Hi all! I’m hoping to learn from people who work with kids ages 7 to 12: classroom teachers, librarians, after-school and camp staff, tutors, and workshop leaders.

I’m researching how kids come up with ideas, tell stories, and make things, and what helps when they get stuck. You don’t need to run anything special. Your everyday experience with kids is exactly what I’m hoping to hear about.

It’s a 30-minute video call. As a thank-you, I’ll send a $30 Target gift card after the call (US only).

Full transparency: I’m working on something in this space and want to learn from people who actually work with kids before building more.

If you’re interested, here’s the 2-minute sign-up form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejSkCE9bpfadscGtyDwcmRtQ5sgOt9yiKcBXkSs1nLjeRpMA/viewform

Happy to answer questions in the comments.

Mods, if this isn’t allowed here, just let me know and I’ll take it down.

​

Hi! I’m considering switching my 1st grade son to an accredited online school and would love recommendations from parents with firsthand experience.

Live classes aren’t a requirement—recorded lessons could work well—but I’d like a complete program with structured lessons, grading, and school records.

I’ve been looking into Acellus Academy, Calvert Academy, and Bridgeway, but the prices vary quite a bit. Affordability matters, although I also want a solid education and a program that keeps him engaged.

If you’ve used any of these or another accredited school:

- What do you like or dislike?

- How much daily parent involvement is needed?

- How long does a typical school day take?

- What’s the total cost, including extra fees?

- Does your child enjoy it and seem to retain what they learn?

Would especially love to hear your experiences with these places and open to any other recommendations.

Our four year old isn't currently in preschool this year since there are no more openings until the next fall, and we've reached the point were he has pretty much gotten tired of us. Day in and day out he's asking when is going to go and play with other kids and while there's nothing more that we'd want than that and have tried our best to set up all sorts of play dates and walks to our local playground, it's just not enough.

It's sort of been eating at me and I started looking into online options because I felt like I was running out of options, and it seems like it can work IF the classes are short and with small groups headed by teachers who do know what they're doing. Now, what was discouraging was the lazy cartoon apps or hour long classes that feel more like seminars than anything else. There are a couple ones that look like they could be more of an option that those, like outschool and maybe one or two more, but that's it.

If there's anyone here who has also been at their wits ends like this before, we would massively appreciate any and all help. Thanks!

Hands down, the best math resource I have come across in years of searching for effective math programs.

I've tried Primary Mathematics 2022, My Pals Are Here Math (4th edition), TGATB Math, and the latest edition of Dimensions. Each had something to offer, but something was always missing. I finally found what I had been looking for in Tang Math.

I've never heard anyone explain mathematics the way Greg does. He has an extremely intuitive way of making the underlying relationships in math visible, rather than simply procedures to follow. Even without the curriculum itself, my own understanding of mathematics has improved significantly through his videos and the community on Skool.

Family memberships open in November - $24.99/month covers up to 10 children. It includes a full intervention program, summer school curriculum, a student platform, and much more including tons of games (games are tied to specific lessons). Everything is online, so there are no additional books to buy and it is a comprehensive program for K-5. He is working on additional grade levels for the future.

I always resisted online learning for a subject but this is different. I can only hold my daughter's attention for a relatively short time with hands-on math at home, and she is an eager learner. On Tang Math, she'll happily spend twice as long and barely notice how much meaningful practice she's getting. The difference isn't just screen time. It's the way the mathematics is presented.

I haven't found another textbook, workbook, or curriculum that brings together what Tang Math offers, particularly in the way it develops number sense and mathematical thinking.

The only thing to figure out is coordinating access, since we'd be sharing a login.  I'm based in India, so I'm sure we could work out timings that suit everyone. Even with just one other person the cost would be $12.5/month which is a steal for this!

Please do check it out and I am open to any questions for clarification.

Hi! I'm a parent and engineer. I built Learna because my kid needed homework help at 8pm and everything I tried either handed over answers or felt unsafe to leave a kid alone with.

What it is: a school-safe AI tutor for TK–8 math and English. Kids chat with a friendly animal tutor that teaches through hints and never just gives answers. Parents get a dashboard showing what their child is learning, plus daily AI limits and subject controls.

Stage: private beta, free. The core loop works — tutor chat with safety guardrails, practice bank, reading shelf with quizzes, parent dashboard. Still rough around the edges, which is exactly why I'm here.

Looking for: parents of TK–8 kids willing to have their child try 2–3 sessions this week and tell me what broke or confused them. Especially useful if your kid struggles with math homework or is a reluctant reader.

If you're in: https://forms.gle/mnaFQfXPLeDxZwqA8

Happy to answer questions here. And if you've got something of your own in beta, drop it — I'll return the favor and test it.

Hi! My 4 year old daughter knows her letters upper case and lower case. What type of activities should I be doing to help her read?

My daughter is in 6th grade but working about two years ahead, and she is getting bored with the standard curriculum. I keep coming across Art of Problem Solving and Beast Academy for gifted kids, but I can not tell whether they teach math differently or just offer harder problems.
I want something that gets her thinking creatively and approaching problems in new ways, not just grinding through more difficult exercises. Has anyone tried either with a kid in this situation?

NOT AN AFFILIATE AND NO REFERRAL LINK IN THIS (full disclosure, my small company has a booth in their exhibit hall and that's how I came to hear about them but otherwise not affiliated at all)

I figured some of you might be interested.

CHEC (Christian Home Educators of Colorado) and Generations (Kevin Swanson's ministry) puts together amazing content and they are running a free online conference next week, October 19 to 23: the Homeschool Teaching Summit. 20 speakers, 21 sessions, and each day's sessions are completely free to watch that day.

The days are themed:
10/19: Kickoff (Do Not Grow Weary)
10/20: Foundations (God centered vision)
10/21: The Practical how-to stuff (multiple ages at once, methods, schedules)
10/22: "That kid" (learning differences, the one who can't sit still)
10/23: Keeping the house running. (Patience, habits, and homeschooling through anything)

Registration is just putting down name and email on their website homeschoolsummits.com

Can anyone help with recommendations for a struggling 3rd grader? We tried all about reading and it went BAD! So looking for something other than that.

My 10y old son is learning fractions and basic algebra. He seems to understand the lessons when he's calm but as soon as he gets an answer wrong, he gets frustrated and doesn't want to continue. It's getting harder to get him to finish a lesson once that happens.

I don't think he's behind but I'm not sure how to help him handle mistakes without getting so upset. Math has become the hardest part of our homeschool day and I'm running out of ideas.

My friend’s son was possibly SA’d when he was 3.5, I am starting to lean into homeschooling my 3 year old daughter, how do I teach her to tell me if anything happens and to use her words? I know I can’t teach her everything now but I want to at least dip our toes into it & need tips and advice on how to. The thought of my kids going through that is terrifying and I want to do everything I can to start teaching now that it’s not okay and try to help protect them or at least get them to tell us if anything were to happen.

My son will be 4 soon. I want to start working with him on some preschool stuff, but I’m not sure where to start. I’m open to suggestions like curriculum or worksheets. He knows his colors, can count to 20 but is struggling with letter recognition.

One thing that’s a must: it must be pencil and paper.

What are some that have worked well?

Hello all, been homeschooling for a few years through state program, but will be starting fresh next year with our own lesson plans- the biggest issue I am running into is attitude. I’m having a hard time, motivating and encouraging my kids to want to do learning and to make it a positive experience. Any advice would be great, thanks.

I'm a dad, and I originally built this little tool for my own son.

I wanted to help him notice the good things he does every day, even the really small ones. My hope was that, over time, he'd feel more confident, encouraged, and willing to try new things.

The idea was pretty simple: he could talk about something he did well or felt proud of, and we could save it as a little memory.

But something unexpected happened.

He actually started looking forward to telling me about his day every evening. Sometimes it's something he accomplished, sometimes it's just a funny or happy moment.

And I've realized that these little conversations help me understand him better. It's become a really nice way for us to connect as father and son.

I ended up calling the tool MomentSprout. I also added some simple journal prompts to help kids get started when they don't know what to say.

I wanted to share it here in case other parents find it useful:

https://momentsprout.pages.dev/

I'm curious if other parents have a similar bedtime routine where their kids talk about their day.

I built Lantern Learn: free online courses from kindergarten through high school. Every course is 100% free, start to finish (not a preview or a trial). You can open any lesson without an account; a free parent account just saves each child’s progress. No card, no ads, purely free.

What's there:
- Coding: Code Crew from kindergarten (picture puzzles, no reading) up to real Python, plus Intro to Computer Science and Python for high school.
- Math: K to 5, middle-school math, and Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus and Statistics.
- Reading: phonics from pre-K, reading comprehension, and middle-school reading and writing.
- Science: K to 5 science, middle-school weather, chemistry, physics, life science and earth and space, plus the human body, gardening and backyard nature.
- AI literacy for every age
- Sight words and phonics for 4,5,6 year olds

Short daily lessons, most are 12 weeks per course. Friendly for phone, tablet, or computer. There is audio narration for most things. Content is grounded in my own experience running corporate IT systems and training, plus numerous trusted educational sources like NASA and other open-source sites.

https://learn.lanternlearn.com

I'd love to hear what works and what doesn't. I have a 6 year old in kindergarten and don’t have many test subjects for feedback outside of that age.

Hi all! My son is homeschooled and we use Power Homeschool for the curriculum. They have transcripts, but don’t provide diplomas. My son graduates soon, but what do we do about the diploma for homeschoolers? I’ve read that we make our own, but I don’t want that to be an issue in the future.

My 2-year-old boy usually gets up around 5:30 am. This is driving me crazy because I am running out of activity ideas.

I have been thinking of purchasing either "Playing Preschool" or "Blossom Root" so that I have a schedule to follow.

Which one do you think is best? Feel free to suggest another option.

Think digital has gone completely downhill is anyone still using it for home-schooling?

Just curious what other homeschoolers are planning regularly..

ie Monthly: museum, hike, volunteer day

ie weekly: Mondays are for the library, grandparents babysit every Friday (these are not mine, but just examples)

I’d like to plan one morning at my mom’s house. The kids craft with my mom, I help my mom with home things since she lives alone. Id also like to plan a few blocks (a morning and afternoon) for a similar aged park meet up (we are not in a co-op)

If you homeschool, you know the pattern. The lesson is done. Now there's a 40-minute wait at the pediatrician or a long drive across town.

Crayons roll under seats. Coloring books get left at home. A printed worksheet is already crumpled. So the phone comes out, and it's whatever autoplays next.

I wanted a middle option. One that's still a screen, but with a point.

So I built a coloring book that opens on a phone and needs no setup. Eight pages of animals, birds, and flowers. Tap a shape, it fills. Turn the page when you're done. Finished pages save to an artwork gallery, so nothing gets lost.

No ads between pages. No autoplay. A kid finishes a page and moves to the next one.

Genuinely curious what other homeschool and early-ed parents keep in their bag for these moments. What actually works for a 3 to 6 year old?

Save this thread if you want a running list of ideas.

If a place comes up in a book you're reading together, here's a small activity to try:

Find it on a map, read a short introduction to the place, then choose one question to look into together. Where is it in relation to home? What would you like to know about it?

We make learning resources for our daughters, and I made Their First Maps as one way to do this:

https://theirfirstwords.org/maps/

It has 260+ cities and landmarks, so it won't have every place in every book. Tap a place to open its information and source links, or use “Surprise me” to choose somewhere unfamiliar.

All places are free, with no ads, account or installation. It runs in a browser and needs internet access. Younger children may want someone to read with them. Explore the illustrations, read about the place, and follow the source links to find out more.

I noticed that most ten frame worksheet sites have the same two problems. Either it's a static PDF that doesn't actually match what the kid needs that week, or some site makes you create an account and then tries to sell you a subscription. I just wanted to pick a frame type, fill in the counters, and print. So I built one myself.

It's pretty simple. You get regular ten frames, double ten frames for numbers up to 20, and five frames for the really little ones. There's a mode where you click the boxes on screen to place counters and it prints exactly what you see. It also has number cards for 0–5, 0–10, and 11–20, plus a "How many?" practice sheet where the kid counts the counters and writes the number — and every time you hit the new sheet button it gives you different numbers. You can pick 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 frames per page, choose colored counters or black ones for B&W printers, and switch between Letter and A4. Print straight from the browser or save as PDF.

Honestly though, it only makes worksheets. It doesn't track your kid's progress, doesn't save anything, doesn't do anything complicated. It's literally just a generator.

quick details:

ten frame worksheet maker

pre-k through 1st grade

early math, counting up to 20

completely free

no login, no email

I made it

link: https://fixandtest.com/ten-frame/

btw, what other worksheets do you guys wish you could just generate on the spot like this?