A couple of years ago, I started homeschooling my two young children when they were ages 2 and 3. I hesitate to even say we have been “homeschooling” up to this point because it has been very unstructured and casual. From my children’s perspective, homeschooling has been considered play, but to me there has been a lot of intention behind what we do. 

We have loosely been through The Peaceful Preschool curriculum twice, adding in things along the way that followed the kids’ interests.

With that being said, as time has passed, I have slowly increased the structure to prepare us all for starting elementary schooling. Now that the kids are 4 and 5 1/2, we are gearing up to start kindergarten in January. 

In this blog I am sharing our plans for kindergarten and the resources we are planning to use.

In this blog post:

• Our plans and curriculum choices for kindergarten
• Early education resources from Treehouse Schoolhouse

Our plans and curriculum choices for kindergarten

Although my daughter is younger than kindergarten age, I plan to teach my children together and to adapt activities to my younger daughter’s skill level along the way. She is always welcome to join in our lessons, but not required to. Up to this point they love to be together, and she is usually very interested in learning everything he is. I try to keep a few hands-on activities (such as lacing or playdough) near the table when we do school for her to grab and use if I need to work one-on-one with him.

For our homeschool kindergarten year, I have decided to use a combination of Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row. This curriculum is based completely around literature, which is what drew me to it. The concept is that you read each book five days in a row, and each day you focus on a different subject that you can glean from the story. 

For example, one week we will be reading The Story About Ping, the story of a duckling who gets separated from his family. After reading the book, we may study the Yangtze River, which is where the story takes place, for geography. The next day after reading, we may do a science lesson on the natural habitat of ducks. On the third day, we may count all of the ducks, create a family tree of the ducks, and then make one of our own family. You get the idea. I anticipate that using this curriculum will open my eyes that every book is an opportunity to explore and learn more in every subject. I hope it does the same for my kids.

Before Five in a Row is the preschool version of the curriculum. After looking over the book lists I decided to ease us in with some of the familiar books from Before Five in a Row such as The Snowy Day, Blueberries For Sal, and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and then move into the unfamiliar and more advanced stories found in Five in a Row. I am using the guides Before Five in a Row: A Treasury of Creative Ideas to Inspire Learning Readiness and Five in a Row: Volume I as my foundation. I will build off of them using Pinterest, blogs, and ideas I drum up based on what I think my kids would love to learn. I can’t wait to share all of what we are doing and learning through these stories!

I am looking forward to exploring The Playful Pioneers and The Precious People when they are a little older.

In addition to this, we will also be starting our day with Bible and adding in short lessons in math, phonics, and handwriting. Here is what we are using for each of these areas:

• Bible: Leading Little Ones to God and Scripture Memory
• Math: The Good and The Beautiful Kindergarten Math
• Phonics: Explode the Code
• Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears Kindergarten

I also plan to begin sign language lessons this year! I will be using the Signing Time K-3 Classroom Curriculum. I plan to do it with the kids a couple times a week.

Early education resources from Treehouse Schoolhouse

Are you looking for more learning resources for your homeschool? Consider these best-selling products from Treehouse Schoolhouse that offer a gentle invitation to learning.

Treehouse Story School: Preschool

Treehouse Story School: Preschool is 32-weeks of gentle, literature-based curriculum designed for ages 2.5-5 years. This preschool curriculum that invites children to learn through the themes in stories they love. Each week will focus on a picture book, inviting children into connection and learning through music and movement, play-based narration, alphabet and number play, motor skills, practical life development, crafts, and baking together.

It would be a great fit for your toddler or preschooler if you are looking to incorporate multi-sensory, play-based learning while introducing them to timeless stories.

From toddler through upper preschool, this curriculum can be used year after year as you dive deeper into beloved, classic stories your family will cherish. Preview a free week here.

Daily Rhythm Bundle

Children are highly visual–they can feel particularly out of control when they don’t know what to expect of their day. That’s why we recommend using a visual schedule to support your children from the time they are very young.

Rather than trying to stick to a rigid schedule, this set helps you create a general rhythm for your days. The daily rhythm worksheet is laminated and dry erase and the cards can be moved around offering you flexibility and adaptability. 

Morning Time Bundle

This interactive, reusable set focuses on weather, seasons, moon phase, temperature, weather-appropriate clothing, date and time, and reading a calendar. With this daily bundle, your child will practice the skills of handwriting, tracing, copywork, and telling time. I recommend you print these materials and place them inside of a Morning Time Menu or dry-erase sleeve. Using dry-erase markers, your child can fill this bundle out over and over again. 

We also offer a version of the Morning Time Bundle for those in our community who live in the Southern Hemisphere.

A lot of exciting changes are coming up for us as we transition from preschool to kindergarten! I am sure it will be an ever-changing plan, but I wanted to share with you where we are in our journey in hopes that you would follow along. Stay tuned to see how all of this looks in real life and for overviews of the activities we’re doing for each new book that we are exploring!