Founding Families Beta • Grades 9-12 • Fall 2026
A SKILLED TRADES PROGRAM FOR HOMESCHOOL FAMILIES
SkillCat is creating Trades Explorer, a practical learning option for homeschool students who love knowing how things work: home systems, tools, maintenance, and the skilled trades.
Grades 9-12 • September through December • Free for Founding Families
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FREE BETA
one full semester
GRADES 9-12
K-8 coming soon
SELF-PACED
fits your homeschool
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WHAT STUDENTS WILL EXPLORE
Real skills, taught step by step, with at-home projects along the way.
HOW THINGS WORK
Electricity, heating and cooling, plumbing, and the systems running every home. Reading wiring diagrams. Using a multimeter.
TOOLS AND MAINTENANCE
Hand and power tools, appliance repair, home upkeep, and safety habits. Projects like wiring a lamp cord and testing it themselves.
SKILLED TRADE CAREER ROUTES
Guided exposure to HVAC, electrical, plumbing, welding, solar, and more, so students discover what they actually enjoy.
ONE PATHWAY, K THROUGH 12
The beta starts with high school. Founding Families help us build the rest.
COMING NEXT
K-5
DISCOVERY
First exposure to tools, materials, and making things.
COMING NEXT
6-8
FOUNDATIONS
Trades awareness, measurement, safety, and basic skills.
IN THE BETA
9-10
TRADE TRACK
Try every major trade before choosing a direction.
IN THE BETA
11-12
CAREER TRACK
Go deep in one trade across junior and senior year.
IN THE BETA
11-12
LIFE SKILLS
Home maintenance, appliance repair, and practical know-how.
Each track is built semester by semester, 60 hours each, across all four years of high school. And for students who want it, the road continues after graduation with job placement or apprenticeship.
WHAT FOUNDING FAMILIES GET, AND GIVE
YOU GET
A free full semester, September through December
Full access to Trade Track, Career Track, and Life Skills
A parent account with per-child progress and hour tracking
A direct line to the team building the platform
WE ASK
Your child works through the semester at your family's pace
You share honest feedback a few times during the semester
You tell us what your family actually needs, even when it's critical
THE QUESTIONS WE NEED YOUR HELP ANSWERING
What should Discovery and Foundations look like for younger students?
What information, progress tracking, or reports would parents need?
What features would make this easier to use in your homeschool?
What features would make this easier to use in your homeschool?
What structure helps in the learning plan: pre-built, self-select, or both?
Do hands-on activities make this more valuable?
What feels missing, confusing, or unnecessary?
COMMON QUESTIONS
HOW MUCH TIME DOES THE BETA TAKE EACH WEEK?
For students, each semester is about 60 hours of coursework and hands-on options, fully self-paced on your family's schedule. For parents, plan on 1 to 2 hours per month for surveys and feedback on the experience. If you're very hands-on or have multiple children in the program, it may run closer to 1 to 2 hours per week.
DOES THIS COUNT TOWARD OUR HOMESCHOOL HOURS?
That's each family's decision, since requirements and approaches vary. To support whatever you choose, courses are broken into subject hours like math, science, and hands-on skills, and your parent account can pull a per-child report anytime. Part of the beta is telling us what tracking and reports would actually be useful to you.
WHAT IF MY CHILD DOESN'T KNOW WHICH TRADE THEY'D LIKE?
That's what Trade Track is for. Grades 9 and 10 sample every major trade, so choosing later comes from experience, not guesswork.
CAN I PAY WITH ESA OR VOUCHER FUNDS LATER?
SkillCat is an approved ESA vendor, and details vary by state. The beta is free either way. Tell us your state in the form and we'll follow up with what applies to you.
MY CHILDREN ARE YOUNGER THAN 9TH GRADE. CAN WE JOIN?
The beta covers grades 9-12, but K-8 is what we build next, and we want younger families' input too. Check the box in the form and we'll include you as those levels take shape.
Founding Families Beta • September through December
JOIN AS A FOUNDING FAMILY
Takes two minutes. We'll follow up with everything you need to start in September.