All curriculum reviews

    Timberdoodle Curriculum Kits

    A family-owned Washington retailer that curates and boxes 7 to 28 third-party products per grade into hands-on, STEM-heavy annual kits with a printed Handbook and an online…

    Nobody reads the work
    Eclectic
    Charlotte Mason
    Classical
    Montessori
    Visit site
    As a full curriculum
    2.5/5
    As a supplement
    3.0/5
    How this is scored
    Not sufficient on its own as a full curriculum

    This scores below our floor on at least one of content, assessment, accountability or academic demand. Use it with a documented plan alongside it.

    Rating capped at 2.5 as a full curriculum

    Most of the work happens in an app and no qualified adult is required to read what the student produces. It can still serve well alongside another programme.

    A student can move through this quickly with nobody checking

    Finishing fast is not the same as learning. Worth pairing with your own checkpoints.

    How it scored

    Nine dimensions, each scored 0 to 4 by a reviewer working from the programme's own published materials.

    2
    Standards, Accuracy & Content Scope

    Is the content accurate, at the right level, and does it cover what it claims?

    2
    Focus, Coherence & Cognitive Rigor

    Does it build in a sensible order and make a student actually think?

    2
    Research-Consistent Instructional Design

    Is it taught in a way the research supports, with honest claims?

    2
    Assessment, Feedback & Demonstrable Mastery

    Can you actually see what your child learned, not just what they finished?

    1
    Accountability & Feedback Loop

    Does a qualified adult read your child's work and respond to it?

    3
    Adult Usability & Implementation Support

    How much work is this for you, and does it help you do that work?

    3
    Differentiation, Access & Learner Fit

    Does it flex for a struggling learner, an advanced one, or a different kind of learner?

    3
    Practical Feasibility & Transparency

    What does it truly cost, in money and time, and will it work where you live?

    2
    Academic Demand & College Readiness

    Is this preparing a student for college, or just for a diploma?

    The practical details

    Grades
    Tiny Tots and Preschool through 12th grade (kits published for Tiny Tots, Preschool, Pre-K, K, and grades 1 through 12)
    Subjects
    Language Arts, Math, Thinking Skills and Art in every tier (Basic). Complete and Elite add History and Social Studies, Geography, Science, STEM and Learning Tools. Elite adds more hands-on tools, additional art, and games. NOT included at any tier: foreign language, health, physical education, music. Timberdoodle…
    How it runs
    Physical boxed kit shipped from Shelton, Washington (in-stock items ship in 1 to 3 business days). Overwhelmingly print and physical manipulatives. The only digital layer is the Timberdoodle Scheduler at scheduler.timberdoodle.com, a browser planning tool…
    Who teaches
    The parent, or increasingly the student alone. Timberdoodle markets parent-light independence: "We support independent learning from the start. We use simple weekly checklists so your child knows exactly what to do. This gives you room to breathe and helps your student grow into a self-starter" (kits collection page).…
    Who grades
    Nobody, unless the parent chooses to. Timberdoodle states it flatly: "we don't grade their papers, track their attendance, or hand out diplomas." Component publishers supply answer keys and tests inside the box. For high school the vendor offers tips and a High School Planner with transcript templates and per-resource suggested credit values, but the parent assigns every grade and credit.
    What the parent does
    Buyer, assembler, scheduler, and (optionally) teacher and grader. Concretely required: choose the grade and tier, run the free placement tests, set up the Scheduler year, print checklists, and for high school assign credits and build the transcript. Explicitly NOT required by the design: teaching lessons, discussing readings, or marking work. Timberdoodle supplies no discussion questions, no narration prompts, no…
    Credit and records
    Not accredited and not a school. "Accreditation is for schools, not curriculum ... we don't grade their papers, track their attendance, or hand out diplomas." No diploma, no third-party transcript. Timberdoodle does provide the raw materials for a parent-built record: a Typical Credits Earned list per high school kit assigning suggested credit values to each resource, the…
    Cost
    2026-2027 Classic Elite kit prices are published per grade on the Scheduler page: Tiny Tots $945, Preschool $1,049, Pre-K $1,215, Kindergarten $1,003.09, 1st $1,253, 2nd $1,447, 3rd $1,407, 4th $1,567, 5th $1,437, 6th $1,658, 7th $1,362, 8th $1,537, 9th $1,750, 10th $1,631, 11th $1,761, 12th $1,959. Complete and Basic tiers cost less. Re-purchase for a second child in the same grade is the Additional Student Kit,…
    Alaska notes
    This is the sharpest practical problem with Timberdoodle for an Alaska family, and the vendor is upfront about it. Free ground shipping, which is Timberdoodle's headline offer and normally applies to every curriculum kit regardless of order size, explicitly excludes Alaska: "AK, HI, military, or international addresses aren't included." The $7.95 Flat Rate Economy option is…

    Strengths

    • Cost and consumable transparency that most boxed curricula do not match: every grade priced publicly, plus a separately priced Additional Student Kit that contains only the consumables, so a family…
    • The Scheduler is the best implementation tool in this class of product. One code covers the whole family Tiny Tots through 12th, it lays out every subject day by day for every child, reshuffles…
    • Honest, self-incriminating disclosure. The vendor publishes a state-by-state article that names its own gaps (P.E., health, music, U.S. Constitution not in every level) and publishes user-sourced…

    Weaknesses

    • No adult loop is built in and the absence is marketed as a benefit. Timberdoodle states it never grades work, supplies no discussion questions, narration prompts or marking guidance of its own, and…
    • Timberdoodle authors almost no instruction. The coherence, rigor and instructional quality a family actually receives belong to 15 to 28 separate publishers, and the Handbook is explicitly a set of…
    • Curriculum gaps that matter for college admission: no foreign language at any grade, high school science that is not structured to carry lab credit, and a quarter credit of composition in 9th grade.
    Good fitA hands-on, wiggly, or ADHD-leaning learner in preschool through roughly 8th grade whose parent wants the whole year decided, boxed and scheduled in one purchase, and who is willing to be the teacher and grader without being told to. Also a strong fit for a family that wants a secular option without switching vendors…
    Poor fitA family that needs someone other than themselves to read and evaluate the student's work, needs an accredited record, a transcript issued by a third party, or a validated advanced pathway (AP, dual credit, A-G) for a competitive college application. Poor fit for a student who needs a foreign language or lab-credit…

    Reviewed from the programme's own published materials. Pricing and features change without notice, so confirm details with the publisher before buying. How FrostBoard rates curriculum