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Curriculum Review
- Weekly DispatchJun 15, 2026
The K-3 science landscape: kit-driven, literature-based, and worldview-explicit programs, and the question each one answers
Eight elementary science programs across three families that take three different positions on what early science is. Mystery Science and Generation Genius on video, BookShark and Sassafras through literature, Apologia and Berean Builders from an explicit Christian frame, with REAL Science Odyssey and the Charlotte Mason nature-study tradition between them. Plus the Texas launch timeline, the Tennessee award amount, and the dispatch.
Issue 07 covered the K-3 art and music landscape and made the point that art programs are not interchangeable because they answer different questions. Science in the K-3 band has the same structure, with higher stakes, because more families treat science as a subject the child must not fall behind in. The programs split into three families. The kit-driven and video courses, led by Mystery Science and Generation Genius, treat early science as engagement and exposure delivered on a low-prep format. The literature-based traditions, BookShark and Sassafras Science, treat it as reading and narration in the same way the family's history and reading already work. The worldview-explicit programs, Apologia's Exploring Creation series and Berean Builders on the Christian side, make the frame the point rather than a footnote. REAL Science Odyssey sits as the secular hands-on option that is neither video nor literature, and the Charlotte Mason nature-study tradition, through Exploring Nature With Children and Sabbath Mood Homeschool, defers formal science entirely in favor of observation. Each is graded against the same rubric Every Homeschool uses, with the same caveat as the art issue: the rubric total is the wrong number to choose on, because the programs are built for different jobs. Plus the Texas ESA launch timeline, the Tennessee award amount, the Arizona fraud-tracking move, and the weekly policy dispatch.
Curriculum Review·Science Curriculum·Mystery Science·Generation Genius·Apologia·Bookshark - Weekly DispatchJun 8, 2026
The K-3 art and music landscape: Meet the Masters, Atelier, Charlotte Mason picture study, and Hoffman Academy for piano
Three art programs graded on the same rubric, plus the one piano program that anchors the music side. What a once-a-month subscription, a self-paced studio course, and a free narration tradition each do well, and where Hoffman Academy fits for families adding music. Plus the Texas final ESA rules, the Tennessee universal launch, and the dispatch.
Issue 06 covered Math-U-See versus Saxon Math K-3, the two heritage scripted math programs. Issue 07 turns to the corner of the K-3 stack that families add last and ask about least confidently: art and music. The art conversation runs through three programs that take three different positions on what elementary art instruction is for. Meet the Masters treats it as a once-a-month art-history-plus-project subscription. Atelier treats it as a sequential, self-paced studio course in technique. The Charlotte Mason picture-study tradition, available free through AmblesideOnline, treats it as observation and narration rather than production at all. The three are graded on the rubric Every Homeschool uses, with the caveat that they are not strictly interchangeable because they answer different questions. The music side is anchored by Hoffman Academy, the online piano program with a free tier and a paid premium track, covered on its own terms rather than forced onto the art rubric. Plus the Texas Comptroller's final ESA rules, the Tennessee universal ESA program, and the weekly policy dispatch.
Curriculum Review·Art Curriculum·Music Curriculum·Meet The Masters·Atelier·Charlotte Mason - Weekly DispatchJun 1, 2026
Math-U-See vs. Saxon Math K-3, and the Texas ESA first-wave enrollment numbers
Two heritage homeschool math programs, graded on the same rubric. Plus the Texas Comptroller's first-wave enrollment report for SB 2 ESA, the South Carolina ESA reauthorization vote, and the dispatch.
Issue 03 covered Singapore Math Dimensions versus RightStart Mathematics, the two strongest mastery-with-conceptual-depth programs. Issue 05 covered All About Reading versus Logic of English Foundations, the two strongest phonics programs. Issue 06 covers the two heritage scripted math programs that elementary homeschool families have used for two decades: Math-U-See from Demme Learning and Saxon Math K through 3 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Both spiral, both scripted, both available used at scale. Both produce strong arithmetic outcomes on the standardized-test metrics that homeschool co-ops report. They are not interchangeable, and the differences are bigger than the front cover suggests. Plus: the Texas Comptroller's first-wave SB 2 enrollment report covering March through May 2026, the South Carolina ESA reauthorization Senate vote, and the weekly policy dispatch.
Curriculum Review·Math U See·Saxon Math·Elementary Math·K 3 Math·Texas - Weekly DispatchMay 25, 2026
All About Reading vs. Logic of English, and the Tennessee ESA is signed
The two strongest scripted phonics programs, graded on the same rubric. Plus Governor Lee's signature on SB 0503, the ALEKS-versus-Khan Academy adaptive-math read, and the Step Up third-wave window.
Issue 04 paired Brave Writer and the Institute for Excellence in Writing on the same rubric and reported the Tennessee SB 0503 House outcome. Issue 05 covers the elementary reading-and-phonics decision tree: All About Reading from All About Learning Press against Logic of English Foundations, graded across the rubric's eight criteria. Plus Governor Lee's signature on SB 0503 and the implementation timeline; a head-to-head of ALEKS and Khan Academy for self-paced math, especially in grades 4 through 8; the Florida Step Up third-wave waitlist read; and the dispatch.
Curriculum Review·All About Reading·Logic Of English·Phonics·Tennessee·ESA - Weekly DispatchMay 18, 2026
Brave Writer vs. IEW, and the Tennessee ESA lands on the governor's desk
The two strongest elementary-to-middle writing programs, graded against the same rubric. Plus the Tennessee SB 0503 House outcome, the multi-tool AI-tutor read for homeschool families, and the Florida second-wave waitlist clearance.
Issue 03 paired Singapore Math Dimensions and RightStart on the same rubric. Issue 04 does the same for the two most-discussed writing programs in the homeschool market. Brave Writer and the Institute for Excellence in Writing, across grades 3 to 8. Plus: the Tennessee SB 0503 House floor vote outcome and the path to Governor Lee's desk; a multi-tool comparison of the free-tier AI tutoring options homeschool families are actually using (Khanmigo, MagicSchool, Curipod); the second wave of Florida Step Up waitlist clearances; and the dispatch.
Curriculum Review·Brave Writer·Iew·Writing Curriculum·Tennessee·ESA - Weekly DispatchMay 11, 2026
Singapore Math Dimensions vs. RightStart Mathematics
Plus Tennessee's ESA floor vote, the Khanmigo free-tier early returns, and what the Florida waitlist movement actually means.
The promised second curriculum review: Singapore Math Dimensions K-5 against RightStart Mathematics Levels A-E, the two most-used conceptually rigorous elementary math programs. Tennessee SB 0503 cleared the floor and the bill moves to Governor Lee. Two weeks of Khanmigo free-tier data from homeschool families. Florida's Step Up waitlist begins moving, what it means and what it doesn't.
Curriculum Review·Singapore Math·Rightstart Mathematics·Math Curriculum·Tennessee·ESA - Weekly DispatchMay 4, 2026
TGTB Level 3 vs. Logic of English Foundations
Plus Florida's Step Up Scholarship enrollment cap, the Khanmigo-for-homeschool pilot, and a one-page guide to picking math curriculum.
The promised first full curriculum review: The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts Level 3 against Logic of English Foundations Level D. Florida's Step Up for Students program hits its statutory enrollment cap for the first time. Khan Academy quietly opens Khanmigo to homeschool families. A one-page decision tree for choosing elementary math curriculum.
Curriculum Review·Good And Beautiful·Logic Of English·Language Arts·Florida·Step Up