FundaFunda Academy: Online Classes and Unit Studies for Home Educators Who Want Real Learning

This post contains affiliate links*. If FundaFunda Academy sounds like a good fit for you, you can support Struggle Society by clicking our links.

Most homeschool families hit the same wall eventually. The early years are manageable — you find a reading program, a math curriculum, and you build a rhythm. But then your child gets older. The subjects get harder. And you start to wonder whether you are actually equipped to teach high school chemistry, or world geography, or personal finance.

FundaFunda Academy* was built for exactly that gap.

What It Is

FundaFunda Academy is an online learning platform for homeschoolers in grades 4 through 12. It was founded by Meryl van der Merwe, a homeschooling parent and computer programmer who built the platform to fill a need she saw in her own home.

The platform offers two types of products. The first is full-semester online classes. These are structured, asynchronous courses — no live sessions required, but there are weekly deadlines and all work is graded by the instructor. Subjects range from biology, chemistry, and physics to world history, US government, personal finance, Spanish, French, Latin, web development, and more. Full-semester class prices typically run $199–$400 per semester depending on the course.

The second type is web-based unit studies. These are self-paced, four-module courses designed to be completed over roughly a month. A single purchase covers all the children in one family. Lifetime access is included. Unit studies are not graded — they are tools for learning, not for transcript. Subjects include the stock market, AI, geography, anatomy, astronomy, coding, and more. Individual unit studies are individually priced and generally much lower cost than the full-semester classes.

The platform is entirely asynchronous. Students do not need to be online at a specific time. The instructor and teaching assistants are available by message and typically respond within 24 hours on weekdays.

What It Does Well

It covers the years most homeschool parents dread. The middle school and high school years are where many home educators feel least confident. FundaFunda fills that gap with courses taught by subject-matter specialists — including instructors with graduate-level credentials in their fields. A parent who can confidently teach math through 8th grade but who is not equipped to teach high school chemistry no longer has to choose between outsourcing entirely and doing it poorly.

The method actually engages students. FundaFunda keeps textbooks and tests to a minimum. Classes use videos, interactive websites, infographics, games, and project-based assignments. Student reviews consistently note that the courses feel different from conventional schoolwork — more interesting, more connected to real life. That is not incidental. It is the design philosophy.

The unit studies* are unusually flexible. Because one purchase covers the whole family and includes lifetime access, a unit study bought today can be revisited in two years when a younger sibling is ready for it. For large families or families on a budget, that is a meaningfully better deal than most curriculum options.

The topic range is wider than most. FundaFunda offers courses in areas that conventional homeschool curriculum rarely covers well: personal finance, graphic design, photography, theatre, AI, web development, ACT prep. These are not add-ons. They are full courses. A student who finishes a FundaFunda semester on personal finance has learned something that will matter for the rest of their life.

What to Know Before You Buy

Full-semester classes have weekly deadlines. This is intentional — it builds structure and accountability. But it also means a family going through a difficult season cannot simply pause and pick up later. If your family's schedule is highly variable, the self-paced class options or unit studies may be a better fit.

The platform is asynchronous, which means no live instruction. Most students adapt to this easily, but students who need real-time explanation and immediate back-and-forth with a teacher may find it less effective than a live tutoring arrangement.

Registration windows for full-semester classes are seasonal. If you want a specific class for a specific semester, plan ahead — registration closes before the semester begins, and not all courses remain open throughout the year.

FundaFunda is also Tennessee-based, and Tennessee sales tax (9.25%) is added to all orders.

Is It Worth It?

For home educators with students in the middle school or high school years, yes — particularly for subjects where the parent does not have deep subject knowledge.

FundaFunda is not trying to replace every part of a homeschool curriculum. It is a strong option for courses where expertise and structure matter. A parent who handles language arts and history at home can use FundaFunda for chemistry and personal finance and build a complete program without compromising on quality in any subject.

The unit studies are especially worth considering for families who want to explore topics outside the standard curriculum without committing to a full semester. They are low-cost, flexible, and built to actually hold a student's attention.

This post contains affiliate links*. If FundaFunda Academy* sounds like a good fit for you, you can support Struggle Society by clicking our links.

If you are still in the early stages of building your home education approach, the Home Education Launchpad is a $1 resource that includes FundaFunda alongside dozens of other tools organized by subject.