Home education resources: what is worth using and what is not
There is no shortage of home education resources. There is a shortage of ways to tell which of them will still be in use in March. Most families buy too much in the first term, abandon most of it by the second, and then feel guilty about the money. This page is about what actually gets used, and how to work out what you need before you spend anything.
The four things you genuinely need
- Something sequential for maths. Maths builds on itself, so gaps compound quietly and surface two years later. This is the one place a deliberate order matters.
- Something sequential for reading, until reading is secure. After that, books are the resource.
- A way to explain things you cannot explain yourself. This is where most parents actually get stuck, and it is not solved by buying more workbooks.
- A record. A notebook works. Something searchable works better.
Everything else is optional. History, geography, science and art can run on library books, documentaries, trips and conversation for years without anyone noticing a deficit.
Free resources worth knowing about
- Your library card, which is still the single highest value resource in home education and costs nothing.
- BBC Bitesize for UK curriculum-shaped explanation, though it is UK only and some links rot.
- Khan Academy for maths and science video explanation, free and genuinely good, though it assumes a US sequence.
- Museum and gallery education pages, many of which publish full teaching packs.
- Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks for out of copyright literature.
- Local home education groups, which are the best source of practical answers about your specific area.
The buying mistakes almost everyone makes
A complete boxed curriculum bought in week one is the classic. You do not yet know how your child learns at home, and the version of them who sat in a classroom is not the version you are about to meet. Wait a term. The second mistake is buying by year group. A nine year old working at seven-year-old level in writing and thirteen-year-old level in reading needs two different things, and a Year 4 pack serves neither.
Before you buy anything, ask what problem it solves that a library book and an hour of your attention would not. About half the time there is no answer, and that half is the money you keep.
How Different Drums helps here
The gap this fills is the one nothing on the free list covers well: material generated for the child in front of you rather than for a year group. You can build a curriculum on almost any topic with week-by-week checkpoints, generate printable worksheets and tests as PDFs with answers, and set the working level per subject rather than by age.
There is also a tutor per child that explains rather than hands over answers, which covers the third item on the list above, and a learning log that turns into reports for any date range you choose. Sixteen subject areas, ages 2 to 16+.
Parent Only is from GBP 9.99 a month and covers worksheets, curriculum building, planning and reports. Parent + Child is from GBP 9.99 per child a month and adds the tutor. 14 days free, no credit card required, and a guest mode with no sign-up at all.
Common questions
How much should I expect to spend on home education resources?
Far less than most people assume, and much less in year one than in year three. Many families run a first term on a library card, a notebook and free online explanation. Costs tend to rise later, mainly around exams, tutoring and specialist equipment.
Do I need different resources for each child?
For maths and early reading, effectively yes, because both are sequential. For history, science, geography and topic work, one shared subject at different depths usually works better for everyone, including you.
How do I know if a resource is any good?
Use it for two weeks before deciding. The test is not whether it looks impressive, it is whether your child engages with it and whether you can tell what they learned afterwards. Anything that fails both is decoration.
Learning that flexes around your child
Different Drums builds curricula, worksheets, tests and learning records around almost any topic, shaped to your child's pace, interests and your family's values. Core practice in maths and science comes from 200,000+ hand-verified questions. Ages 2-16+, used by families worldwide.
No credit card required. There is also a free guest mode with no sign-up.