurate assessment of how they’re currently performing in each subject.
If you want to use this just to diagnose math and language arts, it’s $15 a month. Or you can choose just math or just language arts for $9.95. Normally IXL does not offer a free trial, but I have a link for you for a 7 day free trial, so be sure to use that link if you want to test this out for yourself. In fact, I suggest you use that link and spend the week having your child do the diagnostic arena so you can get an idea of their level, even if you don’t end up sticking with the program.
Best Online Homeschool Planner
Every homeschool mom has their own way of staying organized, but I don’t know how I ever lived without an online homeschool planner. Being able to keep all my courses and lessons organized and move everything around on the calendar whenever I want to has been so so helpful to me.
I tried a lot of planners when I was doing research for my article on homeschool planning apps, but my favorite was definitely Homeschool Panda. I’ve been using it ever since and I honestly would never go back to any other method.
What I really like about having this online planner is the flexibility. I don’t know about you, but we have to rearrange things a lot. It’s great that I can just drag and drop a lesson to a different day whenever we need to move things around, or I can add in a day off and have all the lessons moved to another day. I also love the satisfaction of checking things off when we’re done. And it helps to have something to look back on, or to plan ahead. It’s also only $5 a month, so it’s really affordable to me.
Best Online Homeschooling Program – Secular
People ask me all the time what is my overall favorite online homeschooling program, and I’m usually torn between a few, but for this post I absolutely have to pick, right? So I broke it up between secular and Christian programs. So I’ll start with secular. And this is really hard, but if I have to absolutely pick one, I’m going with Time 4 Learning. It’s thorough, it’s affordable, and it gives you a ton of customization options so you can really set up your child’s lessons anyway you like.
You can choose different grade levels for different subjects, pick which subjects your child should do on what days, remove quizzes and tests if you want, add in holidays and breaks, and so much more. And I think the curriculum is very good, and the lessons are also really great. They usually start with a video but the videos are usually more interactive than some other programs, so students will answer questions during the lesson, and then they will have practice exercises and quizzes to check for understanding of the lesson. You could use this for PreK all the way through high school, and it’s much cheaper than an online school.
I have several videos on this program on my YouTube channel that you can check out if you want to see this program in depth. And if you want to save some money when you sign up, use this link and code “REFERME” to save $10.
Best Online Homeschooling Program – Christian
If you’re looking for an online homeschooling program but you want it to be Christian, the best program in my opinion is Monarch. This is a complete online homeschooling program for grades 3 through 12 from Alpha Omega Publications which is the company that creates the popular homeschooling curriculums Lifepac and Horizons.
Monarch has all the same customization options that you’d find in a secular program like Time 4 Learning. You can set it up however you want, with different grade levels for each subject, and you can set up your schedule any way you like. Students will log on and complete their work online, and Monarch will do 85% of the grading.
You can get a 30 day free trial of this program with no credit card required, which I always appreciate. After that, it’s $39.95 a month, or you can save by purchasing a year up front.
Best Online Homeschooling Program for Younger Kids
If you have kids in PreK through 2nd grade and are looking for an online program for math, reading, plus science and social studies, the best program out there in my opinion is Homeschool+. This is an online homeschooling program from the creators of ABC mouse, and it’s a really good program. It’s designed to teach kids how to read, and will also help them master foundational math concepts.
Just like the other online homeschooling programs I mentioned, Homeschool+ has all those customization options so you can set it all up however is best for your child.
Homeschool+ offers a 10 day free trial, and after that it’s $39.99 a month, which is a little on the expensive side for a homeschool curriculum for this age range. But if it can help your kids learn to read and they really like it, then its definitely worth the money. And I think they’ll like this best as far as online homeschooling programs for the younger aged kids.
Best Accredited Online School – Christian
If you’re looking for an accredited online Christian school, I’d also go with the one from AOP, Ignite Christian Academy. This is going to use a very similar curriculum to Monarch, but you’ll get the added benefit of being enrolled in an accredited school, which will include things like getting a transcript and diploma upon graduation. For high school, they also offer dual enrollment, so high school students can graduate with an associates degree already completed.
The cost for an online school will always be more than a homeschooling program, but Ignite Christian Academy is more affordable than some of the other options. Pricing is based on grade level, but for high school it will cost $349 a month. Depending on where you live, you might be able to save money on the tuition through scholarships, vouchers or some other options.
Best Accredited Online School – Secular
For a secular online school, I’m really liking Oak Meadow. Many homeschool families use the Oak Meadow curriculum and it’s a great curriculum, but did you know they offer a distance learning school? So you get the benefit of their curriculum, but you also get the peace of mind of having your child enrolled in an accredited school, with teacher support, and a high school transcript and diploma.
Tuition to the Oak Meadow distance learning school includes all of the course material, which will include a mix of print and digital curriculum. Tuition varies based on grade level, and for high school the tuition is by course. It’s a bit pricey, but it really is a great curriculum and if you aren’t comfortable using it yourself, I think this is a really great option for an online school that’s just more hands on than most of the other programs.
Best Kids Learning App
There are a lot of kids learning apps out there, but I have to say my favorite is Lingo Kids. Every time I think my twins are bored of it and I cancel it to save some money, they’re asking for it again and I have to reactivate my account. It’s kid safe and educational but it still feels like a game.
I’m not big on screen time for the little ones, but if they’re going to spend a bit of time on their tablet, like when I have to film a video, then I want it to be something educational but also something that they’re not going to get bored of in 5 minutes and come asking me to find them a different app. Lingo kids has been the only one that they actually like doing and will keep doing for more than a few minutes.
This app offers a 7 day free trial, and after that it’s $13.49 a month if you pay monthly, which is a little expensive for a kids app but in my opinion this one is totally worth it. There are so many different learning activities including math, reading, science, writing, just so much. And you can feel safe to let your little ones use this without supervision because it has no ads and is kid safe certified.
Best Free Online Homeschool Resource
So I’ve reviewed a lot of free online homeschooling resources on my channel, and there really are a lot of great options out there, but overall I think the best free curriculum is Khan Academy. Especially for math. They have a complete online math curriculum for PreK all the way through high school and even some college level math courses like differential equations and linear algebra. In addition to math, they also have middle school and high school level science courses, history, reading and language arts, life skills, and a bunch more things.
You can create a free account on Khan Academy so you can track your child’s progress, and all the courses work on a mastery points system, so you’ll be able to tell when your child has mastered a topic. They also have a really cool AI tutor called Khanmigo that you can add for only $4 a month.
So that’s my best of the best list for this year. Hopefully you got some ideas of things you can try in your homeschool. As always, if you have any questions on anything that we talked about today, let me know in the comments and I’ll be happy to help!
