Sensational Secular Homeschooling

Today we have the queen of all things secular homeschooling on the show! Ashley from The Homeschool Resource Room is here to talk about her journey. She is dropping gems this entire episode.

Ashley talks about the struggles her family faced early on in finding quality resources for secular homeschooling and finding a group to join. The result? She is a secular homeschool ninja and currently produces the most comprehensive guide to secular homeschooling curriculum.

She’s sharing her experience as a homeschooling mom of 3. If you’re getting started homeschooling or making some changes this episode is for you.

Take a listen

You can also find us on Apple Podcasts.

Here’s what we talk about.

The decision making process for homeschooling
Choosing to move between school and homeschooling
The difficulties of being a secular homeschooler
Some words of wisdom for new homeschoolers.

We also get into her superpower which is finding great secular curriculum options.

What is secular homeschooling?

If you weren’t familiar with secular homeschooling before this episode I want to give you a little background.

It might surprise you to find out secular homeschooling has a broad and varied definition. If you’ve read The Learning Hypothesis very long you know that I consider us secular homeschoolers.

We don’t homeschool for religious reasons and seek out curriculum that is not from a single worldview. This has nothing to do with our family’s religious beliefs we just prefer to keep academics and questions of faith separate.

The secular community is as varied as the religious homeschool community. Some secular homeschoolers are very adaptable and try to use what works and make tweaks as necessary (I would say we fall into that).

While others are very adamant about only purchasing from 100% secular curricula (like Ashley’s family). Either is fine and with the explosion of homeschooling we are seeing new and improved options hitting the market.

I encourage you to find your own unique approach to education and what works best for your family. I know that each family has their own reasons for homeschooling.

I’ve been homeschooling for 10+ years and we’ve used very good curriculum from religious curriculum companies. I can make adjustments and comments to many curricula so that I find them acceptable.

There are exceptions to this in two specific areas:

social studies/ history
science

In these areas, I research heavily to make sure that I’m choosing sources that are not written from a perspective that inherently alters the content.

Right now our top suggestions for secular history are:

History Odyssey

Both of these curricula focus on spines that view history through an inclusive lens. The history includes native people and people of color.

Blossom and Root

Woke Homeschooling

These spines include:

The paperback for this one is out of print, but you can use the Kindle App on your computer or tablet.

Kindle

Secular Science

Secular science options (especially for upper grades) are limited. You will find more neutral science options. Neutral science programs downplay or leave out evolution, but don’t present from a creationist worldview. These are not ideal in life and earth sciences, but there are solid options for physical sciences.

Top Secular Science Curriculum:

Study.com

Real Science Odyssey

Using Public School Texts

Neutral Science Curriculum:

BookShark Science

Elemental Science

Suddenly Seeking Homeschooling Toolkit

If you are new to homeschooling or what you’ve been using hasn’t been working then you need to check out our toolkit of resources to help you succeed in your homeschool journey.