Beehive LDS Schooling

Beehive LDS Schooling is a $15-per-month subscription curriculum spanning preschool through twelfth grade, published by a small LDS operation in Saint George, Utah. It is the low-cost self-directed companion to the same company's Ascent Advantage Academy live-class brand.

Last updated: 2026-04-24 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Literature-based / traditional / video and PDF
Worldview	LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; restoration doctrine integrated throughout)
Grades	Preschool through 12
Formats	Digital video, PDF printable, online portal
Cost tier	Budget (among the lowest-priced complete curricula in the homeschool market)
Parent intensity	4
ESA-common	No
Accredited	No
Established	2019
Website	ldsschooling.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	3	Grade-level conventional content with gospel integration; honors track links to AP and CLEP rather than proprietary rigor
Ease of teaching	3	Video plus PDF shifts some load off the parent, but the parent still drives the day
Content quality	3	Functional, plain, utilitarian; not a polished commercial production
Flexibility	4	Subscription model allows family to drop in and out and change subjects mid-year
Value for money	5	At $15/month for the whole household, this is among the least expensive complete curricula in the market
Worldview scope	1	Narrow by design, built explicitly for LDS families; the Restored Gospel is woven throughout
Visual/design	2	Amateur production values; video and document design is plain
Support resources	3	Parent training mini-courses included; small-operation customer service rather than a national help desk

Who the publisher is

Beehive LDS Schooling, LLC is a small curriculum operation founded by Craig and Mary Kessler in Saint George, Utah and registered as a Utah limited-liability company. The Kesslers describe themselves as co-founders and directors of the business, and the company also operates a retail academy brand, Ascent Advantage Academy, out of the same Saint George office. Per the publisher's public pricing page, the Beehive subscription spans preschool (described internally as "0-Preschool," covering ages 0-2 and 2-3 and 3-4 year-old resources) through twelfth grade, including honors-level content and link-outs to AP and CLEP preparation resources.

The Kesslers frame the curriculum around what they call the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is, the Latter-day Saint theological framework that treats the Bible as sacred scripture alongside the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Gospel principles are woven into every subject rather than compartmentalized into a religion block: history reads through an LDS lens that foregrounds Book of Mormon narrative and LDS pioneer history; literature selections emphasize faith-affirming texts; and the company's public materials reference what the Kesslers describe as "Captain Moroni style patriotism", a reference to a Book of Mormon military figure whose defense of religious and civil liberty is a common LDS touchstone in civics and history teaching.

Scale is small. Unlike The Good and the Beautiful (which is LDS-founded but widely used across broader Christian homeschool markets), Beehive LDS Schooling is built explicitly for LDS families and does not market itself outside that audience. The subscription model, $15 per month for access to the full K-12 library for an entire household, is designed, per the Kesslers' stated mission, so that families of limited means can access the full curriculum. At that price point, the company cannot fund the production values of a The Good and the Beautiful or an Abeka; what the Kesslers have built is a working low-cost LDS option that prioritizes accessibility over polish.

The core pedagogy

The pedagogical approach is a combination of video instruction, PDF printable worksheets and reading materials, and a literature-based spine. At the preschool and early-elementary levels, the program leans on read-alouds, picture-book selections, and basic phonics worksheets. From roughly third grade through eighth grade, the video content becomes more substantive, the Kesslers film their own instructional videos covering the week's content, and students work through PDF workbooks for practice and review. High school is largely text-based and self-directed, with the honors track pointing students to external AP and CLEP materials for rigorous college-credit preparation.

Scope and sequence is conventional in its academic shape. Reading, writing, math, history, science, and electives are all present at each grade band. What differs from a secular or mainstream Christian curriculum is how the gospel content is integrated: scripture study is a daily block; history lessons include Book of Mormon chronology alongside Old World chronology; and literature selections include LDS-authored texts alongside classic children's literature. The company does not publish a detailed science posture in its public materials, and families concerned about the program's science treatment should request sample lessons before committing.

Signature mechanics: (1) Flat-rate family subscription, $15 per month for the entire household, regardless of number of students, with cancel-anytime flexibility. (2) Video-plus-PDF format, every subject ships as both filmed instruction and printable workbook pages, so families can shift between modes per subject. (3) Parent training mini-courses included, the subscription bundles short teaching-methods courses for parents, including one titled "Teaching in the Savior's Way," framed in LDS teaching-vocation language. (4) Household rather than per-student pricing, a family with five children pays the same as a family with one, which is unusual in the subscription-curriculum market.

A day in the life

A fifth-grader using the Beehive subscription starts the morning with a 15-minute scripture-study block, the parent leads a passage from the standard works (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price), aligned with the week's reading plan in the LDS Come Follow Me study guide. From about 8:45 to 9:30, the student watches the week's video math lesson on the family's laptop (the Kesslers film these directly; they are plain but substantive), then completes the accompanying PDF workbook pages with the parent checking in as needed. Language arts follows, 45 minutes of reading from the assigned literature selection with a short writing prompt. History and science alternate in a 30-40 minute block mid-morning. The afternoon is lighter: a fine-arts or music activity, a handicraft block, and independent reading.

Total instructional time at the elementary level runs three and a half to four hours, with the parent meaningfully present throughout but not delivering original instruction, the video and workbook do that. At the high school level, the parent's role drops to checking completed work, proctoring weekly quizzes, and discussing readings; the student is largely self-directed.

What they do exceptionally well

Cost relative to everything else in the market. At $15 per month for the entire household, Beehive LDS Schooling is functionally an order of magnitude cheaper than most complete curricula. A family of four paying $180 annually for the full K-12 catalog is paying less than most families spend on a single math program elsewhere. For LDS families in financial constraint, this is the primary reason to look at the program.

Household-level pricing. The flat-rate family subscription means a family with six children pays the same as a family with one. This is genuinely unusual. It matters most for large LDS families, which is a substantial portion of the target audience.

Explicit integration of LDS scripture and doctrine. The program doesn't treat the LDS scriptures as supplementary; they are central to the daily rhythm. For a family that wants every subject oriented around the Restored Gospel rather than bolted-on, the program delivers what it advertises.

Parent training bundled in. Mini-courses for parents, teaching methodology, gospel-centered instruction, specific subject coaching, are included with the subscription. A family new to homeschooling gets support without buying a separate program.

What they do poorly

Production values. At the subscription price point, the Kesslers cannot produce video on par with a commercial operation. Video quality, document design, and portal interface are functional but plain. Families that place substantial weight on visual polish should look elsewhere. The Good and the Beautiful at a higher price point is the obvious LDS-friendly comparison.

Thin public documentation of scope and sequence. The website advertises the program's existence more clearly than it documents what is actually taught at each grade. Families evaluating the program should request sample lessons in the specific grades and subjects they plan to use.

Science posture not publicly stated. The program's position on evolution, the age of the earth, and related science content is not clearly articulated in public materials. LDS theological tradition is more varied on these questions than evangelical Christian tradition; families should confirm the program's posture matches their family's before committing.

No accreditation or transcript support. The program is not accredited. For high school students applying to selective out-of-state colleges, the lack of a nationally-recognized accredited transcript is a real constraint; families planning college application should pair this curriculum with an external credentialing pathway.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Beehive LDS Schooling if: you are an LDS family and cost is a real constraint; you have multiple children and want flat-rate household pricing; you value explicit gospel integration over production polish; you are willing to drive the day from a video and workbook rather than live instruction; you can pair the curriculum with an outside accreditation path if your high-schooler needs one.

• Skip Beehive LDS Schooling if: you are not LDS (the gospel integration is pervasive, not optional); you need a polished, heavily-designed curriculum with professional-grade video production; you need accreditation and a credentialed transcript; you want live-class support (consider the sister brand Ascent Advantage Academy instead); your high schooler needs proprietary college-prep courses rather than external AP/CLEP link-outs.

Cost honest assessment

Beehive LDS Schooling's current subscription price is $15 per month for the entire household per the publisher's public pricing as of April 2026, with the full K-12 catalog included. Annual cost: $180 for the family, regardless of student count. Add-ons or live-class services are sold through the sister brand Ascent Advantage Academy at separate pricing.

For comparison: The Good and the Beautiful runs $200-$400 per grade-level bundle per child per year, which for a family of three students will run around $900-$1,500. American Heritage School Worldwide's accredited distance program runs into thousands per student per year. A simple Abeka parent kit for one grade exceeds Beehive's entire annual household cost. The trade-off families are making at the $15-per-month price point is production polish, scope-and-sequence depth, and institutional backing, not academic subject matter, which is reasonably standard.

An LDS family of four children using Beehive LDS Schooling exclusively at all grade levels is looking at $180 per year total. An LDS family that wants live-class support for a middle-schooler might combine Beehive's subscription ($180) with one or two live courses through Ascent Advantage Academy, landing in the $1,500-$3,000 range annually, still well below a polished commercial alternative.

ESA eligibility notes

Beehive LDS Schooling is not commonly listed as an approved vendor on state ESA marketplaces as of April 2026. The subscription model and household-level pricing are not well-matched to ESA vendor-reimbursement workflows, which typically expect per-student itemized purchases. Utah families can inquire whether Utah Fits All Scholarship permits subscription-based curriculum reimbursement; families in other ESA states should verify eligibility directly with their state program administrator before assuming the subscription qualifies. Families in states that restrict ESA funds to accredited vendors will not be able to use those funds for Beehive LDS Schooling, since the program is not accredited.

Alternatives

• The Good and the Beautiful, a family would pick TGTB over Beehive LDS Schooling for a substantially more polished, visually designed curriculum with national scale and better production values, at a meaningfully higher price point, with gospel content that is present but less doctrinally explicit than Beehive's Restoration framing.
• American Heritage School Worldwide, a family would pick AHS Worldwide over Beehive for an accredited LDS distance-learning academy with formal transcripts and live-instructor support, especially for high school years where accreditation matters for college application.
• Ascent Advantage Academy, a family would pick the sister brand Ascent Advantage over Beehive when live-class instruction matters more than household pricing; the two are run by the same company and share curriculum, but the live-class academy costs substantially more per year.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed Beehive LDS Schooling's public website at ldsschooling.com, cross-referenced the Ascent Advantage Academy sister brand at ascentadvantageacademy.com, and verified the corporate relationship through the Yellow Pages DBA listing and the BBB profile. Pricing, subscription terms, and curriculum scope verified on the publisher's public pricing page. Prices and program details verified April 2026.