All educational systems around the world use different names, grades, guidelines, and tests. Additionally, many of these are simply wrong, because people progress and develop at different speeds and in different ways.
That’s why we simplified our system to a handful of “levels”.
In the curriculum below, we state the grade or age range that is typically associated with it, based on four countries (USA, UK, AU and NL).
This is, however, not a requirement in any way! Someone age 5 might have the math proficiency of someone age 10, and it would be foolish to keep them locked inside a specific grade (doing the same easy exercises over and over).
As explained in our Philosophy, we don’t actually support this idea of requiring certain topics to be taught at specific ages or in rigid ways. We merely provide this curriculum for people who do believe it’s important and want a blueprint to reference.
All that needs to happen for someone to learn, is to be exposed to a lot of varied challenges. Just provide them with lots of things to do. And when they’ve been doing the same thing for a while now, do something different. If a challenge is too hard now, switch to a different challenge and come back to it later.
It’s not even a requirement to do things in any sensible order. Kids will figure things out. And if they don’t, no harm done, now you have more data about what challenges they can handle. Yes, this can get messy. That’s good. Life is messy. Learning is messy.
Our brains create new connections and memories through association, which requires messiness. Without creating mess first, there is not even a definition of order that a brain can slowly figure out.
Sticking to a rigid curriculum has even more downsides, such as being outdated easily. Notice, for example, how most curriculae around the world still don’t include digital skills / informatics. Even though 90+% of our lives is digital now, and some babies touch a tablet before they touch another toy. Instead, if you simply use the entire world as your playground and learn from it as you go, you can never be outdated.
That said, the curriculum below is a compilation of world-wide curriculae and laws on education. We’ve been maintaining the list ever since we became interested in improving the systems of education. The hardest part has been to keep it streamlined and summarized, without missing anything important, and accounting for major gaps/differences between certain views on education.
Use it as a guide when you’re not sure what to focus on or whether to try a new topic. Use it as your waypoint from which you explore the resources on this website.
Overview
- Age Range: 0–4
- UK: Nursery / EYFS
- USA: Preschool
- AU: Kindergarten / Preschool / Foundation
- NL: Nursery / Preschool / Daycare
Until age 2 or 3, our philosophy (“just do lots of stuff every day, and you will learn”) is taken to the extreme. Babies and toddlers should just experience as much as possible, exercise as much as possible, just explore and move around.
More specific challenges or exercises should only arrive when the kid typically goes to school, especially if this means being required to sit down or sit still for longer periods of time.
The big thing here is discrimination (which is just an advanced version of recognition). The very first step to understanding anything, is learning to recognize that A is (not) the same as B. Anything else around this age will naturally follow from that. Conversely, if someone can’t discriminate yet, then further challenges are entirely useless.
As such, when covering these topics, focus on “are they recognizing things (as different/the same)”. Don’t focus on any more superficial test like “when I show the same picture of an A, do they make the AAA sound?”
Remember why we do this: to help children learn new skills and grow. The question should always be “how can I help them learn?” instead of “how can I force them to do what school wants them to do?” Always ask why. And remember the correct why.
Topics
Language
Recognize and discriminate sounds, First Vocabulary, Challenges like rhyming or naming first/last word in a short sentence, Word Awareness -> Syllable Awareness -> Phonics, Listen to and repeat stories
Math
Recognition & Discrimination -> Comparison (smaller/larger, brighter/darker, etc) -> Sorting/Contrast/Grouping (without counting), First Shapes, First Colors, First introduction to patterns and “logic” in life (such as seasons)
Social
Learning “how to learn” and what school is, Teamwork & Collaboration (Taking Turns), Habits and routine (such as “brush your teeth every day”), Dealing with common social situations, Creativity & Association (Trying something new)
Physical
Gross Motor Skills (any sport/exercise/physical game) -> Fine Motor Skills (cutting, folding, throwing, crumpling paper) -> Pencil Control, My First Directions (words and concepts for indicating movement and direction in a physical world).
Anything that challenges gross and fine motor skills. Activities where you give answers by moving around, games where it’s all about physically doing stuff, are included too. The need to be physically active is true for everyone, though, for their entire life. So it won’t be mentioned again.
Overview
- Age Range: 4–6
- UK: Lower Key Stage 1 (Reception, Year 1)
- USA: Preschool, Kindergarten
- AU: Stage 1
- NL: Group 1–2
This level basically lays the foundations for all major skills. Any material here has to be very intuitive, practical, and gamified because you can’t expect someone to be able to read/write well.
By the end of this stage, the foundations should be done. Kids know the entire alphabet and all its sounds. They know all the numbers and the general things you do with them. It’s usually too early, though, for applying those foundations to more advanced challenges. (There’s a difference between knowing every letter of the alphabet, and being able to spell every possible word with that.)
Personally, and perhaps controversially, I’d focus a lot on the “World” aspect. That’s the actual important and practical thing. By focusing on news stories, or some landmark near your house, or a change of seasons that kids can experience, lessons become much more practical and immediate. First you experience the world, and then you learn to put it into words and numbers, not the other way around. First someone sees a cat—and learns about them, takes an interest, thinks positive thoughts like “ooh cute fluffy beings”—and then they’re eager to learn how you write the name for that animal.
This also combats the issue of “rote memorization”. The real world throws endless different challenges and questions your way, forcing you to understand the deeper knowledge behind something. Homework exercises, however, can only be a fixed set of questions that a kid can just … memorize.
Topics
Language
- Alphabet & Alphabet Order -> Write/read own name, Listen and speak for longer periods, Combine words into larger whole, More Vocabulary
- Read short texts, Write lowercase, Write really simple texts, Conversation/Opinions, Spelling pure sounds ( = words that sound exactly like you write them), More Vocabulary
Math
- Numbers (0–9) & Counting -> Count and name up to 20, Compare and sort quantities up to 12, Simple add/remove/split elements up to 12, Complex Shapes/Colors, Telling Time, Units (e.g. length, weight)
- Count to 100, actual addition/subtraction up to 20, Doubling and Halving, Measuring, Money, Automation ( = repeating math tasks until they are second nature)
Social
- Prolonged focus or work (includes working through challenges), Playing/working together, Emotions, Do tasks independently
- More working together and taking others into account, first consciousness about self and self image (still hard to empathize with others)
World
- Nature (mammals/birds/fish; food chain; seasons; body; magnetism; moon/sun; health; climate), Geography (maps, your own home, weather, towns vs cities), Traffic rules
- Religion (mostly events and names), History (work and leisure, now and then; jobs; hierarchy; knights and castles; middle ages; first vehicles; world wars; moon landing; role of modern media; multicultural)
Overview
- Age Range: 6–8
- UK: Upper Key Stage 1
- USA: Grade 1–2 (Elementary School -> Intermediate School)
- AU: Stage 2
- NL: Group 3–4
This level mostly means children are starting to write and read more, and more, and more.
In doing so, the crucial part is to vocalize. We evolved to speak, written language only came much later, which means teaching language becomes far more effective when people sound out words and read everythig aloud.
Also notice the “More Vocabulary” tacked onto every level. This usually means growing vocabulary by about 1,000 words, but it’s obviously not measured as strictly as that. More importantly, we distinguish between active vocabulary (words someone would use themselves) and passive vocabulary (words they’d understand if they appeared).
Just as this level solidifies the language basics, it does the same for a maths basics. Children can handle large enough numbers now, and start to see multiplication and division, which makes many other mathematical or logical puzzles possible.
Topics
Language
- Read instructive texts (e.g recipe) and sources, Write connected including uppercase, Spelling combined sounds/syllables, First Punctuation (.?!), More Vocabulary, Automation ( = reading a lot to increase tempo and intuition)
- Reading longer words/sentences, First word types (noun->verb->pronoun->modifier=adverb/adjective), More Punctuation (,":;), Writing a variety of short texts (email, letter, poem, story) correctly, Spelling more words with complex/combined sounds, Giving a speech, Recognizing verbs, More Vocabulary
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available
Math
- Addition/Subtraction up to 100, Place Value, Express numbers with digits or words, Telling Time (fine detail; digital clock; time elapsed), Measuring (fine detail;cm/m/km), Calendar, Intuition/Strategies for tables up to 10, Intuition for multiplication and division (incl fractions/decimals), Automation up to 20.
- Intuition for numbers up to 10.000, Addition/Subtraction up to 1000, Fractions/Decimals (halves/thirds/fourths; includes partitioning shapes), Complex Money, Complex Measuring (area, perimeter/circumference, different units), 1-digit Multiplication & Division
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available
Social
- Participating in different groups (with different roles) simultaneously, empathizing, finding cause and solution of conflicts, feeling own desires and preferences.
- Completely independent planning and studying, First Homework
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available
World
- More Traffic Rules, Nature (externally observable things, like body parts), Geography (more maps, mostly focused on country/continent/home town)
- Geography (Topography = learning specific countries, towns, and other geographic locations; Reading maps; Soil types), History (General ages/eras of history), Nature (healthy food; climate; weather/seasons; senses, breathing), Science (light; sound; magnets), Religion (important people and rituals), Society (basic finance, police, elections, bullying/discrimination)
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available
Overview
- Age Range: 8–10
- UK: Lower Key Stage 2 (Year 3–4) (Elementary School -> Middle School)
- USA: Grade 3–4 (Intermediate School -> Middle School)
- AU: Stage 3 (Primary -> Secondary)
- NL: Group 5–6
This is a bit of a middle ground where most people find it hard to see concrete “progress”. Something we call the “muddy middle” as writers, because you’re far from the start but also far from the finish. Nevertheless, learning surely goes on and contains many important steps. I guess the most important task here is to keep doing things and keep spirits high.
Explore all resources in this level!
Topics
Language
- First Formal Grammar ( = Recognizing subject and (main) verb in sentence), Word Types Done, Spelling verb conjugations, Spelling special situations (countries/towns, inhabitants of said countries, time indications), Reading more complex informational texts and making statements about them, Writing a variety of longer texts
- Advanced Formal Grammar ( = Object, Subclauses, Fragments, Dangling Modifiers, Preposition, Conjunction), Reading for study (reread, mark, make notes), Reading aloud, Other reading strategies (e.g. recognize signal words), Writing long informative texts, Discussion/Debate, Special Spelling (foreign words, possessives, hyphenated), Recognizing intention/meaning of a text, Passive and Active Tense. => Also, if supported, schools start teaching foreign languages here.
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available
Math
- Intuition for numbers up to 100.000, Addition/Subtraction up to 10.000, Roman numerals, Fractions further (eights, tenths, …), More Measurement Units, Measuring in Comparison (scale, price per part, etc), 2-digit Multiplication & Division, Represent & Interpret Data, Order of Operations, Quadrilaterals
- Math exercises up to 1.000.000 (+/-/x/:), First use of calculator, Complex fractions, Scale (percentages, averages, proportions), Measurements Done, Mental Calculation (up to 100), Intuitive mathematics (quick ballpark estimates of difficult formulas), 3-digit Multiplication & Division, Factors/Multiples/Patterns, Plane Figures (lines, perpendicular, orthogonal, angles)
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available
Social
- X (Around this point, schools are usually like “Social wellbeing? Mental health? You’re on your own! What a grown-up teenager you are!”)
- X (At this point, girls may enter puberty already, while boys usually still have to wait. A topic, thus, might be talking about body and sexuality.)
World
- Geography (focus on major players like Europe and USA), History (Hunters & Gatherers, Ancient Greece, Ancient Romans, Early Middle Ages, Late Middle Ages)
- Geography (world), Nature (photosynthesis; food cycle; blood circulation; digestion; sexual reproduction), Science (electricity/energy; magnetism; construction; materials), Religion (freedom of religion; major religions; secularization), Traffic (this is usually the final test to see whether a child understands and applies all traffic laws in your country), Society (democracy; norms and values; freedom of speech; discrimination), History (Age of Exploration, Age of Monarchies, Renaissance, Industrial Age, World Wars, Information Age)
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available
Overview
- Age Range: 10–12
- UK: Upper Key Stage 2 (Year 5–6) (Middle School -> High School)
- USA: Grade 5–6 (Middle School -> High school)
- AU: Stage 4
- NL: Group 7–8 (Primary School -> High School)
This level usually marks the switch from your first school to your second (primary->high). This usually involves a big final test, and lots of time is wasted preparing for this big final test. At least in the Netherlands, they literally teach you “tricks” for months on how to get the best possible score, instead of, you know, teaching valuable skills ;) I do agree, however, with curriculae that say you should prepare your child for this major switch and make sure to properly orient on where they want to go next.
Explore all resources in this level!
Topics
Language
- Formal Grammar Done ( = Recognizing and using word types and sentence parts correctly, including advanced bits like word order in English), Reading for study (summarize, schematize), Reading graphics and tables, Writing essays or opinionated pieces, Vocabulary Estimation = 25.000 passive words, 15.000 active words, 5.000 words spelled correctly.
- Proper sourcing/citing/finding evidence (incl connecting multiple texts/evidence/arguments), Deep understanding of words in context, Comparing Media, Historic Sources/Context, Determining author’s purpose. (This is basically all meta-analysis of texts at this point, as grammar and vocab should be good.)
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available
Math
- Add/Subtract/Divide/Multiply Fractions & Decimals ( + Decimal Place Value), Powers of Ten, Volume, Coordinate Plane, Converting Measurement Units, Line Plots, Properties of Shapes (incl circumference/diameter of circle, quadrilaterals), Mental calculations for numbers above 100, Rounding, Checking yourself with a calculator. Algebraic Thinking ( = turn problem into equations and numbers)
- Proportional Relationships (Ratios/Rates/Percentages), Negative Numbers, Powers of Any ( = Exponents), Variables & Expressions, Equations & Inequalities, Advanced Coordinate Plane (3D Figures), Data & Statistics (basic probability, mean, median, plotting, …)
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available
World
- ??
- ??
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available
Overview
- Age Range: 13+
- UK: Key Stage 3 (Year 7–9), Key Stage 4 (Year 10–11)
- USA: Grade 7–12
- AU: Stage 5(+) (Secondary -> Senior)
- NL: Grade 1–6
At this point, the topics and guidelines of education branch out. There are many different types of high schools, which offer many different subjects (some required, some optional), which means it’s hard to pin down specific topics for the final levels. In the Netherlands alone, there are topics that were covered to death on my school, which I learned other people never even heard about (when I went to university and met people from all over the country).
It is my view that, once you have sufficient skill in language and math, you can learn anything. You only need to be able to read and think critically to achieve anything. All topics offered from this point onward are completely optional, can be explored in any order, and have no “one true path” through them.
One might notice that we basically compressed the entirety of high school into one level. This has to do with my statement at the previous level: once you can read a little and count a little, the world has opened up. You can do anything, learn anything, and you don’t need to wait on adults or school to hand you that. Go follow any interest, go problem solve, you can do it!
Moreover, you are now old and experienced enough to organize and play more advanced things (like quiz nights, escape rooms, or full board games) by yourself. In a way, level 6 is just “the final level” that extends from age ~13 until the day you die.
The guidelines below are therefore sorted, instead, by their individual subject and the foundational ideas inside to get people started.
Topics
Language
- Branch out into other languages. (Always nice to have, but also creates more general intuition for communication and strength of expression.)
- Lots of reading, lots of writing. And then even more of it. (Diverse genres, authors, book lengths, etcetera. Even reading terrible books is great, as it shows you what not to do.)
- Away from the technical rules or details, and more towards usage, style and improving communication. (For example, word play, metaphors, stylistic choices, colloquialisms, poetry/meter, etcetera)
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available
Math
- Solving Equations (One Unknown, Two Unknowns, Systems of Equations)
- Geometry/Trigonometry (Pythagorean Theorem, Transformations, Angle Proofs, Radii/Volumes, 2D/3D shapes),
- Algebra (Linear Equations and Functions, Polynomials, Inequalities, Sequences, Absolute Value, Piecewise Functions, Exponents, Qudratics, Irrational Numbers, Polynomial factorization/division, Logarithms, Function Transformations, Modeling)
- Probability & Statistics (Calculating Probability, Modeling, Analyzing Data, Confidence Intervals, Significance Tests, Variance Analysis, Advanced Regression)
- Precalculus (Composite Functions, Inverse Functions, Complex Numbers, Rational Functions, Conic Sections, Vectors, Matrices, Combinatorics, Series, Limits & Continuity)
- Calculus (Multivariable, Differential, Integral => @TODO: Specify more when we get there)
@TODO: Add link to first Teaching Resource once available