The Ultimate List of Quality Secular Homeschool Curriculum

Updated for 2022!

It’s a crazy world out there right now, and because of it, this secular homeschooling curriculum list I made a few years ago is getting a lot more attention.

We don’t homeschool anymore, but I still believe in the necessity of quality secular homeschool curriculum choices, partially for families who have been forced into a homeschooling situation against their well.

We have tried many of the programs on this list, and they are of high quality.

When my daughters were enrolled in the public school system, their teachers praised them for their well-rounded and advanced education.

Secular homeschoolers need secular homeschool curriculum. We've listed the good and removed the bad so you can select secular curriculum with confidence.

If you don’t want to homeschool using religious-based texts, then you need secular homeschool curriculum. We’ve listed the good and removed the bad so you can select secular curriculum from this list with confidence.

When I first started looking for secular homeschool curriculum a few years ago, it seemed almost impossible to find homeschool curriculum that wasn’t either overtly religious or published by Christian publishers.

Since we first started homeschooling, secular homeschool curriculum has become much better and easier to find. In fact, some traditional textbook publishers now offer their products directly to homeschoolers.

Although we don’t homeschool any more (our kids were put into school once they reached middle school), we still supplement with many of the items on this list.

We particaulrly like to supplement logic, reading, and science with secular homeschool curriculum, because our school district isn’t as strong in those areas.

Why Do Homeschoolers Choose Secular Homeschool Curriculum?

When I first started seeking non religious homeschool curriculum, I was surprised at how many Christian homeschoolers still used secular curriculum.

I found that it isn’t just atheist homeschoolers who are looking for secular curriculum. Families I talk to usually chose secular homeschool curriculum for the following reasons:

There is a Special Circumstance

If your child has any kind of special needs or learning differences, homeschooling may be the best choice.

And certainly right now, during our crazy health crisis, is a whole other reason to homeschool!

They are Not Religious

There are many homeschool families who homeschool for non-religious reasons. There is a growing body of homeschoolers who do not follow any sort of religion.

These families usually homeschool due to schedule issues, because they have children with special needs, or because they believe their children can get a better education at home.

Some homeschoolers may have been raised in a religious home and want to move away from a religion they see as harmful.

They Are Religious, but Not Evangelical Christian

Many homeschoolers are Islamic, Jehovah’s Witness, Jewish, Wiccan, Catholic, Mormon, or follow some other religion. As much of homeschool curriculum follows traditional Evangelical Christian beliefs, trying to use this form of curriculum when you follow another religion creates conflict.

They Want to Prepare Children for a Traditional School Environment

The traditional school system is secular. Religion is not taught in most public schools and universities. Some parents would rather keep religious instruction separate from other subjects in school.

I know of several Christian homeschoolers who teach Bible and religion separately from school and use all secular curriculum for this reason.

They Want to Focus on Academics

A lot of Christian homeschool curriculum is written from a Biblical perspective. Because of this, some of the information in some (not all) Christian homeschool curriculums is outdated or does not focus on true academics.

Reading passages might come from the Bible instead of introducing a child to a broad range of literature and non-fiction books.

Parents who are academics may find the content of some Christian curriculum lacking in important academic instruction

They Don’t Follow the Young Earth Theory

Far and away, the most common reason homeschoolers seek out secular curriculum is that they do not believe in the Young Earth science theory.

Young Earth theory states that the entire world is somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 years old, with the world just getting started with the first recorded stories from the Bible.

Current scientific theory refutes this claim offering evidence that the earth was formed somewhere around 4.5 billion years ago.

In fact, it was my search for a secular science curriculum that started our transformation into secular homeschoolers.

Where to Buy Secular Homeschool Curriculum

We used to buy our curriculum mainly from Amazon, or from the retailers themselves. Occasionally, we would also purchase from homeschool book fairs, but obviously those will be off the table for a while.

We also did a lot of purchasing through Rainbow Resource Center, but they do also sell religious homeschool curriculum, so you just have to be mindful at purchase.

The Best Secular Homeschool Curriculum

I haven’t tried all secular curriculum out there, but we have tried many of the curricula on this list.

Other curricula on this list come highly recommended by other secular homeschoolers.

Please note: this is not a comprehensive list. If you have a secular curriculum that you’ve tried and loved, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list!

Secular Homeschool Curriculum

If you don't want to homeschool using religious-based texts, then you need secular homeschool curriculum. We've listed the good and removed the bad so you can select a secular curriculum from this list with confidence.