Curriculum or not

Do you need a curriculum to homeschool?

No, most states do not require a set curriculum to homeschool, but most families use one for at least math and reading, because those skills build step by step and are hard to sequence alone. Other subjects can come from books, projects and outings.

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Where a curriculum helps most

Math and early reading. Each skill depends on the one before, and a good course puts them in order so nothing is skipped.

Where you can go without

History, science and art can come from library books, documentaries, museums, nature and projects, especially in the early grades. See /homeschool-curriculum/unschooling-and-unit-studies.

A middle path

Use a curriculum for the core and keep the rest loose. Clareza covers the core subjects K-12 plus electives, and you can remove courses you would rather teach your own way.

What this is not

  • Nothing here is legal advice. Some states list subjects you must teach; check yours.
  • Clareza is mostly on screen and structured. It is not an unschooling resource.
  • It is not free: $29 a month for the household after a 30-day trial that needs a card.

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Free for 30 days. We take a card now and charge nothing until then. $29 a month after that, for every child in the family. Cancel anytime in a couple of taps. Cancel before day 30 and you pay nothing at all.

Before your child starts: what we collect and why

We collect only what it takes to teach your child: the first name and sign-in you choose, their answers and progress, and their chat with Clara (written by Anthropic's AI, read aloud by OpenAI). Nobody trains AI on it or sells it, and you can see or delete it any time. You create your child's account yourself. Paying by card is how you give consent.

Read what we collect and why

Your consent is needed before we collect anything from your child, and we collect nothing without it. You create your child's account yourself; they never sign up alone.

  • What we collect from your child: the first name and sign-in you choose, their answers, time on lessons and progress, and their chat with Clara. Used to run the lessons, build their transcript and show you how they are doing.
  • Who else handles it: Anthropic (an AI company) receives the chat text and the lesson, with your child's first name but no last name or account details, to write Clara's replies. That is how Clara works, so it is part of the service. If you switch on answering out loud for a child, their voice is turned into text on our own server and then discarded; it is never sent to another company. OpenAI turns lesson text and Clara's replies (which can include your child's first name) into the read-aloud voice. Our email provider sends you reports about your child. Nobody trains AI on your child's data, and nobody sells it.
  • Your rights: see everything collected from your child, have it deleted, or stop further collection at any time, from your account or by emailingour support address. If you refuse the AI sharing above, Clara cannot teach, so the service cannot run. Chats are deleted after 30 days.
  • Safety: if your child writes something suggesting they may be hurt or in danger, we email you and Clareza's owner the same day.

Paying by card is how you give consent. Full details, including how long we keep each thing: Privacy Policy (version 2026-10-05).

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

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Questions parents ask

Is a curriculum required to homeschool?

In most states, no specific curriculum is required, though some list subjects to cover. Check your state.

Can I homeschool without buying curriculum?

Yes. Libraries and free resources go a long way. Many families still buy math.

Which subjects most need a curriculum?

Math and early reading, because each step depends on the last.

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