How I Spend $0 on Curriculum Most Months
Last month I spent exactly $0 on curriculum. The month before that: $0. The month before that: also $0.
This isn't a flex. It's just what happens when you combine free AI tools with a library card and stop assuming that good education requires expensive boxed curriculum.
Our first year of homeschooling, I spent over $800 on curriculum. Workbooks my kids barely touched. A science kit we opened once. A history program that put everyone to sleep. I felt like I needed to buy things to prove I was doing this right.
I was wrong. Here is exactly what I use now, what it costs, and how you can copy this setup today.
The Free Stack That Runs Our Homeschool
AI for Lesson Planning and Worksheets
I use Claude (free at claude.ai) for almost everything that used to cost money: lesson plans, custom worksheets, writing prompts, science experiment ideas, history units, and reading comprehension questions tailored to whatever book my kids are reading that week.
The free tier is plenty for homeschool planning. I rarely hit the limit, and when I do, I just wait a few hours. I wrote more about how I use it in my AI curriculum builder guide.
Here is an example. Instead of buying a $40 writing curriculum, I paste this into Claude:
That gives me a full week of writing instruction in about 30 seconds. Customized to my kid's interests. No workbook could do that.
Khan Academy (Free)
Math and science with video lessons, practice exercises, and mastery tracking from counting through calculus. My kids do this independently every morning while I drink my coffee. I check their progress dashboards once a week.
You can add Khanmigo ($44/year) for AI tutoring that guides without giving answers. It's the one paid thing I recommend, but the core platform is completely free and covers K-12 math thoroughly.
Libby App + Your Library Card (Free)
This is the most underrated homeschool tool in existence. With a free library card, you get access to thousands of ebooks and audiobooks through the Libby app. My kids have read hundreds of books this way without us spending a dollar.
But the library card does more than books. Ours gets us free museum passes, free access to online databases, free DVD rentals, and free passes to the state parks. Check what your local library offers. You will probably be surprised.
ChatGPT (Free)
I use ChatGPT differently than Claude. Its voice mode is perfect for car ride learning games. I also use its image generation to create custom illustrations for lessons, like historical scene recreations or science diagrams. My kids think it's magic. I think it saves me from searching stock photo sites for 45 minutes.
Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool (Free)
A complete, free, online homeschool curriculum for every grade. I don't use it as our primary curriculum, but it's an excellent backup when I need a structured lesson plan fast. The creator, Lee Giles, built it for her own family and made it free for everyone. If you want a full curriculum without spending anything, start here.
YouTube (Curated, Free)
CrashCourse for history. 3Blue1Brown for math concepts. National Geographic for geography. SciShow Kids for elementary science. The key word is "curated." I make playlists ahead of time. My kids never browse YouTube unsupervised. That's not education, that's a rabbit hole. For more on managing screens, see my screen time balance guide.
Smithsonian Learning Lab (Free)
Thousands of primary sources, interactive activities, and museum collections online. When we study the American Revolution, I pull real documents and artifacts from here. When we study space, I use their NASA collaboration resources. It makes history feel real instead of flat.
What I Actually Pay For
I'm not completely free. Here's my honest monthly spend:
- Khanmigo: $44/year ($3.67/month). Worth it for the AI tutoring, but optional.
- Physical supplies: Art materials, printer ink, printer paper. Maybe $20-30/month.
- The occasional book: $10-15, but I always check Libby and the library first.
- Field trips: Variable. Some months $0, some months $50 for a special exhibit or state park trip.
Total: roughly $30-50 per month on average. Compare that to the $200-400/month many homeschool families spend on boxed curriculum, online programs, and subscription services. Or the $800 I wasted our first year.
The AI Prompt That Replaced My Curriculum Budget
Here's my secret. Every Sunday night, I spend about 20 minutes generating the entire week's lesson plans. I open Claude and give it one detailed prompt for each subject, then print everything out. My total Sunday prep time went from 3+ hours of research and planning to under 30 minutes of AI prompting and printing.
If you want to learn how to build these prompts from scratch, I have a whole guide on 50 AI prompts for homeschool that covers every subject and age group.
When Free Isn't Enough
I'll be honest. Free tools have limits.
If your child needs structured, adaptive math beyond Khan Academy, Math Academy ($49/month) is excellent. The adaptive algorithm is genuinely impressive and worth the money for kids who need that level of individualized instruction.
If your child has special learning needs, you may need specialized software or therapist involvement that costs real money. Free tools are great supplements, but they can't replace professional support when it's needed.
And if you're in a state with ESA funds (Education Savings Accounts), those can cover everything, including tools that aren't free. Check our Texas ESA Guide, Florida ESA Guide, or Arizona ESA Guide to see if you qualify.
Do This Today
If you're spending money on curriculum and feeling the pinch, here's what I'd do this week:
- Today: Get a library card if you don't have one. Download the Libby app. Browse what's available.
- Tomorrow: Sign your kids up for Khan Academy. Let them start where they are, not where you think they should be.
- This weekend: Open Claude or ChatGPT and generate next week's lesson plans. Even a rough version will save you hours.
- Next week: Cancel one paid subscription you're not fully using. Put that money toward art supplies or a field trip instead.
The best curriculum is the one your kid actually engages with. And in my experience, a custom AI-generated lesson about dolphins beats a generic workbook page about mammals every single time.