Curriculum: Kindergarten

The number one question people always ask for any grade level is what curriculum do you use? There are so many wonderful curriculums out there and too many to name in even one blog post. Be sure to read our post What Curriculum Do You Use? to learn more about curriculum in general.

First off, I want to encourage you to start simple! Kindergarten should only take about 1.5 to 2 hours maximum per day! I only do reading, math and handwriting. You may be asking but what about science, history, art, music, etc. The rest of the subjects we get through reading non fiction books and having fun. Go for nature walks and field trips. Talk about what you see and ask them questions about the world around them. Encourage them to get curious about their surroundings. You certainly can sign your kids up for a homeschool PE class, but really it isn't necessary. It's ok to let your kids get "bored." When they become bored, they create. Have some crafts supplies or even recycling on hand and let their imagination run wild!

For a reading curriculum I actually use two. You can easily choose one of these and be just fine. The first is Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. I love this resource because it guides you through step by step. It goes line by line and says what you are to say and the response for what your child should say. This is great for people that want it all laid out for them and might be a little nervous about "doing it right." This book may look dry and boring with no pictures but the goal is to make sure they understand reading and aren't guessing words based on the pictures. You can view some sample pages at the link.

The second book I love to use is Phonics Pathways. This one is not as structured but offers some fun activities and games to play with your child. You can also view some sample pages at the link. While it doesn't tell you line by line what to say or do, it does offer guidance in the front of the book. You would just need to read up on it a bit before starting and decide exactly how you were going to use it.

Kids learn a lot by repeating. Have you had a toddler that asked to read the same book over and over until you were just sick of it? That whole time they were learning and absorbing the information. The younger ones need this repetition. As a part of Kindergarten I like to have a set of flashcards with the letters on them that we go through. By kindergarten they should be able to identify most of the letters easily. They may still mess up a couple or confuse b, d, p, and q. Once they have the letter names down we begin with the sounds. You can do one a week or one a day. The fun part is you get to decide the pace you go. You can always adjust or review if needed. My goal would be at the fastest 1-2 letter sounds per week.

Another large component of Kindergarten is math. Saxon has a math curriculum for Kindergarten. I have heard good things about it but have not used it. We used Math You See Primer and did half of it in preschool and the other half during kindergarten. It's very hands on and simple. You could create your own math curriculum and teach number recognition, counting by 1s, 2s, 10s, patterns, shapes, days of the week, etc. They may be starting to add toward the end of the kindergarten as well. We use Christian Light Education for math in the later grades but they do not have a kindergarten math.

Lastly, we teach handwriting. We have used Handwriting without tears in the past as well as Zaner Bloser Handwriting. It's simple and colorful. You could also just use handwriting worksheets you print online or make up your own. The goal is to go through each letter and teach them to properly form it and the practice. Probably only 5-15 minutes per day tops!

I hope you found this helpful and encouraging. I also want to mention to pick a chapter book and read to your child. You can also get audio books and listen together and just talk about what you read. Who are the characters? What was the setting? What did you like about the book? What was a problem in the book? Children learn a lot reading and the more experiences they have outside "school" and "home" the more connections they can make. So take them to the zoo, museums, hiking, etc.

Thanks always for reading and please let us know how we can help support you!

Jessica