Texas Education Freedom Accounts: Homeschool History for Grades 1–4
Texas Education Freedom Accounts: Homeschool History for Grades 1–4
Texas Education Freedom Accounts list "textbooks or other instructional materials" as approved expenses for 2026–27, the program's first year, so homeschool history curriculum is worth checking against the rules. The Elementary History Curriculum holds 20 planned units for Grades 1–4 at $169.99. It contains no Texas history, and Teach Lessons is not an approved TEFA vendor, so confirm with the Comptroller's program first.
Read the full unit listTEFA's approved expenses include textbooks or other instructional materials, but the Comptroller's program decides which purchases and vendors it accepts, so check before ordering. Teach Lessons is not an approved TEFA vendor. The Elementary History Curriculum ($169.99) is a Grades 1–4 download of all 20 elementary history units, each with three sub-units containing a lesson plan, a differentiated worksheet with reading passage, a project or source activity, an answer key and slides.
The resources
Elementary History Curriculum, Grades 1–4
20 resources in one download: $169.99 instead of $499.80 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Elementary History Curriculum | All 20 History Units | Grades 1–4
Early American History Bundle | Native Americans, Explorers, Pilgrims & Pioneers | 8 Units | Grades 1–4
Ancient Civilizations Bundle | Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, Vikings & Stone Age | 8 Units | Grades 1–4
Complete Learning Books Bundle | 10 Units: Grammar, Math, Science, History, ESL, Art & Music | Grades 3–6
Teach-Life-Balance: The Complete Time-Saving Course for Teachers (incl. Planner, Guides & Templates)
The real problem
A new program, a first year of choices
Texas Education Freedom Accounts were created by SB 2 of 2025 and open for the first time in the 2026–27 school year, with the Comptroller running the program. Homeschool students are eligible along with private school students, and the approved expense list names textbooks or other instructional materials. Computer hardware and software sit under a separate yearly cap, so families buying a digital curriculum may want to ask the program which category it falls into. A first year means everyone is learning the rules at the same time, and families are making curriculum decisions with less guidance than they would like. For parents of children in Grades 1–4, history raises its own question. Texas has its own social studies standards, the TEKS, and families who care about them will notice that a general curriculum like this one says nothing about Texas. What a young child needs from early history is still fairly universal: stories about how people lived, pictures, simple sources and a sense of time. The practical problem is finding lessons a parent can teach without building them, in an order that holds together across a whole year.
Why it fits
What the 20 units offer a TEFA homeschool
The series covers the ancient world, early America and everyday life in the past, with the same lesson structure throughout.
- Instructional material by design: lesson plans, worksheets, activities, answer keys and slides in one download.
- Early American units cover Native Americans, explorers, the Pilgrims and pioneers, taught respectfully and with sources.
- Ancient units take children to Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, the Stone Age and the Viking world.
- Timelines & Measuring Time and Traces of the Past build the basic skills of thinking about history.
- Reading passages and word banks support early readers while older siblings take on more of the writing.
- Every lesson is already planned, so a parent can teach history consistently all year.
Getting started
How a Texas family might set up the year
Start with the TEFA rules, then pick an order that suits your children. The schedule ideas are suggestions only.
- Ask the program about digital curriculumCheck the TEFA family guidance for how instructional materials are purchased or reimbursed, whether outside vendors are allowed, and whether a downloaded curriculum counts against the software cap.
- Compare with the TEKS if that mattersIf you want your homeschool to follow the Texas social studies standards for Grades 1–4, read the unit descriptions next to the TEKS and note what you will add yourself.
- Begin with time and sourcesTimelines & Measuring Time and Traces of the Past make a good opening, because every later unit asks children to place events in order and look at evidence.
- Alternate eras by seasonOne way to spread the year: ancient civilizations in early fall, explorers and the Pilgrims around November, knights and medieval towns in winter, pioneers and then-and-now units in spring.
- Add Texas history from local sourcesFill the Texas gap with library books, local museums, historic sites and family stories. The source-analysis habits from the curriculum carry over to those materials.
What to buy
Choosing the right history purchase
Buy the Elementary History Curriculum at $169.99 if you want a full year of early history from one source; the 20 units add up to $499.80 bought individually. If your child mainly needs American beginnings, the Early American History Bundle ($99.99, $199.92 for its eight parts) focuses on Native Americans, explorers, Pilgrims, pioneers, timelines and sources. The Ancient Civilizations Bundle ($99.99, also $199.92 in parts) suits a family drawn to Egypt, Rome and the Vikings. The Complete Learning Books Bundle ($99.90) covers several subjects for Grades 3–6. Teach-Life-Balance ($89.90) helps the parent plan the week.
Honest limits
Where this curriculum stops
There is no Texas history unit and no TEKS codes anywhere in the material; it was not written for any one state. Teach Lessons does not claim to be an approved TEFA vendor, and only the Comptroller's program decides what it pays for, so check its rules and vendor list first. Texas homeschool requirements are separate from TEFA; confirm current law with the state or a homeschool legal resource. Project supplies such as paper, glue and coloring materials come from you. A co-op sharing the files needs to message Teach Lessons first. Within 7 days you can exchange it for store credit, though not for cash.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is this curriculum TEFA-approved or aligned with the TEKS?
No to both. Teach Lessons is not an approved TEFA vendor, and the curriculum is not aligned with, endorsed by or approved under the TEKS or by any Texas agency. TEFA lists textbooks or other instructional materials as approved expenses, but whether this specific purchase qualifies is for the program to say. Check before you buy.
Does the software cap apply to a digital curriculum?
TEFA caps computer hardware and software at a set share of the yearly amount. Whether a downloaded curriculum is treated as instructional material or as software is a question for the program, not for this store. Ask the Comptroller's TEFA office before relying on either category.
Will my child learn Texas history from it?
Not directly. The units cover world and early American history, such as ancient Rome, the Vikings, Native Americans and pioneers. For Texas history, add books, museum visits and local sites. The timeline and source work in the curriculum gives children useful tools for that local study.
How are sensitive topics like Native Americans handled?
The Native Americans: First Peoples of North America unit is written factually and respectfully for young learners. The Pilgrims and explorers units follow the same approach. Each has a reading passage, a project or primary-source activity and an answer key, and you can read the unit descriptions on the product page before ordering.
Can I teach two children in different grades with it?
Yes. Children in Grades 1–4 can share a lesson and the slides, while the differentiated worksheet, reading passage and word bank let each child work at their own level. You check both with the same answer key. A fourth grader can also take on the project or source activity more independently while you sit with the younger child.
When do I receive the curriculum?
It is a digital download. The link comes by email right after purchase, and the files stay in your account under Orders, which also serves as a record of the order. If it is not a fit, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value.
Check TEFA, then plan early history
All 20 elementary history units in one download, every lesson planned. Read the full unit list on the curriculum page.
Read the full unit list