06 Sep A Canadian Homeschool Curriculum Company
One thing that has been missing in the Canadian homeschooling world for a while is a true “all-Canadian” curriculum. In 2020, a new company appeared – Schoolio – to attempt fill that void. Over the past four years, they’ve expanded their program to include not only printable editions, but also an online program, tutoring for homeschoolers, live classes, mini-units, and a plethora of other resources.
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What is Schoolio?
Schoolio began as a curriculum to help support the unexpected homeschooling community when the pandemic hit. Created by a former teacher turned homeschool mom, the company has continued to grow and develop over the years. Their mission today is to help empower parents to be able to take control over their children’s learning with a personalized plan for each child. They envision education that is flexible, adaptable, individualized, and holistic – meaning that it focuses on more than just the academics and includes a whole child approach.
The program is offered in two main formats – as a printable program with worksheets and teaching instructions or through an online platform where a child can check in each day to complete their work. The content is essentially the same, it’s just how its presented that’s different.
Aligned to multiple provinces and states, Schoolio offers a curriculum that you can either use as a whole curriculum for a grade, or by mixing and matching resources for your needs. That means that in either edition, if your child is moving more slowly through one subject and quickly in another, you can use whatever level works best for each subject.
Schoolio eBook Edition
The eBook option offers both a multi-subject curriculum per grade (specifically per province) or individual subjects which can be easily purchased from the Schoolio online shop, allowing parents and educators to customize their teaching approach to suit their child’s unique learning style. Of course, you will find the core curriculum subjects including math, science, language arts, and social studies, but also subjects like health, global citizenship, the arts, social-emotional learning, nature studies, business, financial literacy, and more. And, because it’s a Canadian company, they use Canadian content in their program – measurements, money, and social studies for example.
You can choose if you would like to buy these as downloadable files which you can print yourself at home, or you can buy a printed copy to arrive in the mail.
The program itself is a traditional style of education – with a text to read for the main lesson combined with worksheets and activities. You can download sample pages for most grades here.
Schoolio Online Edition
Schoolio’s online program is also known as Schoolio Digital. It essentially takes the content from the printable version and brings it online through video and interactive lessons. The online platform includes a dashboard with the ability to edit and personalize your child’s learning plan by assigning them classes to complete each day. Your child simply clicks on the lesson, completes a short and engaging animated video on the topic they are learning about, and then does an interactive test or worksheets, etc to help reinforce what they just learned.
In March 2024, Lindsay, who is the curriculum designer of Schoolio, sat down with me and some other members of the Canadian homeschooling community to give us a walkthrough of their digital platform, how she has used it with her family, and the variety of options it provides.
Please note that the current pricing of this program may be different than the promotional offer in this video.
Who is This Curriculum Best For?
Schoolio is designed for students in Kindergarten through Grade 8. It’s a good fit for families that want their curriculum to align with the learning outcomes of their province or who want to have a more traditional style of learning since it focuses on reading (or watching) lessons, completing worksheets, and such. It can be a great fit for independent learners who want to move at their own pace, and for students who need a variety of different levels for different subjects because you can mix and match. It’s also a possible match for anyone who wants the core work completed for you, taking the pressure off trying to pull content together yourself.
One thing they are very proud of is their accommodations for neurodivergent learners. Here is how it is helpful for kids with diverse learning needs:
- short lessons
- mix and match lessons to skill level
- interest-based learning – a variety of interesting topics
- recommendations for adaptations on activities and lessons
- customization of your student’s plan
- a focus on social-emotional learning
- simplified, non-distracting content
I think the program lends itself well to adaptation – so you can easily use it as a core curriculum and build from it if you feel like it’s not robust enough, simplify anything that feels overwhelming, or easily use it just as is.
Extra Resources They Offer
In addition to curriculum, Schoolio offers other support and resources, such as:
- affordable, private tutoring for your homeschool student
- a podcast
- social-emotional learning training for parents
- holiday activity bundles
I’ve even seen them host live classes, holiday programming, and various community support throughout the year. Just keep an eye on their social media pages for up-to-date news and offerings. They are willing to try new things to see how they can help the homeschooling community.
How to Get Started with Schoolio
Visit Schoolio’s website to access both their eBook store and their digital online platform. If you want to give it a try first, you can check out the sample downloads for the printable version or sign up for a 7 day free trial for the online edition.
Lisa Marie Fletcher is a mom of 5 with 15+ years of homeschooling experience. She started The Canadian Homeschooler in 2010 as a way to support the homeschooling community in Canada.