Different Drums is live now: you can use it in your browser today, or download the Android app directly, with real families already learning with it. An iOS app and a Google Play release are on the way. It is an AI-powered tutoring platform for home-educating families, covering children aged 2 to 16 and up. The whole thing is about freedom, autonomy and sovereignty over how your family learns. It combines a personalised AI tutor, a curriculum builder, on-demand worksheets, automatic LEA/home-education reports, and a parent oversight dashboard. Built by Emily, a neurodivergent home-educating mum of seven. 14-day free trial, no credit card required, plus a free no-sign-up guest mode.
Different Drums is three things. The App: your personal AI tutor, curriculum builder, worksheets and reports, where you set the direction and keep your values, following a full curriculum, letting your children lead, or anywhere in between. Drum Circle: an in-app community for home-educating families to share ideas and resources, ask for advice and support, swap curricula, and connect over events and wellbeing, moderated and safe. Bongo's Curios: a living encyclopedia built by the children themselves, where kids submit facts and discoveries, parents approve them, and they go live for the whole community to explore.
The tutor holds a real conversation rather than lecturing. It adapts to each child's pace, interests and learning style, and follows the child's curiosity. Parents set their family's values (faith-based, secular, or a specific philosophical or worldview approach) and the AI respects them across every subject, with no imposed agenda. Two modes: guided (structured, curriculum-led) and exploration (child-led, no lesson plans required). Parents can read every conversation their child has ever had.
Languages & Literacy (English language and literature, reading, writing, grammar, classical languages, linguistics); Mathematics (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, statistics, logic, applied maths); Science (biology, chemistry, physics, earth and environmental science, astronomy, marine science, computer science, anatomy); Humanities (history, geography, civics, sociology, psychology, economics, philosophy, politics, law and ethics); Creative & Expressive Arts; Technology & Modern Disciplines; Life Skills & Practical Studies; Nature, Environment & Animal Studies; Faith, Spirituality & Worldview; Cosmic & Future Sciences; Culture, Identity & Global Awareness; Wellbeing, Body & Mind; Innovation, Society & Future Thinking; Personal Development & Life Path; and Early Learning for ages 2-7. Every subject and topic is age-gated so content stays age-appropriate.
All plans include a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. Founding-member prices are locked for life; new members joining after 1 February 2027 pay higher rates. There are two plan types, each available monthly or annually. Parent Only gives you worksheets, the curriculum builder, LEA reports and The Studio, with no child AI tutor accounts. Parent + Child adds a full AI tutor for each child (billed per child), with their own learning space, usage limits and progress tracking; the annual per-child plan works out at about £8.33/month. For comparison, a single hour with a private tutor typically costs £30-£60.
Different Drums was built by Emily, a neurodivergent home-educating mum of seven, and lifelong partner to Mike, a veteran RAF bomb disposal expert. Emily built it because she wanted something different and could not find it: every tool made the decisions for her about what her children should learn, how, and in what order. She wanted to keep control of their education, follow what each child was genuinely interested in, and stay true to her family's own values and pace. In August 2025, having never written a line of code, she started building it, making every decision about how it works and testing it on her own children. It has taken 11 months, funded entirely by the family. Different Drums is for any family that wants the same thing: you set the direction, keep your values, and the tutoring and curricula flex around your child, whether you follow a full curriculum, let your children lead, or land somewhere in between.
Will my child engage with an AI? It converses and follows the child's lead rather than lecturing, which suits children who switch off in front of worksheets. What if it conflicts with our beliefs? You set your values and the AI follows them. Do we need a curriculum? No — exploration mode needs no lesson plans, though you can build a curriculum if you want structure. Is it safe for young children? Content filtering, age-appropriate responses, parental controls, and full visibility of every conversation. What happens to our data? GDPR and COPPA compliant, AES-256 encrypted, exportable and deletable at any time, never sold, never used to train AI models.
Different Drums is a product of 9 Drummers Drumming Ltd, Gloucester, United Kingdom. Start a free trial at https://differentdrums.life