Timberdoodle Curriculum Kits vs Sonlight
The main differences
Both ship a whole year for one grade in one order. Timberdoodle gathers one program per subject from other publishers, plus games, art and building sets, with a handbook and online scheduler, and lets you swap any item; the 3rd grade Complete kit was $1,017. Sonlight builds the year around read-aloud books and readers with 36 weeks of instructor's guides; its 3rd grade all-subjects package was $1,129.45 on sale. Both include Math-U-See for math in the kits we priced.
| Timberdoodle Curriculum Kits | Sonlight | |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects | All subjects: math, reading and phonics, language arts, science and history and geography | All subjects: math, reading and phonics, language arts, science and history and geography |
| Grades | Tiny Tots, preschool and pre-K kits, then kindergarten to 12th grade | Preschool to 12th grade |
| Method | Traditional | Literature-based |
| Format | Books and workbooks | Books and workbooks |
| Faith label | Faith-based | Faith-based |
| Cost a year | $1,017. 3rd grade Complete kit (19 courses, including language arts, math, history, geography and science): $1,017. The Basic tier (6 courses: language arts, math and thinking skills) is $533 and Elite (29 courses) is $1,407. A second-student kit for 3rd grade is $478.35. | $1,129.45. 3rd grade All-Subjects Package C, 4 days a week, with required resources (instructor's guides, history and literature books, readers, language arts, handwriting, science and Math-U-See Gamma): $1,129.45 today, 20% off $1,411.81. Families new to Sonlight are pointed to a History B+C version of this package instead. |
| Placement | Free placement test ↗ | Free placement tests ↗ |
| Parent time | Not stated by the publisher | Not stated by the publisher |
| It fits | A family that wants a full year of books, workbooks, games and hands-on kits chosen for them, with the freedom to swap pieces and set each subject at its own level. | A family that wants to learn through real books read together, with every day of the year planned in a guide. |
| It doesn't fit | A family that wants a single program from one publisher with one teacher guide, or a low-cost year. | A family on a tight budget, or one that wants the child to work alone from workbooks or a screen. |
Timberdoodle Curriculum Kits
Timberdoodle sells curriculum kits: a full school year for one grade in one box, from toddler and preschool kits through 12th grade. Each kit gathers one main program per subject from other publishers, such as Math-U-See for math, along with games, art and building sets, a handbook and an online scheduler that lays out each day. Kits come in Basic, Complete and Elite tiers, and any item can be swapped out before you order.
Does well: Each kit is a full year with one main program per subject, and when you customize, each subject can be set to its own grade level.
Watch for: The 3rd grade Complete kit is $1,017, and the cheaper Basic tier leaves out history, geography and science.
The full Timberdoodle Curriculum Kits card · Publisher’s site ↗
Sonlight
Sonlight is a literature-based curriculum: history, geography and literature are taught through read-aloud books and readers, scheduled together with language arts and science in a 36-week instructor's guide. An all-subjects package for a grade includes the guides, the books, language arts, handwriting, science and a math program, on a 4-day or 5-day schedule. It runs from preschool to 12th grade, and the parent teaches from the guides and shares the read-alouds.
Does well: An all-subjects package arrives with the whole year planned: 36 weeks of lesson plans and notes that tie the subjects together.
Watch for: A 3rd grade package costs over $1,100 even at 20% off.
Lists with both
- Homeschool all-in-one curricula 22
- Faith-based homeschool curricula 22
- Homeschool curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 48
- Homeschool curricula for middle school 51
- Homeschool curricula for high school 38
- Print homeschool curricula 44
- Homeschool curricula over $600 a year 10
- Faith-based homeschool all-in-one curricula 14
How we label
Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.
Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction; publishers can send corrections, never money. Every program compared