A kindergarten homeschool curriculum may be the most slept on form of support for beginner homeschoolers but the curriculum itself isn’t what matters the most.

 

What!?

 

This is a post about Kindergarten homeschool curricula telling you that Kindergarten homeschool curriculum is that important. Weird.

 

I know you’ve heard some variation of…:

 

“Don’t turn your home into school.” or “You don’t need a curriculum for kindergarten, just play.” I don’t find myself in either of these thought camps but I’ve come to understand the reason why this advice is prominent.

 

I’ve found that kindergarten homeschool curricula gets too much credit for bringing the classroom home or neglecting play when it’s often the parents/guardians who take actions that lead to either result.

 

I’d contend that kindergarten curriculua that helps your child learn the basics of math, reading, and pre-writing is a useful education product and most products on the market, at this early level of learning, is capable of helping parents reach their end goal.

 

While the content doesn’t always satisfy everyone’s expectations, the structure provided by a kindergarten curriculum may be the tool that builds your confidence as a home educator.

 

 

 

 

 

If you haven’t already looked at  How to Kickstart Your Kindergarten Homeschool please do. It’s a break-down of things to consider as you are choosing what to teach as core/foundation subjects and what to include for family and child-led learning activities. Because choosing the best kindergarten homeschool curriculum is subjective, the rest of this post is an online/case study of what worked for my family.

 

 

We determined that our family’s homeschool kindergarten would include:

 

 

  • Reading (foundation)
  • Writing (foundation)
  • Math (foundation)
  • Gardening (family choice)
  • Spanish (family choice)
  • Geography (student choice)
  • Nature (student choice)
  • Art (student choice)

 

 

 

CHOOSING A KINDERGARTEN HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM

 

I get that some people despise curriculum – I don’t. Although I have fallen in and out of love with specific curriculums, each one has taught me more about what is most useful for my children – even as I have experienced doubts.

 

 

Did anyone tell you that there will be periods of doubt on this homeschooling journey? It’s true.

 

 

KINDERGARTEN READING CURRICULUM

 

The kindergarten language arts or reading curriculum we chose was Masterbooks. It’s one of the popular faith inclusive options that is recommended and we tried it.

 

Photo of Masterbooks kindergarten curriculum
Photo of Masterbooks kindergarten curriculum

 

 

GOAL: Work through Masterbooks Simply K. Practice reading everyday and visit the community library for more book selections, at least twice a month. Continue reading through AlphaPhonics book and create lessons as we go along.

 

 

USEFUL KINDERGARTEN READING RESOURCES

 

 

 

KINDERGARTEN MATH CURRICULUM

 

The kindergarten math curriculum we chose was Masterbooks. Again, it’s one of the popular ones that is recommended.

 

 

 

GOAL: Work through Masterbooks Math Books for a Living Education Level K. We supplemented with The Maths Factor Program to help review and master simple addition and subtraction. And, for a challenge, we introduced Beast Academy as an entertaining comic book style of math with a critical thinking component.

 

 

USEFUL KINDERGARTEN MATH RESOURCES/SUPPLEMENTS

 

 

A number board for math activities

 

 

A REVIEW OF  MASTERBOOKS LEVEL K

 

Like all curriculum, Masterbooks has pros and cons and we have since changed; however, I found that the Masterbooks {Level K} works fine as an easygoing introductory curriculum, for a new homeschooler (like me).

 

 

Specific Critiques of Masterbooks {Level K}: The math was fine but didn’t have as many solvable problems as I expected and the language arts felt like preschool 2.0 – not challenging.

 

 

Even so, this curriculum did what I wanted it to do – be a foundation/baseline for our learning and not an all-inclusive learning guide.

 

 

Specific Pros of Masterbooks {Level K}: I like that both Simply K and the Living Math were low-prep options. We could open the book and start our lesson, without needing to find or acquire lots of outside tools.

 

 

My first choice of curriculum helped me define what I wanted in a curriculum and what I didn’t want in a curriculum.

 

 

Although I was not astounded by our first choice of curriculum, it helped me know what I did and didn’t want, in my next choice of curriculum. I’m betting the same will be true of the first curriculum you choose for your children too. It’s a learning process for all of us {and there are many choices}.

 

 

KINDERGARTEN WRITING

 

The kindergarten writing practice was writing books we found online and others that my husband and I created.

 

 

 

Head over to English Confetti for FREE Tracing Worksheets

 

 

GOAL: Encourage proper grasp and writing within the lines. Help child learn how to write first and last name and practice letters and numbers.

 

 

***Not every child is ready to write at the traditional kindergarten age. If this is true for your child, consider alternatives for completing writing activities – like stamps.

 

Printable math worksheet for kindergarten and first grade

 

 

USEFUL KINDERGARTEN WRITING PRACTICE RESOURCES:

 

 

 

 

SPANISH

 

Learning many languages is a skill that I wish I had acquired at a younger age. Thankfully, my daughter has an interest in languages now. We used the DinoLingo app and signed up for Outschool Spanish classes. Also when we travel, our daughter enrolls in classes and activities with mostly non-English speaking children to expose her to the language more.

 

 

 

GOAL: Learn greetings, common phrases, colors, numbers, foods, animals, and ask other children if they want to play.

 

 

USEFUL KINDERGARTEN SPANISH LEARNING RESOURCES/EXPERIENCES

 

  • DinoLingo {APP}
  • Outschool Classes {Zoom classes for children}
  • Travel to Mexico
  • Enrollment in classes in Mexico
  • Visits to parks and play centers in Mexico

 

 

 

GEOGRAPHY

 

Travel has been one of my favorite learning experiences. I’ve visited Japan, New Zealand, Australia, island hopped {got married on Turks and Caicos}, taught English in Prague {and enjoyed train travel around Europe}, volunteered in Guatemala, and more. I for sure wanted to make sure I’d get a chance to share this interest with my daughter. We took her to Europe and Mexico before three (she doesn’t remember); however, at kindergarten age she got to spend a few months in Mexico {remembers it} and talks about it all the time.

 

 

GOAL: Help child learn about oceans, continents, countries, flags, US states, and travel.

 

 

USEFUL KINDERGARTEN GEOGRAPHY LEARNING RESOURCES

 

  • Globe
  • Maps
  • Library books
  • Youtube
  • Printables

 

Homeschool room, homeschool curriculum Kindergarten

 

 

GARDENING

 

Lots can be learned from planting seeds and watching plants grow. Planting just a few garden beds has led to more time outside together and has led to multiple lessons about insects, spiders, seeds, flowers, food sources, and more – like patience and perseverance. Gardening is the investment that keeps giving back to our family and I highly recommend growing {anything}, even in a small flower pot, if you can find the space.

 

 

GOAL: Grow anything. Compost everything.

 

 

USEFUL GARDENING RESOURCES

 

  • A flower pot or a garden bed
  • Seeds
  • Water
  • Small compost bin (we use a large rubbermaid bin)
  • Patience

 

 

ART ACTIVITIES

 

A glass jar filled with paintbrushes lived on our dining room table because we never knew when the urge to create would hit. We painted whenever and it’s a great way to learn what some children are thinking about and feeling. For lessons, art supplies are useful for teaching colors and how to create different colors.

 

 

GOAL: Create child masterpieces and share them with grandparents {because who has space for all those creations – Grandma}. ????

 

 

USEFUL ART RESOURCES

 

  • Paint brushes
  • Paint kits
  • Crayons
  • Drawing pads
  • Crafts {Pinterest is a great resource}

 

 

Crafts for Kids, Kindergarten Homeschool, screen-free activity painting girl

 

 

NATURE AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

 

  • Ballet & Tap Dance Classes
  • Recreation Center Classes
  • Outschool Classes
  • Community Parks {North Carolina has some really nice parks}
  • Community homeschool groups {I didn’t join one but I can see how they can be valuable in different ways for parents and children}

 

 

 

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