Kindergarten Curriculum

K5-2nd grade can be considered one large unit because in these grade levels the same skills will deepen and expand as you work through phonics, math, and writing at levels K-2. For this reason I really recommend choosing a curriculum program you can learn and use well for these years.

• Reading skills - use a good phonics program. I’ll recommend what I used below plus some alternatives to research.

• Math - Three of the four processes (add, subtract, multiply) will be introduced by the end of 2nd grade by most curriculums. You can anticipate getting through addition as a concept, place values, and very beginning subtraction by the end of kindergarten.

• Writing - Monitor writing formation well, because ingraining writing habits early on is so important. If your child memorizes turning the pencil the wrong way to form a letter or number, it will take a long while to correct that.

Reading/Phonics/Writing:

• Abeka Letters and Sounds, K5 - we used this for all four children and it didn’t let me down. It’s also a very cost effective option.

• Other options to research:

  • All about reading - What I would have used had I known it existed at the time. I was comfortable with Abeka phonics and would still use it if I had more children to teach K-2 to.

  • Veritas Press Phonics Museum - fairly expensive, but has an accompanying app and the whole program is wonderful.

  • The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, Revised Edition Instructor Book - I’d recommend this over Reading in 100 Easy Lessons, personally. Either is a good option. Definitely the most cost effective but also the most time consuming if you factor in the work involved and no worksheets or manipulatives.

• For the Love of Homeschooling Sight Word Mini Bundle (coming soon!) - Wish I had this. I used free download Dolch sight word lists and just checked them off. This is more fun.

• Abeka k5 Penmanship

• Truly, I would buy colored lined paper, like this, to make it easier to get letter sizing right. Formation has never been the challenge that neat, uniform writing has been for us.

Reading Practice Recommendations:

• Narration as a practice - How to Homeschool Guide: Narration

• Stories based on child’s interest.

• Stories based on enjoyment.

• Chapter book read alouds.

• Phonetic readers that are not terrible or confusing - a lot of them are, specifically when purchased apart from curriculum.

Science:

• DK Encyclopedia of Animals - pick an animal, read about it together, and write out facts your child found interesting for them. I did this and enjoyed it! 

• Get outside with nature journaling art supplies - we did do this, especially at our local zoo

• Nature Study Club wasn’t available when my three oldest were younger, and I’ve been using this with my daughter since 2022.

Math:

• Abeka Number Skills K5

• Masterbooks has been recommended as well, and we use it typically for grades 3-5

History:

• Library Books are what I wished I had used, if anything. I didn’t worry about history at this age. At all. No regrets!

Enrichment & Additional Studies:

• Go to local museums, just check exhibits first because they can be inappropriate for littles. But don’t be afraid to go to musical performances, museums, and more. Your child can handle it and you won’t regret the time spent training them how to engage with these events and places!

• Suggested Resources I would have used if they had been around, and if I had the funding, to be frank. Because at the time even a $25 bundle was too much to purchase:

  • Homeschool bundles or digital unit studies for books

  • Reading & Writing Binder for Spanish Phonics (If you want to start Spanish)

Kindergarten: What I wished I would have done differently & what went well

• I wish I would have had grace for myself. I was learning as much as my son the first time around - I had no clue how to teach the nuts and bolts of phonics and reading.

• I would have used more digital resources and free downloads (because our budget was TIGHT the first several years we homeschooled). I was pretty uptight about using things that were “real curriculum” or someone else’s recommendation, because only someone else’s recommendation or something that cost money was valid in my mind. Which leads to my next point…

• I should have trusted myself, and not listened so much to what other people said.

• I wish I had the confidence to just speak Spanish at home or work on my younger kids with Spanish. That being said, I don’t regret waiting until they mastered English phonics though. It almost seems easier to teach Spanish now because of that (also because I understand phonics in both languages now - that’s a big help)

• I’m happy with how I rolled with what suited my kids, for the most part. I was able to move between two grades in a year, or slow all the way down for a child who needed more time. I’m grateful I could see what they needed and was able to course correct whatever we studied to fit their needs.