Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. Every October though it seems like most of the picture books are the same pumpkins, black cats, and vaguely spooky stories. I absolutely love old favorites like Room on the Broom and Five Little Pumpkins, but there are so many more interesting books out there. For this list, I wanted to focus on books by authors from marginalized communities and especially books that bring in different folklore, traditions, families, and ways of experiencing Halloween.

I’ll be offering a Pay What You Want (including FREE!) class on Tuesday, September 1st on the science topic of “Organizing Things into Categories.” Tuesday, 9/1 at 12:00 PM ET Limited to 15 families (multiple children per family are welcome!) Pay what you want, including $0 No supplies needed! Come join us for a fun, low-pressure class and explore how we organize the world around us into categories! Spots are limited, so grab one while you can! Sign up here: Information on the class:

Teaching is not about having every answer forever. It is about being willing to ask better questions, listen to new perspectives, and recognize when there is room to grow. It's about being able to say: "I didn't know that before. Now I do. What can I do with this new information?" Recently, I found myself asking that question about one of my own curriculums.

Should kids still learn to use a dictionary, read a map, or write in cursive? With AI and GPS doing so much for us, it's a fair question. Here's why old skills aren't the same as outdated ones, and what they're really teaching our kids underneath the surface. I'd love to hear from you: which of these are non-negotiables in your homeschool, and which ones do you skip without guilt?

Secular and Inclusive Curriculum Recommendations (Paid and Free) Early Childhood + Early Elementary Upper Elementary Middle School High School If you find a great secular and inclusive curriculum you think I should add feel free to email me selene@rabbitholelearning.org ** this indicates the curriculum covers multiple subjects Bolded items are free curriculum Early Childhood + Early Elementary Learning to Read…

Fall registration is now open! I'm so excited to share everything we have planned for the fall at Rabbit Hole Learning! Whether your learner loves history, science, mythology, Minecraft, or asking big questions about the world, there's something for everyone this semester. As always, Rabbit Hole Learning classes are secular, inclusive, discussion-based, and designed to encourage curiosity over memorization. Classes are taught live on Zoom, and recordings are available so learners can catch up anytime they miss a class.

Homeschooling is not one single approach. It’s a wide landscape of philosophies, methods, and educational traditions. From structured classical education to child-led unschooling, families have more choices than ever when designing a learning path that fits their values and children. In this guide, we’ll break down the most common homeschooling methods, including Charlotte Mason, Classical education, Montessori, Waldorf, Unit Studies, Eclectic homeschooling, and Unschooling.

Let me guess. You started researching homeschooling and immediately fell down a rabbit hole of philosophies, methods, and passionate online debates about the "right" way to do it. Classical families swear by their classics and Latin. Charlotte Mason devotees are out here pressing flowers and journaling in nature. Unschoolers are letting their kids follow curiosity wherever it leads. The school-at-home crowd has a full bell schedule printed out and laminated.

We are planning our summer schedule! Please let us know which live sessions your family would be most excited to join. This is a non-binding survey to help me finalize dates, times, and topics based o...

Immigrant children are already living the current reality of the United States, and those of us who are not as directly effected need to still be discussing these horrific current events with our children. These kids are seeing parents disappear into detention. They are living with the knowledge that they themselves might end up in a detention center, deported, or separated from loved ones.

The holidays have a way of sneaking up fast, don’t they? Every year I tell myself I’ll keep things simple, and every year I end up wandering down the rabbit hole of books, kits, and games that promise a little more wonder in our homeschool days. If you’re shopping for your own kids (or another homeschool family), this list is filled with things that have actually…

Decades of research in language development and literacy show that children acquire grammar long before anyone explains it to them. By the time a child start formal schooling, most have already mastered the complex rules of their spoken language, without a single worksheet or diagram. Still, many homeschooling parents feel pressure to start formal grammar lessons early. It’s easy to believe that circling nouns and underlining verbs is what “real” language learning looks like.

Every homeschool family has their own recipe for learning. Some follow a precise formula, while others toss in a little of this and that, trusting it’ll turn out sweet in the end. Let’s head into the kitchen and see how each homeschooling style might bake bread. Note: This post is meant for fun and to give a lighthearted and relatable way to understand common homeschooling styles.

If you’ve ever watched your kids dissolve into giggles over a ridiculous story full of silly words, you already know the magic of Madlibs. But beyond the laughter, Mad Libs are a surprisingly powerful tool for learning. They helping children strengthen grammar skills, expand vocabulary, and boost creativity, all while having fun. Why Madlibs Work for Homeschool Learning Madlibs are essentially short stories with missing words that kids fill in, without knowing the full context.

If you haven’t played Sleeping Queens yet, I'm really excited to share with you one of our favorite games! This game was designed by a six-year-old and is full of imagination, math, memory, and strategy, all wrapped up in a colorful fairytale theme. Why We Love It At first glance, Sleeping Queens looks like a silly game about waking up queens and collecting points.

Word games are more than just fun, they can be powerful tools for building literacy, critical thinking, and family connection. Two classic favorites, Boggle and Boggle Junior, can be easily adapted into your homeschool routine to support learners of different ages. Why Word Games Work in Homeschooling Games like Boggle encourage children to: Build and reinforce vocabulary Strengthen spelling skills…

If you spend time online, you’ve probably come across Wordle, the simple daily word puzzle that took the internet by storm. At first glance, it may just look like a fun distraction, but Wordle can actually be a powerful (and free!) learning tool for your homeschool. In this post, we’ll explore different ways to bring Wordle into your homeschool routine to build vocabulary, spelling skills, critical thinking, and even family connection.

The other day at the thrift store, my kids spotted a Spidey Friends Memory game for 99 cents. It was just a box of cards with no instructions—but my five-year-old is obsessed with memory games, so it came home with us. As soon as we walked in the door, both my five- and eight-year-old were ready to play. Step One: Count the Cards…

If my kid wants to use “he” this week and “they” next week, it doesn’t change how I parent. At the end of the day, they still need dinner, hugs, help with homework, and reminders to brush their teeth. Their gender identity (and the ways they express it) doesn’t alter my role as mom. It just adds more opportunities to show them that I love them exactly as they are.

When I designed these handwriting pages, I wanted them to be both developmentally appropriate and fun. The order is influenced by UFLI’s Getting Ready curriculum, but you can absolutely adjust as needed for your learner. Uppercase vs. Lowercase Some handwriting programs begin with lowercase letters, while others begin with uppercase. Both approaches are valid! I start with uppercase because many children find them simpler to form—fewer curves and more straight lines.

If you've been in the secular homeschool world for any length of time, you've probably come across Miacademy. It is an online learning platform often mentioned alongside programs like Power Homeschool or Time4Learning. I recently took a deep dive into Miacademy's website and offerings, and I can say with confidence: this is not a platform I would ever recommend to secular homeschooling families.

The vast majority of homeschoolers are white women, this means there’s a good chance that you, my current reader, are a white woman. This article is not about silencing you, but about encouraging mindfulness and intentionality in our words and actions. Since we occupy the majority, our voices carry a lot of weight within the homeschool community. The incidental consequence of this is that we overshadow other voices.

When your toddler asks, “Where do babies come from?” or your 7-year-old asks why their friend has two moms, it’s normal to feel unsure how to respond. Many of us didn’t grow up with healthy models of sex education, and the idea of having “the talk” can bring up awkwardness, fear, or uncertainty. Here’s the truth: one big talk isn’t enough.

I’m excited to share something I’ve been working on: a homeschool-friendly version of Illustrative Mathematics Algebra I. If you’ve ever looked at the official teacher materials and felt overwhelmed, this guide breaks the course down into a simpler, easier-to-follow format designed for families learning at home. Here’s what you’ll find inside: Most lessons use Khan Academy videos and practice problems…

Choosing a learn-to-read program can feel overwhelming (there are so many options out there!) and not all of them are secular or a good fit for home use. Below, I’ve rounded up some popular secular reading programs and supplements, with a quick look at what makes each one unique. Full Program? Affordability Methodology Parent Involvement Format Wild Reading Yes $$ Multi-sensory phonics and nature based with influences from Waldorf and Montessori High Flexible digital guide for parents to implement …

One of the most magical things we can teach our kids is that we are made of stardust. Long before Earth existed, stars were already at work creating the elements that would one day make up everything we see around us—including us! I’m excited to share that I’ve just released a brand-new lesson in the Stardust Storytellers series: Formation of Stars.

When I first heard about Night Zookeeper, I was intrigued. A gamified approach to language arts? A platform that could actually get kids excited about writing? As a homeschooling parent, that sounded almost too good to be true. At first, I thought it might actually deliver. My kids were excited, and while the program was a bit clunky to navigate, I had high hopes.

Today I’m excited to share an interview with Nika, a veteran homeschooler and fellow admin at Strictly Secular + Inclusive Homeschool. Nika brings a wealth of experience and perspective to the homeschooling world, and I’m honored to highlight her family’s story here. At Rabbit Hole Learning, we believe every homeschool is unique—and those stories deserve to be told. If you’d like to share your own homeschooling journey in a future interview, I’d love to hear from you!

Every story has a beginning. For our universe, that beginning is the Big Bang — and it’s also where our Stardust to Storytellers Prehistory curriculum begins. Before there were dinosaurs, before Earth, before even time itself, there was… nothing. Then, 13.8 billion years ago, everything changed. Space stretched, time began, and tiny particles formed the foundation of stars, galaxies, planets, and eventually, us.

Welcome to my new curriculum: Stardust to Storytellers. This is a secular, science-rooted curriculum series created for curious learners, and the grown-ups who learn alongside them. Beginning this week, I’ll be posting a new lesson every week (or so), starting with the birth of the universe and traveling through deep time toward early human societies. This is a project close to my heart and born from a love of big questions, storytelling and hands-on learning.

Explore disability with empathy, joy, and truth—with a printable learning packet for all ages. At Rabbit Hole Learning, we believe all people deserve honest, respectful conversations about the world around them—including disability. For July, we’re digging into Disability Awareness, a topic that’s too often left out of identity and inclusion work, but one that touches every part of life.

This month, we're diving into a theme that's too big to fit into just a few books — so we didn’t even try. Some topics are just that expansive, and this one opened the floodgates in the best way. From picture books to adult nonfiction, we've included extra titles across age levels to reflect the richness and complexity of this theme.

When people ask what makes our homeschool work, they usually expect me to name a curriculum or time management trick. But honestly? The most consistent, grounding, and transformative piece of our homeschool has been music—specifically, Suzuki cello. All three of my children started cello at age four. Ten years later, we’ve lived through book recitals, squeaky bow holds, youth orchestra auditions, and so much more.

I started reading How to Homeschool the Kids You Have at 11:18 PM. By 11:22 PM, I hated it. By 2 AM, I had powered through the entire thing—fueled by spite, caffeine, and pure disbelief. I wanted something encouraging and grounded, something that honored the real-world, messy, beautiful challenge of homeschooling. What I got instead was a frustrating, condescending, and completely out-of-touch book that left me more irritated than inspired.

This weekend, I sat in a sanctuary and watched my child stand tall and speak with a confidence that shook something loose in me. He was taking part in his Unitarian Universalist Coming of Age ceremony, a rite of passage among Unitarian Universalists. But more than that, he was taking a step I didn’t prepare him for. I didn’t edit his speech.

Grammar doesn’t have to be a standalone worksheet or a drill-and-kill routine. When taught in context—alongside writing, reading, history, or science—it becomes a meaningful part of how learners express themselves and understand the world. One of the most foundational building blocks of grammar is the noun. Whether you're introducing grammar to kindergartners or revisiting the concept with older learners, nouns offer an accessible entry point.

When it comes to homeschooling young children, there's a lot of pressure out there: pressure to start academics early, to match what public schools are doing, or to prove that homeschooling “works.” The truth is though, that there’s no one right way to homeschool little ones. Some children are ready and eager to dive into early academics, while others need more time to build the foundation for future learning.

There’s a growing demand for homeschool and educational resources that are truly secular and inclusive, especially for families who are LGBTQ+, BIPOC, neurodivergent, disabled, or from other marginalized communities. But here’s the problem: anyone can slap “secular” or “inclusive” on their website, regardless of whether the content lives up to the label. If you want to avoid curriculum that’s covertly religious, exclusionary, or rooted in outdated worldviews, here are…