The Short Answer
PEI does not require a specific curriculum, subjects, assessments, or instructional hours. You choose what and how to teach. If you want the public system's materials, you can borrow them by filing a Request for Home Education Learning Resources form, with a refundable $50 deposit per child returned when the books come back. The Department also publishes curriculum guides and a learning resources list. Most families still plan around the core areas a school covers to keep a child on track.
Verified June 2026 against the PEI Home Education Regulations and the Government of Prince Edward Island Home Education page.
PEI Homeschool Curriculum and Resources at a Glance
| Required curriculum | None. You choose your own |
|---|---|
| Required subjects | None |
| Hours / days | None set |
| Provincial books | Available to borrow via the Request for Learning Resources form |
| Deposit | Refundable $50 per child, returned when books are returned |
| Also available | Department curriculum guides and a learning resources list |
| Sensible plan | Cover the core areas a school does (language, math, science, social studies) |
| Cost to homeschool | None beyond the optional book deposit |
What PEI Requires You to Teach
Nothing in particular. PEI sets no required subjects, no assessments, and no minimum number of instructional days or hours for home-educated children. The standard in the Home Education Regulations is broad: you ensure, to the best of your ability, that your child has the opportunity to acquire knowledge and develop skills that will prepare them for life as an adult. The province is holding you to an outcome, not a process. That gives you real freedom in what and how you teach.
The flip side of that freedom is that the structure is yours to build. No list of required subjects arrives in the mail when you register. No department official checks your plan before you begin. You are starting with a blank page, and while some parents find that liberating, others find it the hardest part of the first year. The sections below walk through how to use that freedom without getting lost in it.
One helpful frame: the standard the regulations use, knowledge and skills that prepare the child for adult life, points toward a real education rather than a narrow one. A program that covers reading, writing, and mathematics as foundations, and then builds outward from there, meets that standard in the early years. As children grow, the scope broadens to include science, history, and other subject areas, following the child's development and interests.
Borrowing Provincial Curriculum Books
If you want to start with the public system's materials rather than building your own program from scratch, PEI makes that option available at a low cost. You file a Request for Home Education Learning Resources form with the Department and pay a refundable $50 deposit per child. When you return the books at the end of the program year, the full deposit comes back to you. Homeschooling itself carries no fee; the deposit is only for the books.
For many families in their first year, borrowing the provincial books is a practical starting point. The books give you a clear sequence and a structured spine for subjects like mathematics and language arts, which are harder to plan without a reference point. You are not committing to following every page; you are getting a framework to work from while you develop your own sense of what your child needs.
Before you pick materials, get a clear picture of where your child is. Our free reading assessment gives you a concrete starting level in about ten minutes. That baseline lets you choose materials at the right level rather than assuming the provincial books for a given grade will be the right fit. A child working above or below a nominal grade level in reading is better served by materials matched to where they are, not where their birth year suggests they should be.
The book deposit is separate from the homeschool registration. You file the Request for Learning Resources form alongside your Notice of Intention if you want both at the same time, or you can request the books later. Contact the Home Education office in Summerside to confirm the current process and which books are available for the grades you need.
Other Resources from the Department
Beyond the borrowable books, the Department publishes curriculum guides that show what the public school system covers at each grade level. These guides are available as references for home-educating families whether or not you borrow physical books. They are worth downloading before you plan, because they give you a map of what the school system considers relevant at each stage, which is a useful reference point even if you build your own program from scratch.
The Department also maintains a Home Education Learning Resources list that suggests materials organized by subject and level. This list points toward supplementary resources, library materials, and free or low-cost options beyond the provincial books. It is not a requirement list; it is a catalogue of what other families and the Department have found worth using. Browse it as a starting point rather than treating it as a mandatory reading list.
You are free to mix all of these with commercial curricula, library resources, and materials you put together yourself. PEI places no restriction on what you use. The curriculum guides and resources list are tools, not mandates. Take what is useful and leave the rest.
Choosing the right curriculum gets easier when you know what to teach, what to skip, and where to start.
Get the GuideA simple step-by-step plan for getting started.
How to Plan When Nothing Is Required
Start from your child, not from a checklist. The first question is not "what does PEI require?" but "where is my child right now, and what do they need next?" Once you have a clear baseline, you can build a program that works at the right level rather than one that assumes a grade. This is where a reading assessment or a conversation about what your child already knows across subjects pays off before you buy anything.
Most families plan around the core subject areas a school covers: language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Covering these areas keeps a child progressing and makes a transition back to school smoother if that ever happens. You do not need to match a school's exact scope or follow their sequence, but touching each area across the year is a sound base. Language and mathematics get daily attention in most homeschool programs because those skills compound: gaps in them slow everything else down.
Decide on a rough weekly rhythm rather than a rigid hour-by-hour timetable. The rhythm should reflect your family's life, your child's energy, and the subjects you are covering. Some families do all academic subjects Monday through Thursday and leave Friday light. Others spread shorter sessions across five days. The structure you choose should be one you can hold for the whole year, not just the first month. If you want a step-by-step framework for building that weekly plan, the guide lays out the whole process from scratch.
Build in room to adjust. A plan you write in August and never revisit is more likely to feel constraining than one you treat as a living document. Check in every few weeks on what is working and what is not. If a subject is dragging, the materials might be wrong for your child's level, not your child. Match the teaching to where the child is, and the year runs more smoothly than a fixed plan allows.
Choosing an Approach
PEI's freedom means you can lean structured or relaxed, and both work when you execute them well. A structured approach uses a curriculum with a clear sequence, whether the borrowed provincial books or a commercial program. You follow the sequence, cover the material, and move forward at a set pace. Many families prefer this because it removes daily decision-making about what to teach; you open the book and teach the next lesson.
A more interest-led approach builds learning around what your child is drawn to, with you steering toward the core skills. A child who is absorbed by animals will read, write, do math, and study science through that lens if you set it up correctly. This approach requires more planning from you because you are designing the integration rather than following a preset sequence. It works well for motivated kids and parents who enjoy curriculum design.
A blend is the most common approach: a structured spine for mathematics and reading, more freedom in the other subject areas. This gives you daily certainty in the subjects where sequence matters most, while leaving room for your child's interests to shape the rest. Most families who start structured loosen up as they get comfortable, and most who start interest-led add some structure over time. Neither starting point is wrong; the one that fits your family is the right one.
Keeping Records (Even Though You Do Not Have To)
PEI does not require reports, testing, or a portfolio submission. You are not required to demonstrate your program to anyone during the year or at the end of it. That is part of what makes PEI one of the lighter provinces for homeschooling. Still, keeping a simple folder of dated work samples per subject is worth the small effort, even without any external requirement to do so.
Records serve you before they serve anyone else. A folder of work samples gives you a concrete picture of what your child did this year, which makes planning next year much easier. They also protect your child's options if they return to public school, since the school board decides grade placement and looks at available records when doing so. A child whose homeschool years are well-documented enters that process with a clear story. For the full picture of the annual registration and how records connect to it, see the PEI notice of intent guide and the complete PEI guide.
The simplest system is a folder per child, physical or digital, with a few dated samples dropped in per subject every few weeks. You do not need to keep every worksheet or every finished project. A representative sample, labelled with the subject and approximate date, is enough to reconstruct the year later and to tell a coherent story if you ever need to.
Not sure where to start? This gives you a clear next step in minutes.
Start the Free AssessmentTakes about 10 minutes. Know exactly where to start.
Val's Note: What This Really Means for You
The freedom in PEI sounds wonderful until the first week, when you realize no one is going to hand you a plan. What helped me was borrowing the provincial books that first year for the refundable deposit. It gave me a spine to lean on for math and reading while I found my own rhythm everywhere else. The deposit comes back when the books go back, so it costs nothing to try.
Build around your child's level, not around what grade the calendar says they should be in. Cover the core areas so nothing falls behind, and keep a folder of work samples even though no one will ask to see it. That folder is what makes the freedom feel safe rather than unsettling. The year is yours to run; the records are what give that year shape and protect what you built.
If you are in your first year and feeling overwhelmed by the blank page, start with the provincial books and your child's reading level. One solid spine for each of math and language, matched to the level your child is at right now, gets the year moving without requiring you to design everything from scratch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PEI Require a Specific Curriculum?
No. There are no required subjects, assessments, or instructional hours. You choose what and how to teach. The standard in the Home Education Regulations is that you provide knowledge and skills that prepare your child for adult life.
Can I Use the Public System's Curriculum?
Yes. You can borrow provincial curriculum books by filing a Request for Home Education Learning Resources form with the Department. A refundable $50 deposit per child covers the books while you have them.
What Does It Cost to Borrow the Books?
A refundable $50 deposit per child, returned when you give the books back. Homeschooling itself is free. The deposit is the only money involved unless you choose to purchase other materials.
What Other Resources Are Available?
The Department publishes curriculum guides and a Home Education Learning Resources list. Both are available on the Government of PEI Home Education page and can be used as references regardless of whether you borrow books.
What Should I Teach If Nothing Is Required?
Most families plan around the core areas a school covers: language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. These areas keep a child progressing and make any future school transition smoother. Build the program around your child's current level, not a nominal grade.
Do I Have to Keep Records?
No, but a folder of dated work samples per subject is worth keeping. Records help with planning the following year and protect your child's options if they return to public school, where the school board uses available records to set grade placement.
Sources
This guide was verified in June 2026 against the following primary sources. Confirm current form availability and resource lists with the Home Education office before each school year, as materials and processes can change.