Required Homeschool Subjects in Wisconsin

Wisconsin requires instruction in reading, language arts, math, social studies, science, and health. Beyond the list you're free to teach whatever else fits your family.

Wisconsin's required subject list

• Reading
• Language Arts
• Math
• Social Studies
• Science
• Health

Required hours

875 hrs/year

Required subjects

6 subjects

Notice

Required

Testing / evaluation

Not required

Recordkeeping

Recommended

Jump to the full Wisconsin requirements for plain-English detail on each of these.

The subjects Wisconsin names

Wisconsin names 6 required subjects: reading, language arts, math, social studies, science, and health. The statute stops at the subject names and leaves the teaching to you. A boxed curriculum, a set of programs picked one at a time, and a shelf of library books can each satisfy the same list.

How much time each subject needs

Wisconsin sets a total of 875 hours and leaves the split to you. Cover each required subject often enough that your records show real instruction in all of them, then put the extra weight where your student needs it.

Choosing curriculum for each one

Wisconsin law requires no approved or accredited curriculum. Take a math program from one publisher, a reading program from another, and cover history through library books if that works for your family. Instruction has to happen and you have to be able to show it. Switching curriculum mid year is fine as long as the subject keeps getting taught.

Showing you taught them

Wisconsin asks for no proof that you covered each subject, though the records that would answer the question are worth keeping. A log showing which subject each session covered, plus a few dated work samples per subject, does the job. The same records make a transcript much easier to build later.

Adding subjects beyond the list

Treat the required list as your starting point. Art, music, a second language, coding, shop, and whatever else your family cares about all count as instructional time on top of the requirements. In Wisconsin those hours count toward your totals the same as any other.

Your Wisconsin subject checklist

Set this up once at the start of the year and the rest falls out of logging.

1. 1

   Set up a subject for each requirement

   One subject per item on the Wisconsin list, named the way the statute names it, so your records line up with the law without translation.

2. 2

   Mark the core subjects

   Wisconsin draws no line between core and non core subjects. Flagging the required ones still makes it clear at a glance whether each is getting taught.

3. 3

   Attach each activity to a subject

   A generic "school" bucket leaves you with a pile of hours. Tagging the subject turns the same hours into evidence that each requirement got covered.

4. 4

   Watch for a subject going quiet

   One requirement can drift for a month before you notice. A per-subject breakdown surfaces it while you can still fix it.

5. 5

   Save a work sample per subject

   Two or three dated samples per subject per term covers you, and pulling them as you go spares you a hunt through a year of paper in June.

What this looks like in Homeschool Fox

Set up one subject per Wisconsin requirement and every logged activity rolls up under the right one.

What Homeschool Fox tracks for Wisconsin

Everything Wisconsin expects you to keep, in one place — no spreadsheets, no lost notebooks.

• Hours toward your 875-hour goal
• Required subjects & core hours
• Daily activity logs
• Attendance records
• Notes & portfolio records
• Printable PDF reports
• High school transcripts
• State-specific progress tracking

More Wisconsin guides

• Wisconsin Homeschool Requirements Hours, notice, assessment, and subjects at a glance.
• How to Start Homeschooling in Wisconsin A step-by-step guide from withdrawal to your first logged day.
• Homeschooling High School in Wisconsin Credits, GPA, transcripts, and graduation.
• Record Keeping in Wisconsin What to document, how to organize it, and staying compliant.
• How to Withdraw From School in Wisconsin The steps, the letter, and timing to avoid truancy issues.
• Moving to Wisconsin What to file when you arrive and whether your records transfer.
• Public School Sports in Wisconsin Whether homeschoolers can play, what it takes, and who to ask.
• Homeschool Hours Required in Wisconsin The number, what counts toward it, and the pace to hit it.
• Wisconsin Letter of Intent Who to file with, when it's due, and a free generator.